Page 5 of Freeing Hawk
In the end, I’d wasted two hours going through the vehicle but found nothing.
Back at my desk, I accessed the evidence from the car they’d catalogued. The car was free of fingerprints except for the steering wheel. There was one print there from Kingston which was weird.
If he’d been driving that vehicle his prints should have been everywhere.
Instead, it was as though he’d driven the car without touching anything.
There was no hair, sweat—nothing.
Someone had gone through the vehicle and wiped it down. No matter where I checked, there weren’t any fingerprints to be had—not even at the back of the mirrors. I slammed my gloved fists into the dash and screamed as loudly as I could.
That did nothing to ease the angry tension making my back and head throb.
By the time morning dawned over Tulsa, I was already through my fourth cup of coffee but was no closer to figuring out what had happened to my partner—I had no clue where he’d gone or even if he went there willingly.
I checked in with Captain Heron then left for Kingston’s place. When I arrived, Mia opened the front door wearing gloves. I knew what she was doing—cleaning. When she was worried, Mia cleaned everything even when they didn’t need to be cleaned.
Mia hugged me. “Hey, thanks for coming.”
“Of course.”
We wandered into the house after she closed the door and we stopped in the living room. I shifted my badge to stop it from poking into my side. I’d been wearing the damn thing ever since I returned from the army and I wasn’t used to it yet. Maybe the fact I’d gained a few pounds had something to do with it.
“Coffee?” Mia asked.
“Girl, if I drink anymore of that stuff, I’m pretty sure I’ll fly.”
She laughed.
“I headed to the station after you called to see what was going on.” I stretched my legs out. “They don’t know where Kingston is either. I’m not going to pretend I’m not worried—we both know Kingston would never willingly disappear without contacting either of us.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
“I’ve gone through his desk, the car he was last using, his locker, his secret snack stash.”
“And things aren’t adding up, right?”
I nodded. “I just don’t know what. There are no fingerprints in his car.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Mia frowned. “If he was driving the thing there should be prints everywhere—inside. Outside.”
Again, I agreed with a nod. “That’s one of the things worrying me. Someone has gone through the effort of wiping down the vehicle.”
“Which could mean if someone took him, they were in the car.”
“Agreed.” I frowned. “What in the hell is going on?”
“When they came to question me.” Mia sniffled. “They talked to me as if King just got tired of the life and ran away. These are people who’ve worked with King since he was on the damn force thought he dumped his wife and took off like some asshole! How they’ve spent so much time with him and not know the kind of man he is beyond me.”
“Mia, don’t pay them any attention.” I told her. “They’re paid to treat everyone like a suspect.”
“They weren’t even treating me like a suspect!” She snapped. “They were acting like I was crazy. I know for a fact King loves me and this child. He didn’t run away. I may have had my moment of weakness, but King loves me.”
“You don’t have to convince me.” I promised her. “I work with him every day and sees how excited he is to be your man and to be the father of this child.”
“You believe me?”
I hugged her as much as I could, then framed her face. “I believe you. Now, let’s find him, okay?”
