“What about approaching her? Bringing her in for questioning?”
“Not yet. If we tip our hand too early, she’ll lawyer up and we’ll get nothing. Or worse, she’ll warn Shaw we’re onto them.” Holloway’s expression was grim. “We do this right. Build the case. Get irrefutable evidence. Then we take them both down.”
Carson wanted to move faster. Wanted to arrest Maggie and Shaw immediately, make them answer for what they’d done.
But Holloway was right. They needed to be patient. Strategic.
“How long for surveillance?”
“Two weeks minimum. See if Shaw makes a trip during that time. If we can catch him meeting with Maggie, we’ll have visual proof of their connection.”
Carson nodded, already thinking about the next steps. “I want to re-interview the twelve victims. See if any of them remember going to The Brew & View around the time their cases went cold. If Maggie was scouting victims for Shaw to target—”
“That’s a stretch.”
“Maybe. But it’s worth checking.” Carson headed for the door. “I’ll start with Avery Shone. She reported the break-in three years ago, right before she moved into Nora’s building. If Eugene was already stalking her then, and Shaw destroyed the evidence, maybe Maggie was involved somehow.”
“Be careful, Carson. Don’t let this consume you.”
Carson met the captain’s eyes and promised, “I won’t.”
But they both knew it was already too late for that.
***
Nora knew something was wrong the moment Carson walked through the door that evening.
He had that look—the distant, obsessive one that meant he’d disappeared into a case and might not fully resurface for days.
“Hey,” she said from the couch where she’d been working on her laptop. “How was your day?”
“Fine.” He headed straight for the dining table where his case files were still spread out. “Did you eat?”
“I had a sandwich. There’s leftover pasta in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
“I’m not.”
He started rearranging files, adding new notes to his investigation board. Nora watched him for a moment, recognizing the signs. The single-minded focus. The way he barely registered her presence. Not even a kiss hello.
She’d seen him like this before. When they’d been hunting Eugene. But that had been different. She’d been the victim. The stakes had been personal in a way that made his obsession justified.
This was something else. And it was pushing him away from her.
She wouldn’t lie. It stung. Even knowing what to expect going into this relationship, she still somehow struggled when it was happening right in front of her.
“Carson.”
“Hmm?”
“Look at me,” she said softly.
He did, but she could see his mind was still on the case. Still turning over evidence and theories.
“When was the last time you slept a full eight hours?”
He frowned, thinking. “I don’t know. A few days ago?”
“Try a week. When was the last time we had dinner together? Really together, not you eating while reviewing files?”
