Page 53 of Deadly Conflicts

“It’s over here.”

James recognized Sven’s voice and moved in that direction until he saw a familiar figure under the limited emergency light on the wall. Sven stood next to the car, his boredom evident, and waited for James to close the distance.

“Well, it certainly looks like our car,” Jake said, shaking his head as he circled the vehicle. “It still has all of the tires and rims, which defies logic.”

“The VIN matches, too,” Sven said. “I checked it myself. No one tried to file it.”

“Huh.” James moved to the driver’s side door and opened it. “How long were you listening to us before speaking, by the way?”

“Long enough to know that Mandy is a blabbermouth, but you would die denying it and that Jake is going to propose, which will make Ally very happy,” Sven replied, not missing a beat. “She’s my favorite – other than Sophie, of course.”

“What about Mandy?”

Sven shrugged. “I like Mandy, too. Ally has a very loud personality, though. Mandy has a weird shark fetish that worries me. Ally’s very cute when she bats her eyes.”

“I’m not sure if that should worry me or not,” Jake said, running his hand over the trunk. “There’s not one mark on this car. It doesn’t make sense. Who would risk stealing a car like this in the middle of a festival for a joyride?”

“That’s a good question,” Sven said. “As for worrying, you don’t have to. I think Ally is adorable, but I would have to kill myself if I lived with her. You’re a very patient man.”

Jake chuckled. “She’s my angel.”

“She also doesn’t shut up,” Sven said. “Don’t you ever just want to gag her so you can have an hour of peace to watch a baseball game?”

Jake shrugged. “Not really. She’s not as chatty when it’s just the two of us. She likes to talk, don’t get me wrong, but she’s perfectly happy with a book and a glass of wine.”

“I have trouble believing that,” Sven said. “What about the blonde?”

“What about her?” James asked, sliding into the driver’s seat and making a face. “Whoever took this car was short. My legs are almost up to my chest the seat is so close.”

“Don’t touch the lever,” Sven instructed. “We’ll dust it for prints.”

“I’m not new,” James said, making a face. “What were you about to say about my wife, by the way?”

“Does she ever sit quietly and read?”

“She likes to read,” James answered. “She’s quiet a lot of the time. She often likes to go to her studio and paint by herself, too. Sometimes she allows me to go with her, but most of the time she prefers to work alone and then show me the finished product.”

“I thought you guys painted naked sometimes,” Jake interjected.

James smiled. “We do, but those aren’t serious projects. When she’s working on something serious she likes quiet. She can’t even listen to music.”

“That surprises me,” Sven said. “I thought for sure she was loud and chatty all of the time.”

“Only during the really good times,” James said, opening the glove compartment and wrinkling his nose. “It’s empty.”

“The car is new,” Sven pointed out. “Did you really expect to find something inside?”

“No. I just … this is so weird.”

“It is definitely weird,” Jake said. “Still, we found it and we can return it to Vince. Once we do that there’s no reason for him to show his stupid face again.”

“I think you’re just annoyed because he’s sniffing around Ally,” James said, feeling underneath the dash. “I don’t blame you, though. He’s an asshole and I don’t like the way he’s looking at her either.”

“I’m sure we can fit him with some cement boots if you’re that worried,” Sven drawled, causing James to do a double take. Sven’s sense of humor was rarely on display, and when it did come out to play it took a little bit of time to adjust.

“I think I’ll just deliver the car and threaten him the old-fashioned way,” James said. “I do want to dust for prints first. Let’s see if we can get video from this area, too. I doubt anyone saw anything, but it doesn’t hurt to look.”

“What about the video from the festival?” Jake asked. “Did Maverick find anything?”

Maverick was Hardy Brothers Security’s technical guru. He was an immature social moron, but also a computer genius.

“I called him, but he was taking part in some World of Warcraft tournament and couldn’t look at the footage until today,” James answered. “Since he sleeps until noon, I don’t expect him to start working for another two hours.”

“Well, task him with finding video here, too,” Jake said. “If we could figure out when this car was dumped we might have a better idea of why any of this happened.”

“I’m not sure I can think of any scenario that makes sense,” James said. “Still, you’re right. Let’s dust for prints, run them, see what we can find on the video, and then get this car back to Vince. The sooner he’s out of our lives, the better.”

“Amen,” Jake intoned.

“I still think we should fit him for boots,” Sven said. “If we can’t gag your women, we could at least gag him. It’s been a boring two weeks and I’m itching to have some fun.”

“You’re a really weird dude,” James said. “Like … really weird.”

“From the man who plays shark with his wife as part of a sex game, I’ll take that as a compliment.”