Catherine Nelson - Zoe Grey 02 - The Trouble with Theft Read Online Free PDF Page B

around.”
    “No,” he said, like a
spoiled kid. “I won’t.”
    “Please, sir, it’s
better if you cooperate.”
    “What are you going to
do, make me? You’re a girl, and you’re crippled, too. Go away. Quit bothering
me.”
    He turned. Taking the
cuffs in my crippled left hand, I reached for him with my right, placing my
hand on his shoulder. He reacted immediately. Grunting, he spun around, his
right hand in a fist, swinging toward my face. I deflected the blow, stepping
out of the way. His momentum carried him forward when he missed his target, and
he stumbled. When he righted himself, he charged me, both hands outstretched
toward me.
    I grabbed two of his
fingers and pushed them back in one of my most trusted moves. He dropped to his
knees, crying out in pain. Maintaining the grip, I stepped around him, bringing
his hand behind his back. With my left hand, I reached up and pulled the sling
over my head, allowing me full use of my crippled arm. I secured the cuffs
around both of his wrists then jerked him up. I held him by the back of the
shirt as I marched him back down the hall to Hobbs’s office. This would
seriously alter Hobbs’s routine. I hoped she could roll with it.
    She turned toward the
door when it opened, her eyes wide when she saw Fink. I steered Fink in and sat
him down on the sofa then shut the door. I replaced the sling and adjusted the
ice as I went back to my chair and sat down. Hobbs looked at me.
    “What’s going on?”
    Fink launched into a
very loud rant about his rights and injustice and a bunch of other crap. I cut
him off then told him to keep quiet. He didn’t seem as interested in
challenging me now as he had been in the waiting room, even if I was just a
crippled girl.
    “He’s an FTA,” I
explained. “I’ll take him in when our session’s over.”
    Fink recovered before
she did.
    “What?” he said with a
groan. “You want me t—no. No, no, no. Just take me in! Please!”
    I’ll admit, this was
the first time anyone had begged me to take them to jail.
    “Quiet, Fink. I have
to pay full price if I leave early. You’re not worth that much money.”
     

3
     
    “I got Fink,” I said to Amerson over
the phone.
    He asked and I briefly
explained how I happened across Fink.
    “See,” he said.
“That’s exactly what we need for Danielle Dillon.”
    “Don’t hold your
breath.” I sure wasn’t. “Does Dillon have a vehicle registered with the
DMV?”
    I was sitting in the
truck outside the detention center, Dillon’s file open on my lap, leaning
against the steering wheel. I’d read through it, including the notes of those
who had already tried locating her. All of her information was useless; it was
like starting from scratch. With less than three days to do it.
    “I don’t think so.
There should be a note in her file.” I heard the tapping of a keyboard over the
line.
    “I don’t see one.”
    “Okay, I’ll find out
and call you back.”
    I thanked him and
disconnected.
    There were four
addresses known to be associated with Dillon, all local. There was also her
grandmother’s house, which was about to become Sands and Meeker’s new house if
I couldn’t find Dillon in time. No other friends or family were listed. In the
spirit of being thorough, I started the truck and motored off to the first
address before I hit campus. I didn’t think I’d find Dillon today, but I’d
start turning over the rocks on my way to pick up Dix, who I did think I’d
find.
    The address was near
the country club and on a lake. Technically a reservoir, the lake isn’t big as
far as lakes go, but it means the price tags on the houses in this neighborhood
are huge. Born and raised in Fort Collins, I’d never been to this neighborhood
or the Country Club. I don’t like golf, but I especially don’t like rich
people. I used to run with that crowd, wearing thousands of dollars’ worth of
clothes, jewelry, makeup, and perfume, eating and drinking in places with
black-tie