Page 3 of Protect My Heart

No wasted words for this guy. She could be to the point as well. She schooled her expressions and waited as he crossed the room to her. He took his own sweet time, and she fought the urge to fidget under his stare. “I’m here to speak to Luis Lopez and his grandmother, Ana.”

“You’re the child advocate,” he stated.

“Dr. Elizabeth Garcia.” She offered her hand.

“Detective Jim Swenson.” His grip was brief before he dropped her hand and shoved his own in his pockets. “The witness and his grandmother are in an apartment upstairs. The entrance is outside around the corner. Follow me.”

He turned on his heels and moved at a fast pace. His long legs took purposeful strides, and she half ran to keep up with him.

“Doctor Garcia. You’re a psychologist?” He stared straight ahead.

“Yes, I obtained my doctorate in Psychology. My primary job is to ensure the minor has a representative who has their well-being in mind.” She hiked her purse strap higher on her shoulder as she hustled to keep up with his long strides.

He grunted his acknowledgement.

“What has Luis said so far?” Just because his grandmother called her right away didn’t mean the police wouldn’t question him anyway.

He halted abruptly, causing her smooth-soled dress boots to slide on the snow as she tried to stop.

She wobbled. Crap! The sidewalk was coming up fast. Why did she come back to the great north tundra?

A strong hand clasped around her upper arm and Detective Swenson pulled her against his chest to steady her. Yup, he was very toned under that parka. She looked up into his stormy, brown eyes and opened her mouth to thank her savior but her words fell away.

His gaze held hers. She clenched her gloved hand, and fought the urge to reach up and stroke the line of his jaw. Would the whiskers be rough?

He broke the eye contact and held her away from his warmth. His gaze took a long, slow trip down her body. The trail of warmth that flooded her system surprised Liz. She fought to conceal the quake that ensued.

When his gaze landed on her boots, his brows pulled in and he shook his head. Mumbling something about stupid fashion, he dropped his hands and stepped back. “We haven’t questioned the witness, yet. We had to wait for you.”

With grace and sure footedness, he stepped around her, leaving her to follow.

Well, so much for being her hero. She hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and tried to keep up as he made his way to the door on the side of the building. This should be fun.

Chapter 2

Jim scanned the apartment as he balanced on a rickety wooden chair. Knickknacks adorned the well-used furniture. The home had a lived-in look but not a speck of dirt in sight. Luis’ jacket hung on the peg by the door, a city bus pass dangled from the zipper. The door had the standard deadbolt and peephole. No extra security, that surprised him, most people in this neighborhood had an extra lock or two.

Mrs. Lopez set down cups of tea on the coffee table before lowering herself to the cushion.

“Thank you.” Jim picked up the cup and raised it to his lips, not that he wanted any. His pen and notepad sat on his knee as he watched the doc work. The boy, skinny as a telephone pole, hid behind his grandmother’s recliner.

Jim had put on his best smile. “Hey there, Luis. I’m Detective Swenson.” The boy shrank further behind the chair as Jim offered his hand.

A warm smile crossed Doc’s face as she spoke in English. “Luis, my name is Doctor Garcia.”

Luis blinked big brown eyes, assessing them no doubt.

She switched it up. In a calm voice, she asked him about his favorite subjects in school. At least Jim thought that was the question. His high school Spanish was a little rusty. Doc switched between the two languages as she asked Luis about his turtle and his favorite candy bar. With each question, the boy moved a little closer to her. Jim thought he would end up on her lap before the night was over.

Not a bad place to be, Jim mused. Doc was a petite thing with loads of black curls falling from her ponytail. He’d had to school his expression when she removed her long coat and revealed the lush curves underneath. Damn, if she wasn’t the pinup model of his dreams. Too bad, she had that private college air about her. Snooty, stuck-up, or Ivy League women were not on his list of possible dates. Been there, done that, got the tire tracks on his heart to prove it.

“I know you’ve seen something terrible tonight and would like to forget all about it, but we really need your help. Can you tell us what you saw?” Doc sat on the chair across from the boy, her attention focused solely on the child.

Luis nodded, looked down at his hands, and started talking. Jim set his cup down and picked up his pen. Taking notes was a way of life for an officer, even though they recorded the conversation. Besides, he never knew when something the witness said would spark a thought.

As the boy relayed his story, the details of the crime played out as Jim had anticipated. A typical drive-by shooting. He noted the color and style of the vehicle. Of course, a nine-year-old didn’t know the make and model, but Jim would show the boy photos of cars tomorrow and see if any of them match.

After asking Luis a few more questions, Jim and Doc stood to leave. “I’ll need you to bring Luis to the police station tomorrow. I want to show him photos of cars and suspects.”