the house. He found Sydney sitting on the floor, Dixon’s phone still in hand. He squatted next to her and took the phone, still in its evidence bag.
“We’ll get him before he hurts anyone else, Syd. I promise.” He didn’t know how he could say that. He could no more promise this guy wouldn’t hurt anyone than he could promise she’d be fine.
“Promise me something else.”
“What?” he asked gruffly.
“That you’ll let me work on the investigation with you.”
“I—”
She held up her hands. “Don’t say no right away. Just think about it. I may be a rookie, but I also seem to hold the key to this case. I didn’t take anything from this house, but our killer thinks I did and he seems more than willing to come after me to get it.”
He let himself spend a few moments peering into her eyes, thinking how much she’d changed and yet how much she hadn’t. Her eyes seemed bluer, her face softer. If he didn’t move away from the pull of her gaze, he’d promise her the moon.
He stood. “All I can say right now is I’ll think about it.”
“Fair enough.”
The door opened and Officer Baker came into the house. Russ went to meet him.
“Here’s the phone.” Russ handed the bag to Baker, who was busy checking out Sydney.
Russ got in his face. “I want a log of every call and number on here before you go home for the night. And put some pressure on the phone company to get Dixon’s past phone logs ASAP. Call me as soon as the log is finished.”
“You got it,” Baker said, his eyes returning to Sydney.
“Let’s step outside, Baker.” Russ bit back his irritation and went out. “What’s wrong with you? Staring at Deputy Tucker like that. She’s a capable officer just like us and deserves respect.”
“Sorry, Chief. I didn’t mean anything by it. As you say she’s a capable officer, but—don’t jump down my throat for this—you have to admit she’s nothing like us.” He grinned.
Russ would admit no such thing aloud and definitely not to one of his officers. “Get out of here and get to work on the phone.”
Russ couldn’t blame Baker for noticing Sydney. He’d done the same thing when his only thoughts should be about protecting her. He needed to keep his focus. Especially out here.
He made a quick sweep of the area. He’d left one unit stationed out front so they could finish searching Dixon’s house without worrying about the killer.
Russ felt as if the creep was long gone, but he couldn’t help worry about what his next move would be or if Russ would be with Sydney when he did strike again. Maybe Russ should call county and ask them to arrange protection for her.
No. Not a good idea.
If he went that route, Russ would have to deal with Krueger all the time just to talk to Sydney. He could ask to have her assigned to the investigation as she’d requested. She’d not only be available when needed, but he could also keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t come to any harm.
Yeah, that’s what he’d do.
Before he changed his mind, he made a quick call to Lieutenant James, who was most obliging. Krueger would be miffed when he heard Russ went over his head, but Russ could handle it.
He made one last sweep of the area then went inside.
“Let’s finish this place up and get out of here.” He returned to the desk. “Oh, by the way. I called Lieutenant James while I was outside. He agreed to put you on the team. You’ll report to me until this investigation is closed.”
She smiled. “That’s great, Russ. Thank you.”
“You can thank me by being extra vigilant until this killer is caught.” He let his gaze connect with hers. “Keep your head on a swivel. Wear your vest at all times.” He wanted to add Sleep in it, too, but he knew that would only earn him a roll of her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Russ. I hear you.” She turned back to digging through the sofa. “Found some weed. Didn’t take Dixon long after getting out to replenish his stock.”
Russ sat on a chair and dug deeper into a bottom drawer. He pulled out a power cord from a computer. “Did you take a laptop into evidence?”
She shook her head. “We saw that power cord, but no computer.”
“Maybe that’s what our suspect thinks you took.”
“Could be, I guess. Though I don’t know what kind of evidence a drug dealer would have on a computer.”
They worked for another hour, but didn’t locate anything else of interest so Russ decided to call it quits. At the door, he said, “I still want to show those pictures of the motorcycle to Garber if you’re up for it.”
“Sure.”
They stepped onto the porch, where the whispery mist had turned to soft rain. The temperature had dropped when the rain came in, and neither of them wore jackets.
Sydney shivered and nodded at the patrol car sitting at the curb. “What’s he doing here?”
“Just a precaution.”
“You thought the killer might come back.” The worry returned to her eyes.
He scanned the area on the way to his cruiser, but tried not to be obvious about it and raise her concern even more. He nodded at his officer to let him know he could leave.
At the car, Russ opened the trunk, retrieved his jacket and draped it over Sydney’s shoulders.
“You keep it,” she said. “You’re cold, too.”
“I’m fine.” He moved to open her door before remembering not to. Not saying anything, she tugged his jacket tightly around her shoulders and climbed in.
On the road, she didn’t speak. He didn’t mind the silence. He used the quiet to keep his focus on making sure the killer wasn’t following. When they pulled up to the town houses, he was certain no one tailed them. Of course, that didn’t mean their killer hadn’t left Dixon’s house and returned before them.
Feeling the killer’s eyes on them, Russ shifted into Park and searched the area. Dense woods and heavy undergrowth made plenty of places to hide. The rain, growing thicker by the minute, gave him even more cover.
Russ turned to tell Sydney to wait here and he’d drive her home, but a car fishtailed to a stop across the road, drawing his interest. The passenger door opened, emitting throbbing music. A young teen climbed out.
“Nikki?” Sydney said on a whisper.
“What’s your sister doing here?”
“I don’t know, but don’t worry. I’ll make sure she leaves right away.” She started to open the door but he grabbed her arm.
“You think that’s such a good idea?” he asked.
“Her leaving a murder scene? Of course.”
“What if our killer got here before us and is watching you? Even in this weather it’s easy to see her resemblance and figure out she’s your sister. He could see Nikki leave. Follow her to—”
“Get to me.” Sydney finished his sentence.
“Exactly.”
A plethora of emotions shifted over Sydney’s face. Worry morphed into rage, the exact emotion he’d feel if Zack were targeted by a murderer. He would do anything to keep his son out of the hands of a killer. Russ could understand the thoughts traveling through Sydney’s mind and knew she was probably thinking like a parent, not a deputy.
Resolve tightened