Page 21 of Forged By Fire

Menendez tapped his cell phone. “I’ll give them a call and let them know to expect you.” He shifted his gaze to Leslie. “Chief Caradec is going to be feeling defensive enough about the gear being stolen. It might be helpful if another firefighter were there, too.”

“Understood, sir.”

“How areyoudoing, Granger? I heard about your house.”

Clint and Leslie had spoken about how much they should share with the chief. Right now, they knew so little that Clint wasn’t too worried about it. Besides, if she told her boss what was going on, it’d give more grounds for extra time off if that’s what was needed to keep her safe until they found the man responsible for everything.

She updated Menendez on the break-in and the flowers and picture. Then she quickly turned the topic to Bracken and her visit with him. “He seemed to be in good spirits, sir, although I can tell he’s in pain. Hopefully, that will diminish a lot over the next few days.”

“I hope so, too.” He focused on Clint. “I trust you’ll continue to keep me updated on the investigation.”

“I will. You may also hear from Detective John Paris. We don’t have enough details yet, and we don’t even know if Ortiz is involved in this. However, there’s enough evidence to suggest firefighters in general may be thetarget, if not Bracken and Granger specifically. I hope all your people are exercising caution moving forward.”

“We are, and I appreciate your concern. If there’s anything I can do to aid the investigation, please let me know.”

They said goodbye to the fire chief and were on their way out of the station when someone called Leslie from across the room.

“Hey, Granger! Catch!”

The man launched something at her, and she easily snatched it out of the air. When she opened her hand, a package of plain M&Ms rested in her palm.

“Figured you could use it after yesterday. Be safe out there.”

“You know it. Thanks, Allen.”

The other firefighter saluted and returned to work.

“So you really are a chocolate addict, and everyone knows it.” Clint chuckled as he opened the door for her, then went around and got behind the wheel.

“Yep.” She tore the package open. “There are worse things I could be addicted to. Besides, there are health benefits to chocolate. Probably when consumed in smaller amounts than I eat, but still.” She laughed softly as she tilted the bag in his direction.

“Very true.” He shook a handful into his palm and tossed them into his mouth. “I don’t know about an addiction, but I can never go into a gas station and pass up those fried beef and bean burritos.”

Leslie’s nose wrinkled automatically, causing Clint to dish out an offended look.

She quickly swallowed the M&Ms she was chewing and held up a hand in repentance. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t tryingto judge. It just seems like they’re always at least a day or two old.”

“Hey, they’re delicious. And like I said, I only get them when I stop at a gas station. I don’t have fellow officers throwing burritos at me when I go into the precinct.”

She tilted her head back and laughed, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Touché.”

She looked happy. Carefree. Beautiful.

Right then, Clint wanted nothing more than to find the man responsible for shooting Bracken and breaking into Leslie’s house. He wanted her to feel safe again.

A section of hair fell down the right side of her face, and he had to make a point of not reaching over to brush it aside.

As if she somehow knew what he was thinking, she hooked a finger and swept the hair behind her ear before popping several blue M&Ms into her mouth. “So, what’s next?”

“I think we should head over and talk to Chief Caradec. Maybe talk to a few of the firefighters who worked with Ortiz and see what they thought about the guy. Before we do that, though, I’m going to update Detective Paris. I’m hoping he’ll reach out to a psychologist we work with, Dr. Gerard, and see what information he can give us about kleptomania and what we might expect if Ortiz is our suspect.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” She settled back into her seat and ate a few more M&Ms while he made that call.

Paris said he’d contact Dr. Gerard and get back to them once they’d been able to speak. When Clint ended the call, Leslie tucked the package into one of the side pockets in the small backpack she’d brought along with her. “What happens if we don’t figure out who’s behind this?”

“Then we keep looking for clues. Waitingfor him to mess up.” He glanced over at her to find her nibbling on her lower lip. “We’re going to find him, Leslie.”

“What if it takes a while? What happens when Danny is discharged from the hospital? Will an officer continue to keep an eye on his house and family?”

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