Stone Cold Heart (Tracers #13)(65)

Nolan returned to his truck for a container of quick-dry dental stone. He added a bottle of water to the jug and gave it a shake, then carefully poured the goop over the tread mark.

“Where’d you learn that?” she asked. “I must have missed that day at the academy.”

He didn’t look up. “I’ve had some seminars over the years.”

“I should do that.”

Nolan didn’t comment. Talia watched him, noticing the tight set of his jaw as he poured the plaster. Sweat beaded at his temples, and he had to be hating the heat in those stuffy clothes.

“How is she?”

He knew she was asking about Sara, and he didn’t look up. He finished pouring and set the jug aside. “Don’t know.”

Talia tried to read his expression. She’d been sure Nolan and Sara had a thing going, especially with her car at his house last night. Maybe she was wrong. Even if he and Sara didn’t have a thing going, he had to be worried about someone rear-ending her last night and then the break-in this morning. It hadn’t taken long for the details of both incidents to spread through the department grapevine.

“You’re pretty fixated on finding this Tahoe,” Talia said.

“I am.”

“And it’s not personal?”

He looked up at her.

“I’m just pointing out this is a lot of effort to track down a vehicle if we don’t even know for sure it’s our guy,” she said.

“It’s our guy.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

Talia watched him work. He seemed tense, and she had a strong suspicion it had more to do with Sara than the case.

“So . . . Sara went back to San Marcos, I take it?”

“Yeah.”

“Does she know about Michelle?”

His look darkened. “No. Why?”

“Just wondering.”

Nolan never talked about his ex-girlfriend or the reasons he’d left Austin PD. At least, he never discussed it in Talia’s presence. She’d had to discreetly ask around to learn that he’d left his job after the cop he was dating was investigated by IA for corruption. She’d lost her job over it. Officially, Nolan’s name had been cleared, but he’d left the force anyway. Talia had never figured out whether it was the breakup or the blowback from his coworkers that ultimately made him want to leave.

“If you like her, you should tell her about Michelle,” Talia said. “It’d be better coming from you.”

“I know.”

He got quiet again, clearly wanting a change of subject. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything personal, but she liked Nolan and didn’t want to see him blow it with Sara. Men could be so clueless when it came to relationships.

Nolan glanced at his watch. “Fifteen minutes to dry.” He looked at her. “I talked to Biggs this afternoon. Nothing new at the park.”

Talia stood up and folded her arms. Nolan stood, too, and they gazed down at the drying plaster. She glanced up and down the highway. Not a single vehicle had driven past since she’d parked. This was a quiet backroad.

“This unsub feels local to me,” she said. “He knows this area. I feel like this is right in his backyard.”

Nolan grabbed the jug and walked back to his truck. “That’s the chief’s take, too,” he said, putting the jug in his toolbox.

“What? That the killer’s from here?”

“He thinks he started in Tennessee, but maybe he’s from here originally, or at least he’s lived here a while.”

“What about you? You think he’s from here?”

“Looks that way.” Nolan checked his watch again.

“I’m not sure why you’re bothering with that cast when it doesn’t prove anything,” she said. “Even if the tread mark is his, no way it’s admissible at trial.”

“Something you should learn: the best three leads to follow are vehicles, fingerprints, DNA. In that order.”

“Says who?”

“Me. And anyone else who’s been on the job a few years.”

“I’d think DNA would come first.”

“Yeah, well, DNA’s slow. So if you’re talking about a trial, DNA’s great. In terms of an active investigation, the other two are faster. Vehicles are tough to hide and easy to trace. They’re easy to link to people. And if a vehicle you’re looking for is a crime scene, you find it, and you’ve got a treasure trove of physical evidence. So trust me, we’re not wasting our time here.”

Talia did trust him, even if he could be a little arrogant at times. Nolan was smart, experienced, and dedicated to the job. But he was also impatient.

“You’ll see what I mean when we get our hands on the vehicle,” he said. “We’ll have this guy cold.”

“When, not if? You sound confident.”

“You’re not?”

“No, sure. But I’m a realist, too,” she said. “We’ve got some good leads, but somehow this guy’s managed to elude police in multiple states for at least five years.”

“Doesn’t matter, he’s got us now.” Nolan slammed shut the toolbox. “One way or another, we’re going to nail him.”