However, as enjoyable as that would be, the clock was ticking, and Kevin had a bigger fish to fry. He flashed the search warrant he had printed. “I’ll need to take a look at your surveillance video. Both in the store and the parking lot.” He didn’t let the warrant leave his hand, as it was bogus and wouldn’t withstand close scrutiny.

Her eyes flickered over the document too fast to actually be registering any of the content. Her pupils were slightly dilated, and he could smell her fear. She hid it well, but nevertheless it was there. He could see her accelerated pulse beating in her neck. Too bad . . . So tempting. Would love to take her out back and fuck her in the alley by the dumpsters. The woman gave a short nod, her face shut, mouth tight as if she’d read his mind. “Best I take you to our manager, Joseph. If you would follow me, sir.”

*   *   *

Kevin had been fast-forwarding through the security video feed from Saturday, March 20, two days ago, when Sarah’s vehicle had been spotted and towed. There were multiple cameras throughout the store, which meant a lot of footage to sort through. He’d been sitting at the store manager’s crowded desk in the back for a couple of hours, now. His shoulders were tense, his ass tired from the flight, the drive, and now this. He heard the scrape of a foot in his peripheral vision. He could see the store manager, Joseph, with his greasy strands of hair ineffectually combed over his bald, shiny pate hovering in the doorway. “How much longer do you think you’ll be?” It was a polite enough question, but Kevin could feel the man’s rising concern, his desire to have the use of his workspace back.

Kevin didn’t bother turning around, hoping the man would take the hint and leave. “As long as it takes. I apologize for the inconvenience.” Like he really gave a crap, but no point in pissing off Joseph. He might demand to take a closer look at the badge, the search warrant, or call down to the LAPD for confirmation.

“It’s just, I don’t want to rush you, but I have orders to place, inventory tallies to do, and I am going to need access to my computer soon.”

“I underst—” Kevin was just about to drag his gaze from the computer when something on the screen captured his attention, a woman toward the far end of aisle eight. Her head was tucked down, but there was something familiar about her. It was more of an instinct that had him staring at her, as it was hard to make out details. The images were a little pixilated and a blurry black and white.

“You what? Sorry I didn’t catch—”