Chapter Fourteen

On the Road Again

The thief successfully detained, I turned to look at the buck. I bowed my head, silently thanking him for his assistance in the takedown. The buck blinked and bowed his head in return before slowly turning away and disappearing into the woods.

Zane hopped out of his vehicle, his brows raised, impressed. “Damn, woman. You don’t mess around.”

He grabbed the car thief by the arm to help him up. The guy refused to stand, hanging limply, making himself dead weight.

“Have it your way,” Zane said. He grabbed the waistband of the guy’s jeans with his free hand and dragged him over dirt, leaves, and pinecones until they reached the SUV. By then, the guy’s eyes and nose were full of natural debris and he was feeling a little more cooperative. He stood and allowed himself to be buckled into the backseat of the SUV.

Zane slammed the door on the guy before turning to me. “You and I make a darn good team.”

“Does that mean you’ll give me some credit for the arrest? Even though I’m working under your authority?”

“After all you’ve done, I’d be one hell of a jackass to rob you of your glory.”

“You’re one hell of a jackass, regardless.”

“Yeah, but you’ve enjoyed working with me.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Admit it.”

I shrugged. “I guess it wasn’t that bad.”

He gave me a grin and a nod. “All right then. I’ll report this like it was, a joint effort between Durham PD and the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department.”

#

The car thief wouldn’t talk, but after booking him into the Chatham County lockup, Zane and I huddled in his SUV in the jail’s parking lot and took a look at the guy’s phone. We would have never got a password out of the guy but, luckily for us, he’d activated fingerprint access and we’d been able to open it with a touch of his thumb.

His apps, text messages, and e-mails helped us piece many of the clues together. He hadn’t had an accomplice after all. He’d ordered magnetic GPS tracking devices online and surreptitiously placed them on the vehicles he’d been interested in so that he could monitor their locations. When a car was in an opportune place at an opportune time, he’d summoned an Uber and been dropped off a quarter mile or so from the target vehicle, within easy walking distance.

We returned to his rental house to gather evidence, including the pop-up painting tent, the painting mask, an airless paint sprayer, and the container of Moulin Rouge paint. Inside the house, we found a copy of a rental agreement for a storage unit down the road in Fayetteville. We called the city’s police department, and they dispatched an officer who confirmed that the Bel Air was parked inside. It had been repainted, but was otherwise no worse for the wear. Presumably, the other vehicles had been sold or stored elsewhere, but the Mule would take the case from here. I had no doubt he’d get to the bottom of things. Further investigation was well above my pay grade, and would involve mostly paperwork and phone calls, tasks I’d be happy to leave to the detective.

Zane and I walked over to the Barracuda and stared at it for a long moment.

I sighed. “I suppose I should call the Beaumonts to come pick it up.”

“I suppose you should.” Zane’s mouth spread in a mischievous grin. “But it would be a lot more fun to drive it.”

I felt a grin on my lips, too. “And it would only be courteous to return the car to them at their home rather than forcing them to make the drive out here.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “It’s the least we could do.”

“We?”

“Joint operation,” he reminded me. “We should each get a chance at the wheel.”

“Can’t argue with that logic.”

“We should also go out to dinner afterwards to celebrate. Someplace fancy with cloth napkins and wines we can’t pronounce. We earned it.” He cocked his head and raised a brow in question.

“Can’t argue with that logic, either.”

The Barracuda hadn’t been repaired since being hot-wired and, after watching a YouTube tutorial, we were able to start it without the key and without electrocuting ourselves. We left Zane’s SUV and my police bike at the Tucker place. Zane drove the first leg back to Durham.

When we passed the sign marking the border between Chatham and Durham counties, I said, “You’re in my jurisdiction now, buddy. Pull over.”

We switched seats, and I drove the rest of the way to the Beaumonts’ house.

Brody Riddle was out front playing basketball with friends again as we pulled into the Beaumonts’ driveway. He passed the ball to a friend and jogged over, a big smile on his face. “You found it!”

I pointed to the Beaumonts’ front door. “You want to get Mr. Beaumont for me?”

“Yeah!” The kid ran to the door and banged on it.

A moment later, Gilda answered the door. She looked at Brody and he merely pointed to the driveway, where Deputy Archer and I stood next to the Barracuda, beaming with pride at our successful bust. Her hands went to her mouth in glee before she removed them and clapped them together. She turned and called back into the house. “Jerry! Come to the door! There’s something you need to see!”

A few seconds later, Jerry ambled up on his walker. He hooted when he saw the car in the drive and danced a quick jig before he lost his balance and had to return his hands to the device. He came out the door and down the walk at surprising speed, a happy tear coursing down his cheek. “My baby! I never thought I’d see you again!” He ran a loving hand over the fender before kissing his hand and applying the kiss to the metal. He looked up at me and Zane. “I owe you two a kiss, too!”

“Thanks,” Zane said on a chuckle, “but your gratitude is enough.”

“I’ll take one.” I gave the man a hug and he kissed my cheek. “The ignition will have to be repaired,” I told him. “It’s still hot-wired.”

“At least she’s back where she belongs.” He turned to Brody. “You know what, son? Life’s too short not to share as much joy as possible. As soon as I get this car fixed, you and me are going for a ride. You’re driving.”

Brody’s mouth gaped, his eyes bright with excitement. “Really?”

Jerry nodded. “Really.”

#

Amberlyn was kind enough to give Zane and me a ride back to the Durham limits, where one of Zane’s fellow deputies picked us up. As I slid out of the passenger seat of her patrol car, she reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me. She cast a glance back at Zane, who had just climbed out of the backseat behind her and closed the door. “I’m guessing you won’t be needing me to set you up, after all?”

I surreptitiously shook my head and sent her a soft smile.

#

Two hours later, I was back at my apartment, my police bike in its usual spot on the runner next to my Harley. I’d cleaned myself up and slipped into a flirty blue dress and heels. I’d curled my hair and put on a full face of makeup. Zane had never seen this girly side of me. I was curious how he’d react.

When a knock sounded at my door, I opened it to find him wearing dress loafers, navy slacks, and a neatly pressed striped button-down. He held a bouquet of pink and white roses in his hands. His eyes flashed with appreciation and surprise before he leaned in to look past me. “I’m here for Shae. She around here somewhere?”

I twirled once and raised my palms. “You didn’t think I’d clean up this good, did you?”

He handed me the flowers, a twinkle in his eye. “I’m not taking that bait. There’s no response to that question that won’t get me in trouble.”

I carried the bouquet to the kitchen. Oscar jumped up onto the counter to inspect the blooms while I arranged the flowers in a glass vase with water.

Zane wagged a finger at the cat, who playfully swiped back at it. “Don’t go knocking that vase off the counter.”

We drove to my favorite Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed a three-course meal, topped off with a delicious tiramisu. We wrapped up the dinner with glasses of champagne.

Zane raised his glass flute in toast. “To the best law enforcement officers in the bi-county area.”

I clinked my glass against his. “Hear, hear!”

Back at my apartment, Zane and I discovered that Oscar had torn several leaves off one of the roses before apparently being pricked by a thorn and deciding to let the flowers be. We also discovered ourselves face-to-face at my door as Zane prepared to go.

He cocked his head. “You know I won’t settle for just one date with you, right?”

“Of course not,” I said. “I’m irresistible.”

“Then it won’t surprise you if I do this.”

He lowered his head and put his lips to mine, treating me to a warm and wonderful kiss. I hoped it would be the first of many to come. We’d not only captured a car thief together, but we’d captured each other’s hearts.

*** The End ***