Page 27 of Tough as Steele

“I’m not bringing them in. She specializes in cybercrimes and really knows her way around a computer. So I asked her to look for video footage in this area.”

“Oh, okay.” He let out a breath and smiled, but it was forced. “That’ll be very helpful.”

“Nice change in mood.” She smiled at him. “You must’ve gotten the same lecture from your LT that mine gave me on cooperating and not making waves.”

His mouth turned up for a second in a sincere smile. “I did, not that there’s a reason to disagree with your help here. I hope you remember my kind cooperation when it’s your turn.” He chuckled.

The lighthearted tone wrapped around her. He’d been so serious, she’d wondered if he laughed, and she was glad to see he could. “We were talking about Charles.”

“Charles.” Nate tapped his chin. “He’s kind of reserved and keeps to himself. I could tell when I came to live with them that he was against it. I might’ve been a jerk to Clarice, but I think deep down I knew she would take it. But Charles? Nah. He would’ve put me back on the street if he’d had his way. Now, he’s much more cordial, but he’s still kind of a stranger to me.”

He settled back on the desk. “He’s cheated on Clarice. A few times actually. She knows and still keeps him around.”

“Why?”

“She says she loves him, and God forgives her for her sins, so she should do the same for Charles.” He planted his hands on his muscular thighs. “I struggled to understand her for a long time. Then I thought back to all my sins against her and her forgiving nature, and I finally got it.”

Londyn was impressed for sure. With both of them. “I wish I had her depth of faith. I lost my brother a little over a year ago. He was murdered in his home. My faith is seriously on the fence. I don’t even feel God’s presence in my life much anymore.”

His eyes glassed over in a faraway look. “It’s hard to lose someone so close to you.”

He’d suffered more than she had. “I’m sorry you lost both of your parents. That had to be so hard.”

His gaze cleared, and he fixed it on her. “I wish I could say it gets easier, but it never does. It becomes more bearable though. Especially with God on my side.”

There was his faith again when hers was so lacking. “Did you question God when you lost your parents?”

“I wasn’t a believer, so no. It wasn’t until Clarice came into my life that I came to faith and learned how to successfully live with the loss. And with tough things on the job too. Though I have to admit, some of the things I see make my faith waiver.” He picked at a hangnail on his thumb that was already scabbed and raw. “You’re going to laugh at this, but I think of God as the law enforcement officer of my faith. When the whole world seems to walk away from what is good and decent and things are nuts, God runs to you and stays by your side through the crisis just like we do on the job. Corny, I know.”

“No, no.” She firmed her shoulders. “Not corny. Something to remember and maybe something that could help me.”

“Thanks for not laughing.” He looked at his fingers and kept that thumb carving away. “I haven’t shared my past with anyone except Clarice, and it honestly felt good to talk about it.”

He took a long breath as if he planned to add more. Her phone rang, stopping him.

“It’s my LT.” She quickly answered.

“We have the car,” Hoffman said. “Mimi Vandervoort’s car and no sign of Mimi.”

Londyn’s heart fell. She got up to pace, keeping her phone pressed against her ear. “Where did they find it?”

“One of our officers spotted it abandoned in the city,” Hoffman said.

“We need to get forensics out there straight away.”

Hoffman didn’t respond for a moment. “You talk to Detective Ryder yet?”

“I’m at Mimi’s house with him, why?”

“Car’s in our jurisdiction, and we can claim it for processing. But give him the call on which department handles the forensics.”

“But I…” She looked at Nate, who was studying her like a referee after a foul in one of her soccer matches.

“This will be a good way to show we mean to play nice together,” her LT said. “Maybe you can settle on calling a neutral party like someone from state. I’d fully support that.”

If they were going neutral, she had a better idea. “How about we use Sierra Rice at the Veritas Center? She’d probably do it for free.”

“Are you kidding?” Her supervisor’s enthusiasm exploded over the phone. “I’d never turn down the top forensic experts in the area.”

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