“Any stolen vehicle reports for her car?” Fox asked.
“None. Which means th?—”
“Either she doesn’t know, or the person put the plates back and is known to Ruth,” Jag interjected.
“Wouldn’t have thought about the second point,” Hound commented. “But it’s a possibility.”
Jag hadn’t known where the idea that the perp knew Ruth Carson had come from, because as Hound said, they didn’t normally go down that route. The idea had been something that had popped up out of nowhere, and he’d run with it.
“Cass, do you have an ID on the delivery person?” Deal questioned, drumming his fingers on the table. Not in an impatient way, it was something he did when he was thinking. He and the others were used to it now.
“Not yet. The picture is a bit grainy to run through the facial recognition program. I’ve been working on making it better with less than clear photos, but it still needs some tweaking.”
“We should run a background check on Ruth Carson as well, see if anyone in her family has a record,” Ox said.
Angel walked back into the room and immediately went over to the box. He ran the scanner over it slowly, making sure he didn’t miss any part of it.
“I still don’t know how that would work through cardboard and tape,” Steff murmured.
Jag smiled at her. “I don’t know the nitty gritty of it either, I just know it works.”
“Oh, I believe you. I’m just surprised things like this exist.”
They were having their own private conversation while everyone watched Angel do his thing.
“It’s all clear. There’s nothing to suggest there’s any chemicals in liquid or powder form in the box. Nor any explosive materials either.” Angel placed the device on the table.
Steff inhaled sharply and looked at Jag. She lifted her chin as if mentally preparing herself for what was to come next.
If he had his way, he’d keep her as far away from the box as possible. He didn’t know what was inside. It could be harmless, but somehow he didn’t think so.
“I guess we better open it then.” She smiled bravely, but he knew how hard that was for her.
“We can do it without you, if you’d prefer,” Jag said, repeating his thoughts out loud. He grabbed her other hand so he was holding both and waited until she turned to face him. “You don’t have to do this. I won’t think any less of you if you’renot here. And I’m not saying that to be demeaning, or that I don’t believe you can handle it. I do. I’m just giving you an option if you want.”
Had he just dug himself into a hole so deep that he couldn’t get out of it? He didn’t think so, but he didn’t think he’d expressed himself the way he wanted to.
“Thank you, but I have to do this. If you hadn’t been there last night, I would’ve had to open it by myself. The only difference is I’m opening it in a roomful of people.”
Her words may have been casual and an attempt to lighten the mood, but he heard the quaver in her voice. “I’m glad that you’ve got us.”
“I am too.” She gave her hands a quick tug, and he immediately released his hold on her, even though he didn’t want to. “Anyone have a box cutter?” she asked the collective group.
“I do.” Cass held up something yellow and slid it across the table toward Steff.
“Thanks.” Steff deftly picked it up. Her hands trembled slightly as she let a small portion of the blade out.
The tension in the room thickened as Steff pulled the box toward her and slit the tape. Once done, she placed the cutter down; it didn’t make a sound, but the way everyone rose out of their chairs, it was as though it had crashed through the table.
Steff stared at the box, not looking like she was able to open it after all. Jag caught Fox’s gaze. His eyebrow rose, and Jag gave a slight one shoulder lift. As much as he wanted to take over and open it for her, he wouldn’t.
After a few seconds Steff lifted the flaps and stared down into it. “What?” she whispered.
Jag’s protective instinct kicked in, and he pulled the box toward him. Steff didn’t try to stop him.
Fuck, it had to be bad.
Bracing himself for whatever he was about to see, he looked inside. “What the hell?”
