Free Power of the Raven by Aimée Thurlo Page B

checking around the window surfaces, but if the guy didn’t leave usable prints, there won’t be much we can do. We’ll ask around and see if anyone else saw the man in the cap and windbreaker.”
    As the officer went to join the other patrolman, who was coming around from the back of the building, Lori looked over at Gene. “When they think one of their own is threatened in any way, they can sure move fast.”
    “Theirs is a special brotherhood. They’ve got each other’s backs. They have to. Cops can make some bad enemies,” he said. “But if you’re thinking that they got here double time for one of their own but not for you, you’re not taking one important fact into account. Their suspect was still here when Patty called.”
    “And maybe still is?” Lori’s eyes widened and she looked around.
    “Let’s go inside,” Gene said with a nod and hurried with her into Preston’s home.
    Lori sat on the sofa while Gene stood next to the window, peering outside.
    About fifteen minutes later, they heard a knock at the door. Gene let Officer Murray in. “We’ve spoken to some of the residents,” Officer Murray said. “Two people claimed to have seen a dark-colored van driving away. The driver was wearing a baseball cap.”
    “The man who’s been after Ms. Baker drives a dark van,” Gene said. “Anyone see a plate?”
    He shook his head. “Only that he had a yellow, old, basic state tag. We’ll try to have patrols drive through this area more often, but we’ve done all we can at this point.”
    As soon as the officer left, Lori picked up her purse. “I want to go by Bud’s home and check to see if those plates are still on his truck.”
    “All right. Let’s go take a look.”
    As Gene drove out of the complex, Lori thought of how things might have turned out if Gene hadn’t been driving down that street the other day.
    She glanced at him and, seeing the way his big, strong hands gripped the wheel, she swallowed back a sigh. Her gaze drifted over his strong shoulder, then downward. The bulge she’d seen in his jeans when he’d tried to talk her into a night of steamy sex also told her he was extremely well endowed. If truth be told, she’d never been more tempted to have a wild night of sex in her life.
    “What’s on your mind?” he asked, a smile hovering at the corners of his mouth.
    She drew in her breath, and didn’t look directly at him, wondering if her expression had somehow given her away. “I was just trying to understand you,” she said.
    “Uh-uh. That wasn’t it.”
    “Oh, be quiet,” she said.
    A short while later they entered Harrington’s neighborhood. Gene slowed down to a crawl as he drove past Harrington’s house.
    “The plates aren’t on the truck!” she said quickly. “You know that he’ll put them back on, so let’s stick around. He’s bound to show up.”
    “At least we know that he’s been here since I last drove by. Either that, or someone stole his mail,” Gene said, pointing.
    “But his newspapers are still on the porch,” she pointed out.
    “Maybe he needed his mail for business reasons but didn’t want to bother with the rest. I have a feeling that he’s found somewhere else to stay, so he might not come back again for days. Even if we sat here all night, our only guarantee is that you’re going to be real sleepy at work tomorrow.”
    She let her breath out in a whoosh. “Yeah, you’re right, and since he already knows your vehicle, he’ll steer clear if he spots us before we do him,” she said. “Our problem is that he also knows where Preston lives—that is, if we assume he was the one there tonight.”
    “I’m not ready to conclude that,” he said, “but something still feels off to me. That includes the fact that it doesn’t really look like he’s currently living here.” After a long silence, he continued. “We agree on one thing, though. Going back to Preston’s tonight is too risky. We need a new place.”
    “I don’t