Page 9 of Threatened

“Hmm.” The cop made a couple of notes on his tablet screen. “Can you go back to the park with me? Walk me through the route you took? Maybe we can find something the guy left behind.”

“I’ll come with you,” Gage volunteered.

“No. I’ve got this,” Kylie said, glancing over at him. She appreciated his willingness to offer support, but she felt she should be able to handle this on her own. “You stay here with the twins. I can do this. I’m fine. Thanks though.”

Gage didn’t look thoroughly convinced but nodded just the same.

“Did you notice any distinguishing marks on the man who attacked you?” the cop asked after they walked the half-block to the small park and were standing near the bench she’d sat on. “Tattoos, glasses, logos on his clothing?”

Kylie closed her eyes and thought back to the man sitting opposite her but couldn’t remember anything odd or remarkable about him. “No. Nothing. Sorry. He was reading a newspaper and was dressed in all black—that’s all I remember.”

“All black?” the officer asked to confirm as he took notes on his tablet. “Try to remember the details of the event. What direction did he come at you from? Which way did he run off?

As she described it again, a few more details came back to her. With the officer at her side, they retraced the steps she’d taken after the guy had stolen her diaper bag.

“He took off running that way,” she said, her steps speeding up automatically as she remembered chasing the guy. “I stopped here because the jogger got in my way and the stroller was just too awkward to push while running.”

The cop nodded and continued down the sidewalk until he stopped and donned a pair of latex gloves to pick up something off the ground behind a tree thirty feet or so away. He walked back to Kylie, and as he got closer, she saw the object he’d retrieved. A newspaper.

“You said he was reading one when you first arrived, right?” He held out the paper so she could see it.

“Yes.” She frowned down at the front page. It was theAsahi Shimbun. Japan’s leading newspaper. She’d gotten so used to seeing it on her last job that it took her a second to realize how out of place it was here.

“That’s Japanese, yes?” the officer asked. “Was the guy who attacked you Asian?”

“I don’t know. I…I didn’t really see his face all that clearly. It was hidden behind the paper at first, and then everything happened so quickly.” She ignored the tiny niggle of tension eating into her gut. It was a strange coincidence that she felt she had to mention. “It’s weird, but I just got back from a job in Japan.”

“Doing what?” the cop asked.

“I’m a Feng Shui consultant. My clients live all over the world.” She wasn’t surprised at the way his eyebrow went up, betraying his skepticism. “Whether you believe in what I do or not doesn’t make it any less valid. And it doesn’t change the fact I was mugged. My wallet was in there. My ID. And the bag itself holds a lot of sentimental value for me. Anything you can do to help me get it back would be appreciated.”

“We’ll do our best, ma’am.” He placed the paper in a clear plastic bag. “I’ll book this into evidence when I get back to the station, and we’ll see if we can get any prints off of it. I’ll warn you now that it’s unlikely, since it’s been sitting in the elements for a while and there’s no way to know who else might’ve handled it in the interim. Still, we’ll do our best to find your assailant.”

They walked back toward Gage’s house until they reached the officer’s car.

“What now?” she asked. She had no experience in this realm.

“If we find anything, I’ll call you at the cell number you provided,” the officer said. “In the meantime, I suggest contacting your bank and credit card companies to freeze your accounts. You should also contact the social security office, if you had your card in your wallet, to see about getting a new one issued.”

Damn, he was right. And shehadbeen keeping her social security card in her wallet since she hadn’t wanted to leave it in her apartment when it was sublet.

After he drove away, Kylie stood at the curb, watching his taillights disappear around the corner and praying they’d find the culprit soon.

Gage did what he did best while Kylie was gone—kept busy. He took advantage of the sleeping twins to tidy up the house and put a load of laundry in the machine before he started dinner. By the time Kylie came back inside, sans cop, he had onions browning in a pan on the stove and was just adding garlic and peppers to the pasta sauce he planned to use for the spaghetti Bolognese.

She closed and locked the front door behind her, her movements slow and deliberate. After taking a scan of the room, she wandered over to take a seat in the kitchen while he worked. She looked exhausted and defeated by what had happened, which made him feel like a complete ass for coming down so hard on her earlier about chasing the guy. Honestly, if he’d been in the same situation, he probably would’ve done the same thing. The only difference was, Gage would have caught him and made sure he never stole from anyone else again. That was part of his skill set.

“Everything taken care of with the police?” he asked to engage her in conversation as he stirred the sautéed vegetables into a pot of simmering tomato sauce. “They get what they need to catch the guy?” “I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug. “It’s not my world.”

Gage felt a nearly overwhelming urge to stop what he was doing and pull her close again, to comfort her. He stirred harder to distract himself. He had no business holding Kylie. Not now. Not ever. He had to admit, though, that despite the situation, it had felt good to have her in his arms for those few minutes by the front door.

“I told him what I remembered about the attack and walked him through the route we took at the park. Where I sat with the kids and where the guy was,” she said. Her tone was laced with fatigue. Gage understood that. He’d experienced the feeling enough times himself while on missions. Just because more physical violence hadn’t taken place didn’t mean her body hadn’t been prepared for it. Since she’d chased the perp, her reaction had definitely been fight and not flight. Now that all the raging adrenaline was clearing from her system, she was bound to be feeling empty and hollow.

Kylie glanced over to where he was cooking, only then seeming to truly notice what he was doing. “Anything I can help with?”

Having a task might help her, so he hiked his chin toward the loaf of French bread on the table. “You can slice that up if you want, for garlic toast. Hope you like Italian.”

“Love it.” She gave him a weary smile as she stood up and grabbed the bread knife he’d left out. “The cop did find something that might be evidence. He picked up a newspapertossed behind a tree. It might be the one the guy was reading before he came after me. It was theAsahi Simbun.”

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