“Darnell, do me a solid?” Vaughn said.
“What?”
Darnell didn’t take his eyes off Delaney.
“Head into CiCi’s and ask the owner if they recognize Aaron or any of the other victims?”
I’m too old to be a babysitter. Andhe’ssupposed to be the senior detective.
When Darnell didn’t move, Vaughn prodded again.
“Darnell?”
The man finally stopped glaring at Delaney.
“Yeah, whatever.”
He stomped off.
“Sorry about that. Show me Aaron’s car.”
?Chapter 31
“He’s holding youback, you know.”
Delaney indicated a maroon Chevy parked in the back of the lot beside two other vehicles.
“What do you mean?”
“Darnell—everyone knows he’s a fucking drunk. Captain likes to keep you partnered up because you keep him in check. Captain also knows he can’t cut him after what happened. You’d be sergeant by now if you requested a new partner. Nobody would blame you, either. You’ve done your time.”
“Let me worry about Darnell. Just stay out of his way.”
“I’m trying. I try my best to just keep clear of that trainwreck.”
He wasn’t. Delaney had a way of just showing up at crime scenes that Vaughn and Darnell were working. PPD had fifty officers, but only six detectives. Delaney appeared at nearly every single case that Vaughn took on. He’d once asked a couple of the other detectives if Delaney showed up at their scenes, too—there was no question the man was dedicated and had detective aspirations—but they’d told him no.
Darnell had laughed when Vaughn had mentioned this, called Delaney a dick rider.
Well, dick rider or not, he was a hard worker. And that’s what they needed right now. Someone to actually do something.
“You sure this is his car?”
“Yeah. Pulled Aaron’s tag number from the DMV. It’s his car.”
Delaney had parked his PPD squad car right beside the Chevy and the two other civilian vehicles.
“You have a shim in your trunk?”
“Yep.”
Vaughn peered through the Chevy’s windows while Delaney went to go get it. Like the man’s apartment, Aaron kept his car clean and neat.
He stepped aside to allow Delaney access to the window. The man slid the flat metal shim between the window and the frame, jiggled it a little, and then pushed. The door lock disengaged.
Vaughn was impressed. He hated the damn thing—always took him six or seven tries to get it to work. This was also the reason why he kept a crowbar in the trunk. The brute force method had always been Vaughn’s favorite.
He let Delaney search the vehicle. The cop opened the center console first and hit gold: Aaron’s cell phone.
