Page 45 of Special Agent Isabella

“You’re right, I apologize.” Tanner’s smile was commiserating and got a slight nod in return. Mrs. Morgan’s face lost some of its anger, no doubt because a good-looking man had made an effort to smooth the edges.

Bella approached the vehicle that the wife had pointed to and saw that the thief hadn’t replaced the plates. They were just gone.

“So much for that lead.” The disgust in Tanner’s voice being palpable.

“Yeah. But maybe we can canvas the neighbors’ house cams for anyone seen stealing the plates.”

“Not gonna work. The houses are set too far back from the street.” His regret rang clear. “Of course, we’ll try a few, but chances are the perp came in the night so darkness would hide his identity. I’ll get the guys back at the office to see if they can find anything on the street cams too, but I don’t have a lot of hope.” His disparagement showed on his face, and Bella pushed her shoulder against his, trying to lighten the moment. “We’ll get him, Tanner.”

“We have to, Bella. Stacy means a lot to the people in her constituency and to her family. She shouldn’t be in this situation because of wanting to do her job and help others. It’s just so fucked up.”

Bella walked beside him toward their own SUV and noticed a woman sitting in the window across the street, staring at them. “Wait for me here. I have an idea.” She walked purposely toward where the woman sat watching her approach. When she got to the door, she rang the bell and wasn’t surprised when it opened immediately.

“I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am. I’m an agent with the FBI, Special Agent Bella Mendez, and I saw that you were able to watch the street from your window. Have you by any chance seen anyone acting suspicious around that car sitting across the street from your house? The license plate that’s missing has been involved in an ongoing investigation. We’re hoping to identify the person who might have stolen it.”

The dark-haired woman appeared confused, as if she didn’t understand. Because her appearance looked to be a person with a Latino background, Bella reiterated what she’d said in Spanish.

In a heavily accented Spanglish, the other replied, “Si, I watch, 2 nights ago. Big man. He steal. And he vamos.”

Again in Spanish, Bella asked, “Did you notice anything different about the man that we can use to identify him? His size, coloring, hair, any marks, tattoos, maybe strange clothing?”

“He wear army clothes. And he limps from this leg.” She pointed at her right side, then continued. “Short hair. White skin. No gordo… but big.”

“Did you report this to the police?”

“No. Not my business. I no make trouble.” She tried to shut the door, and Bella stopped her.

“You’ve been very helpful, Señora. Muchas gracias.” She smiled and because of the sincere respect in her voice, she saw the fear in the other woman’s eyes lessen.

When she returned to Tanner, she found him leaning against the car, his arms crossed, watching her. “Did you get anything?”

“Yeah. Seems the woman sits and watches the world go by. Two nights ago, she saw a white man steal the plate.” She shared the rest of what had been said and watched his face.

“You thinking the same thing I am?”

“That it could be a veteran?”

“Kinda what I was thinking. Mind you a lot of people wear camouflage.”

“True.”

“On the other hand, being on the larger side with a limp fits the same description of the woman who kidnapped Stacy from the office. I thought the woman in the video had a distinct kind of walk, like a wiggle, but now that I think about it, it could have been a limp he tried to cover up.”

“Right. Okay, we’re now in agreement that the person we’re looking for is a man, probably a veteran with an injury. But we’re still at a dead end.”

“Senorita!” The woman Bella had just talked with called out. Hurrying back across the street, she rushed to where the lady waited. “Yes, ma’am?”

“El hombre. That night. He trip against side of car. Maybe, he make marks… no wear guantas.” She made a gesture to show she meant gloves.

“That’s very helpful, Señora. Again, thank you.”

On the way back to where Tanner waited, Bella pulled her phone and called it in. When Tanner questioned her with a look, she explained. “We need to see if we can pull his prints off the car. Our friend across the street saw him almost fall. According to her, it seems he held himself up by using the fender. He didn’t wear gloves.”

ChapterThirty-Seven

Stacy’s throat felt better after sipping the cold water, but her eyes were smarting and the strong smell in the room left a lot to be desired. She’d never smoked herself. But when on tour, many of the rallies had been held in halls and restaurants where the stench of cigarettes and weed had almost made her gag.

Right now, she had the same sensation. Looking over at the other person in the room, she guessed if he’d wanted to hurt her, she’d have been in a lot worse shape. Other than having her hands bound in front of her, and with soft cloths between her wrists and the plastic ties, she felt fine.

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