“Mr. Caldwell might have seen the car.”
“Peachy. Show me out at the hospital.”
“Copy.” She went back to her chair and clacked on her keyboard with long magenta nails and nimble fingers.
He went through the main doors and crossed the street. Rand Caldwell had a lean runner’s frame and a casual pose. He waited on the bench, compromising a non-existent crime scene. Tom stopped in front of him and sighed. Giving up, he sat on the bench, too.
Rand grinned. “How’s your day?”
Tom turned his head and had no trouble keeping his cop face. “Santa’s a wanted man.”
“I heard. Afraid my description of the car isn’t going to help much.”
“Give it to me anyway.”
“Black. Toyota Runner. Didn’t see the plates.”
“And how do you know it’s connected to Santa?”
“Believe it or not, nobody currently in the ER. Visiting hours don’t open for another hour. Process of elimination. Myrtle says the car idled in the parking lot a long time. I happened by, she told me, and I came to check things out. The car was leaving, then the picture popped on social media – wish I knew who this was because I could use this person as our hospital social media expert – and I put the two together.”
“Not a solid connection, but probable. I can use that.”
Rand whipped out his phone and went to the hospital picture. “Check out the caption.”
He took the phone and read.Santa loves the heart of Echo Falls. Don’t ruin it with stuff that doesn’t matter.
Tom couldn’t even find a snort. “I wish I could say that this stuff doesn’t matter. Wish I could let this case go. It’s giving me a headache.”
“But he was stolen. I get it. Do what you gotta do.”
“Text me the picture.”
“Can do.”
Tom went back across the lot. Three cars pulled in. He turned and yelled back to Rand. “You jinxed yourself by telling me you weren’t busy.”
“Probably.” Rand waved and went back inside.
Tom trotted across the street and went into the station. “Norah, can you do something for me?”
“I’m filing my nails, but yes.” She was wide-eyed and tapping her finger on her workstation, but the sarcasm made him smile.He had to let this go and think of it as a bit of Christmas fun. Because, deep down, he agreed with the message. This decorating thing was out of hand.
He leaned in through the public window. “Take all the social media pictures and do a posting timeline. I want a when and where chart.”
Norah grabbed her pen, nonchalance dropped. “Carmen has a partial one already done. I’ll fill in the blanks.”
Tom agreed. “I’m going on patrol. Add a Black Toyota Runner to the watch list, no plate, yet.”
“DMV run?”
“Yes, only the county. I’m still convinced it’s someone who lives here and a high school student.”
“I’ll get on that.” An ambulance, lights flashing, pulled in at the hospital. An Echo Falls police car followed behind.
Tom grabbed his keys and walked back across to the hospital. After a check-in with Rafe and a conversation with Bret about high school vehicles, he’d hit the streets.
When his phone rang, he grabbed it. “Grandma? You okay?” He listened quietly while she talked and made an immediate decision to change the route he’d planned.
