All credit to his partner and the rest of the unit, they didn’t laugh when he told them his theory. And as soon as he checked the videos of the robberies in action, he was sure it was more than a theory. One of the robbers had a very distinctive way of clenching and unclenching his left hand all the time, like it was falling asleep and he was trying to fend off pins and needles. That movement matched what he’d seen of Corey Hamilton at the funeral earlier in the day.

Eric and Mason entered the room, mid-conversation. “Oh yeah? Was she hot?” Mason was asking.

John shook his head at his partner.

Eric raised his hands at John’s look. “What? I already told him I’m not sharing details. I don’t kiss and tell.” He grinned. “Okay, but yeah, she was hot. Just moved to town and doesn’t know anyone.”

John did a double take. “You mean you got more than her name? You almost sound like you might want to see her again.”

Eric never saw a woman more than once or twice, and it was strictly for sex, never a date. He was up front about what he could and couldn’t offer, and the women went away happy and content. In fact, John was often struck by the way women in bars could see Eric and have nothing but good feelings and happy memories where it came to Eric. It was rare to see a woman upset with him. Probably because he managed their expectations so well and never lied to get them into bed. Eric valued honesty above all else.

Eric shrugged in a we’ll see sort of way but didn’t say more as Rhys walked into the room.

“You might be right about these guys, John,” Rhys said, looking at a tablet in his hands. “No prior history on most of them, but one of the guys has a sealed juvenile record and an arrest for marijuana possession before it was legal.”

The guys in the unit all had mixed feelings about the legalization of marijuana in their state, but they all took the same approach. They didn’t make the laws. They only enforced them.

Rhys continued. “Erica is working on some specifics, but going by rough estimates, I’d say these guys fit the height and build of our perps.”

He held up the tablet to show the website of the accounting company the men had started together. There was a photo of all four of them in suits, posing in front of the office building John recognized from the Brewery retail center where Ava’s shop was.

The satisfaction John felt was short lived when Captain Scanlon entered the room. She gave him the look that she’d mastered. The one where you didn’t have to wonder what she was thinking. You knew she was thinking about ten different ways to punish you for disobeying her, and none of them were pretty.

“Captain,” he said, hoping he could talk his way out of whatever she had in mind.

“Shut it, Sevier. The only reason I’m going to let you go home and pretend you didn’t walk back into work without bringing me a doctor’s note is because Nate told me about the break in the case you provided.”

John reached in his pocket. “I have a doctor’s note.”

She shot a pointed look at the paper in his hand. “And it’s dated for today?”

“Uh,” John hedged. He wouldn’t flat out lie to his captain. He wasn’t that stupid.

She took the paper and read it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sevier. Not a minute before then.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Eric walked John out, speaking as soon as they were back in the bullpen. “I’ll get you updates when I can.”

John gave a single nod of his head. “It’s the missing guy. Haul the other two in. I saw them at the funeral. They’re fighting and looked like they hadn’t slept in days. Get them in here and they’ll talk.”

John couldn’t help but clench his fist. His hand and wrist felt fine, which pissed him off to no end. The doctor had refused to sign his letter for anything earlier than Friday. John would be the last person to put his team in danger. If he thought he wasn’t capable of doing the job, he wouldn’t want to be out there hunting down this asshole with them.

The doors to the unit opened, and Gabe Calder and Delaney Harrison, called “Harry” by most of the people there, entered. John grinned despite his foul mood as all of the men and women in the room broke into applause.

“Please tell me you guys are back for good,” John said, clapping Gabe on the back and jerking his chin in greeting to Harry. “Being short-handed for two months has sucked.”

The pair had been loaned out to the Vice unit for a series of undercover sting operations targeting prostitution on the east side of the city.

Harry visibly cringed. “God, I hope so. If I ever have to wear that much makeup again …” Harry was gorgeous, but she wasn’t one for makeup and dressy clothes.

She trailed off as Gabe laughed, taking out his phone.

“I got pictures, guys.”

Harry wasn’t gentle when she relieved Gabe of his phone. “Asshole. I thought we talked about this.”

Gabe’s grin was unrepentant as she started deleting the images.

“I saved them to the cloud,” he said to the others. “I’ll show you later.”

John didn’t want to know what Harry would do to Gabe if she caught him. From the look on her face, it wouldn’t be pretty.

Captain Scanlon walked into the room, a smile crossing her face as well at the sight of her returning detectives. “Just got word from the brass. They filled the openings in Vice. You guys shouldn’t have to go back anytime soon.”

Being short two detectives over the last two months had meant all of them carrying extra cases. It would be good to move some of those off their desks.

The captain turned to John. “You waiting for an escort from the building, Sevier?”

Shit. There was an edge to her tone that told John it was well past time to go. If he couldn’t be in on the takedown of this asshole at work, he’d do the next best thing. He’d go see Ava and make sure she and Janna were safe until his team got this guy off the street.