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He drove to the station with the windshield wipers on high. After a sun-filled day, the sudden dip in the temperature and steady rain promised slick roadway conditions.
“Looks like tonight’s going to be fun,” he murmured, munching his pizza on the way to the station. Veggie or not, it was good.
He carried the cookies, nodding at his team as he headed toward his desk. After hanging his coat on the hook by his workstation, he shifted a stack of papers and put the container on the edge of his desk.
“I know you didn’t make them,” Patton said, pulling a cookie out.
“Nope.” Spencer smiled. “Tatum did.”
Patton grinned.
“Aren’t you supposed to be off?” Spencer asked.
Patton shrugged, biting into the cookie. “Wrapping up a few loose ends.”
“Patton, you could spend a month on loose ends.” He pulled out the file he’d been working on. “Anything you need to catch me up on?”
“Where do I start?” Patton shook his head, sitting in the chair by Spencer’s desk.
Spencer listened as Patton listed off what had rolled in since he’d left. There was a missing child linked to a known drug transporter—top priority. A neighborhood had over a dozen cars vandalized the night before, leaving a path of empty aerosol cans they were fingerprinting.
“Kids huffing?” Spencer asked. “Guess I’ll check hospitals later, see if anyone turns up.”
Patton nodded. “A twenty-four-year-old woman was found in the parking lot next to The Grind. Her blood work tested positive for Rohypnol, so they’re doing a rape kit.”
Spencer ran a hand over his face.
“And, last but not least, we have a van-load of teens in custody. They were coming back from a Dallas concert, smoke pouring out of their windows. Nothing like a moving hotbox to grab Highway Patrol’s interest.”
Spencer laughed. “People never fail to amaze me. They’re damn lucky no one got killed.”
“I don’t remember what we were doing at that age, but I’d like to think we weren’t that careless with other people’s lives.”
Spencer nodded. “We weren’t. I can remember Zach trying to ski off the roof the year of the big blizzard. And I believe you—”
“Stopped you from breaking your neck more than once.”
Spencer nodded, smiling. “Great. So I can expect a bunch of pissed-off parents who know it’s not their kids’ pot anytime?” Spencer asked, scanning over his notes. “The roofie thing, that’s the third one this month.”
Patton nodded, frowning.
“Any MO?” Spencer asked. “Same victim profile?”
Patton shook his head. “Doesn’t appear so. Here.” He handed him the file. “Feel free.”
“What about the kid?” Spencer asked, looking at the whiteboard the clerk kept up as new information rolled in.
“It’s a 1984 blue Dodge minivan with a gray bumper. We’ve had a few calls. Seems to be heading in our general direction.” Patton sighed, staring at the abducted four-year-old girl’s picture. “Sure would love to get her home safe.”
Spencer nodded. “Custody thing?”
Patton nodde
d. “Dad lost rights because of his dealing. No one knows if he’s using or not. And no violent record, just drugs. I’m hoping he’s just a desperate dad doing a very stupid thing.”
Spencer didn’t say anything. Abduction cases were nasty, no matter what.
“Let me know if you hear something?” Patton asked.
