He trotted over. “That was so cool!” He was sweaty, his hair loose and his arms and legs were covered in scratches.
“You came in fourth!” Emmett exclaimed.
“Yeah? I lost track but I was hoping for top ten. I’ll grab a water and an energy bar and say goodbye to a few folks. Would one of you mind getting my sweats and fleece from the car?”
“I’ll go,” Emmett volunteered. He trotted off.
“He’s good for the team,” Bryn commented. “He’s not jaded or fake. I hope we don’t ruin him.”
“Upset him and you’ll have me to deal with,” Warden said. From his tone he could have been reciting a grocery list, not making a veiled threat.
“You say that about me, boss?” Bryn had no problem treading on dangerous ground.
“No.” Warden didn’t take the bait.
Emmett came running back clutching Gunnar’s clothes. “I got them but there’s something else!”
“Slow down, Emmett. Take a breath.” Warden gripped his shoulder.
“Sorry, sir.” Emmett gulped in a few lungfuls of air. “There’s something under the wiper blade on the car.”
“What, a flyer or something?” Bryn asked.
“No, a plain white envelope. And it’s addressed to you, Bryn. I didn’t touch it.”
“You did good,” Warden said. “How about you go find Gunnar, give him his kit and ask him to come straight back to the car. Bryn and I will go take a look.” Emmett ran toward the crowd of runners. “You expecting anything?”
“Warden, who would know I’m here? After three years locked up underground, I don’t have a bunch of correspondents. Maybe someone in the crowd knew me or something, I don’t know.”
They walked over to the car and sure enough, under the wiper blade, there was a white envelope. Bryn’s name was written in black ink on the front in neat copperplate handwriting.
“The ink hasn’t run. It hasn’t been there long,” Bryn observed. He reached for it but Warden grasped his arm.
“No. I’ll get an evidence bag from my car. This will need to be forensically examined before you open it.”
“But…it’s only a letter.”
“Which could contain anthrax powder, for all you know. Not everyone thinks you’re a valuable asset to law enforcement, Bryn.” Warden fetched a bag then removed the envelope. He sealed it carefully. “I’ll take this back with me. The GCR lab can handle it.”
Gunnar and Emmett joined them. “What’s going on?” Gunnar asked.
“I’m getting love letters from a mysterious admirer,” Bryn said.
Warden caught Gunnar up. “We should get back to headquarters. Emmett, you can ride with me. You two, straight back and no detours. Once the letter is cleared for nefarious substances and checked for fingerprints and saliva, we’ll consider it together.”
“Yes, sir.” Emmett and Warden headed to Warden’s car.
“You’re taking this seriously?” Bryn asked Gunnar.
“Of course,” Gunnar responded. “If this turns out to be a request for help or something innocent, no problem, but I don’t think that’s likely, do you?”
Bryn frowned. “I guess not. When are we going to get one normal fucking day?”
“You really want me to answer that?”
“No.” Bryn got into the passenger seat of the 4x4. He tugged on his seatbelt, cursing when it didn’t cooperate. Gunnar got behind the wheel then leaned across him to deal with the belt. He smelled of spice and sweat.
“You have to be gentle with it.”
