In the passenger seat, one hand perched on the door handle, Cord, too, observed the house. ‘Reminds me of the witch’s house when she invited Hansel and Gretel in for candy.’ Alyssa chuckled since it was exactly what she’d been thinking. It was funny – and sometimes a little unsettling – how often the two of them were on the same wavelength.

Two young men perched on the front porch, legs propped up on the wooden railing which was in bad need of a fresh paint job. They eyed Alyssa and Cord as they stepped out of the vehicle and onto the sidewalk, and when they were within feet of the front porch, the guy on the right lifted a can of a popular energy drink to his mouth and guzzled, wiping his hand across his mouth when he finished. Then holding her gaze, he let out a loud belch.

If his intent was to get a reaction, he would have to try harder than that. At the top of the steps, the shorter of the two guys flickered his eyes from his friend to the badge resting at her hip to the car parked in the street before finally landing back on her, his mouth opening and closing comically as if he was practicing for the part of a fish in a play. She was going to go out on a limb and guess that, based merely on Angela Kazminski’s personality description, this guy was not the one they were here to talk to.

Alyssa planted herself in front of the guys while Cord took up residence to the right of her, the two of them effectively blocking off the stairs. The shorter guy’s eyes refused to hold still as they bounced from the badges back to his friend who reclined with his chair tipped back, legs crossed at the ankles on the railing. Suddenly, the short, nervous one shot to his feet as if his chair had been set on fire, and Alyssa’s arm immediately snaked out, prepared to stop him if he tried to bolt.

In contrast, the other guy yawned then shook his head as he studied Alyssa and Cord with bored indifference, or at least that’s what he wanted it to look like, but the way his eyes shifted ever so slightly to the badges, as well, told her he wasn’t as unaffected by their presence as he pretended to be. He tugged a piece of string from the holes in his jeans. ‘Can I help you, officers?’

‘Chance Williams?’

Nervous Guy’s head wobbled on his neck as he shook his head no, reminding Alyssa of a Parkinson’s patient she’d once met on a domestic disturbance call when she was still in a patrol car. ‘Naw, man, I’m Darnell.’ He shot a sideways glance toward his friend who’d let his chair plop down on all fours as he planted his flip-flopped feet on the porch.

‘Yeah, I’m Chance.’ In a move that was disgusting and, she was sure, meant to throw her off, he let his gaze rove over her body, lifting his eyebrows and whistling in appreciation. Beside her, Cord stiffened. ‘Something I can help you with?’ If his tone didn’t imply that he thought he was cute and sexy, the way he narrowed his eyes and licked his lips sure did.