“Yeah.”
“Hey, did you get the kid out of the freezer?” Bryn called.
“Yeah. He was a little frosty but fine. Just another day at the zoo.”
Romano retreated into his office and Gunnar led the way back to the store. Once Bryn had satisfied his need for pastries they headed for the lot and back to the bike.
“You want to take the long route back?” Gunnar asked as they both donned their leathers.
Bryn straddled the bike behind his partner. “Can’t believe I’m saying this but no. Let’s get back. I want to find out what Emmett has been doing while we’ve been gone.”
“Having a case of our own has got you excited, hasn’t it?” Gunnar revved the engine.
“Yeah. I like having something of ours to do. Helping out other people is fine, but you’re a detective. It’s fun watching you detect and I want to be part of it.” Bryn wrapped his arms around Gunnar’s waist and his pulse quickened. The throb of the powerful machine between his legs and Gunnar’s proximity, along with the scent of leather, was a heady combination.Why am I so attracted to him? This is so not the time for an internal monologue.Bryn blanked his mind and focused on the bike’s speed and the sense of freedom that came with it.
* * * *
Back in their office, Gunnar handed round coffee and crullers. Emmett inhaled his pastry then reached for another. “Love these!”
“Did you not take a break while we were gone?” Gunnar asked.
“Too much to do. I kinda forgot.”
“Emmett, step away from the computer,” Bryn said. “Or Gunnar will have to shoot you. I would, but they won’t let me have a gun.”
Emmett eyed him. “Why not?”
“In case I off myself.” Bryn’s tone was matter-of-fact as he reached for another pastry.
“Why would you want to do that? You’re special. Unique. You’re going to be able to do so much good.” Emmett stood and stretched. His neck cracked.
“Wow. I wonder if they have a chiropractor on staff,” Bryn said.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll do some yoga later.” Emmett did a quick circuit of the room then resumed his seat. “I’ve set everything up on shared servers, so you’ll both beable to see everything I’m doing. There’s a spreadsheet listing all the cases from the folders and a brief summary along with a priority score. I’ve then ranked them by distance and grouped some together from the same departments and agencies. There’s a link to the full file and I’ve started scanning everything in so it’s more accessible. I’ve set up a separate area for your own cases—of course there’s only one of those so far—and made tabs for all the relevant bits of the investigation cross-tabulated so it all links together. Easier to search. I…”
“Slow down, Emmett!” Gunnar grinned. “You’ve done more in a few hours than I could have managed in a month. Pace yourself.”
“Oh, right. Yeah. My brain works fast, sorry.”
“Don’t be—this is all great but I’m just a wolf, not a genius.”
“Yeah. What he said,” Bryn chimed in. “I mean, I’m not a wolf. The not a genius bit.”
“I’ve seen your files, remember. Neither of you is as dumb as you make out.” Emmett rubbed his neck. “But admin is my thing. It’s so satisfying getting everything organized.”
“I think you’re stranger than I am,” Bryn muttered.
“Thanks for that contribution, Bryn. Did you get the security camera footage from the market, Emmett?”
“I did. I haven’t viewed it, just loaded it into the folder.”
“No problem. We saw it at Walmart.” Gunnar handed over a slip of paper. “This is the name and address of a cashier we need to talk to. Could you track her down and set up an appointment for us?”
“Sure.” Emmett took the note.
“And when we have time, I’ll take you through the tape and point out some individuals we need to try facial rec on.”
“Okay. Uh, Warden dropped by. He said you have to spend at least eighty percent of your time on requests for Bryn’s help until the backlog is cleared. I took the liberty of arranging for those jurors I mentioned to come in later this afternoon. It’s a mafia case and the prosecuting lawyers want to know if any of them have been threatened or bribed. There’s a few more than I thought.” He fiddled with his pen. “It’ll be about nine truth reads, Bryn. I hope that’s not too much. I know I said five earlier. It’s not the full pool, but these are the ones that may have been within reach of the mafia boss’s enforcers.”
