“Right.” The CSU tech snorted, his unruly gray hair flapping in the breeze. As Brent transferred his weight from one foot to the other, Hank turned his attention to him. “Do I know you?”

“Brent Lange.” He held out his hand. “Detective now, but patrol for most of my career.”

“Knew I’d seen you around.” He gave him a firm shake. “In case Colin didn’t fill you in, I don’t like interlopers at my crime scenes.”

The man was living up to his reputation as brusque, eccentric—and territorial.

“Understood.”

“You can look, but don’t touch.”

“Got it.”

“Good.” Hank gave the scene a sweep. “Lacey here yet?”

“No.” Colin jumped back in. “Sarge said she was tied up at another scene but should be here within the hour.”

“Can’t do much around the body until the medical examiner’s office weighs in.” Hank shouldered past them, grumbling under his breath.

Colin watched the tech disappear into the warehouse and rolled his eyes. “Talk about a curmudgeon.”

“I only saw him from a distance as a patrol officer—but I heard he was top-notch at his job.”

“He is. That’s why we all put up with him.” Colin tipped his head. “You look tired. That crack-of-dawn chauffeur gig must be catching up with you. Any new leads?”

“No.”

“You pulled a tough one for your first case. But you did meet Eve.” The corners of Colin’s lips rose.

Brent jammed his hand in his pocket. How was he supposed to respond to that loaded comment? Yes, he was glad he’d met her—but despite her confidence that he could be the kind of man she wanted . . . and her assurance she could handle the dangers of his job . . . he was nowhere close to convinced moving forward would be in her best interest.

“Hey.” Colin’s amusement vanished. “Sorry. I must have read too much into the situation.”

Why not be honest with his colleague? Colin had opened up to him not long ago—and he could use all the guidance he could get.

“No, you didn’t. Your take is spot-on. There are just some . . . issues.”

“Other than the danger-on-the-job one we talked about?”

“Yeah.”

“You want my advice? Don’t overthink it or create complications where they don’t exist. If you like the woman, go with your gut. Or, as my wife would more genteelly put it, follow your heart.” He motioned toward the warehouse. “Let’s do a walk-through.”

It took Brent a second to switch gears. “Will Hank be okay with that?”

Colin grinned. “No. But we’ll put on booties and gloves and keep our distance.” He struck off for the building.

Brent fell in behind him. The crime scene deserved his full attention until they were done with their assessment.