Page 10 of Deadly Force

I sink into my chair, chewing on my lip as I try to remember noticing anyone following me last night. I doubt I even looked. I was too focused on getting to the park on time.

Caleb’s voice cuts into my thoughts. “This wasn’t some punk. He bypassed the tread and went straight for the sidewalls, had a fixed-blade knife, and he did it fast. That takes skill.”

“You think it takes skill to slash tires?”

He gives me a clipped nod. “Tires can spit back pressure when they’re punctured,” he says. “He angled his body—kept clear. He’s done it before.”

I blow out a breath. “So I’m the victim of a serial tire slasher? Wonderful.”

Caleb’s brow draws tight. “Did you drive from home?”

“No,” I murmur, “Work.”

His jaw turns to steel. “Then you need to work from home today.”

“I can’t. I have an interview. And my editor already hates me.”

“Why does he hate you?”

“Does it matter?”

“It might be relevant.”

“It might be none of your business.”

His mouth twitches.

“Fine. I may have accused him of bias.”

That gets his attention. He leans back, scratching his chin. “Go on.”

I blow out an exasperated breath. “He thinks truth isn’t objective, just ‘culturally dependent.’”

Caleb adjusts his position. “That’s rough. But you’re in the world’s system. If you want to work in it, you have to play by their rules.”

Unfortunately, he’s right. It’s getting harder and harder to do my job. We used to hunt for the truth. Now we twist it to please advertisers.

“I’ll call him. But I still need to get to that interview. I haven’t even checked the news yet.”

“Where’s the interview?”

“At a retirement village. I’m writing a fluff piece on it, but I had an anonymous tip that the care isn’t what it should be.”

“You’re interviewing the staff?”

“I have an appointment with the manager. We’ve spoken before, but I’m hoping to find a way to talk to some of the residents too.”

“Find a way?”

I toy with my coffee cup. “You know… get sneaky.”

He nods slowly, his expression sharpening again. “I’ll come with you. I can be your cameraman or something.”

I laugh. “No way. You’ll scare people off.”

His gaze flicks to the laptop, then back to me. A slow grin spreads across his face, completely disarming.

“Don’t worry. I’ll blend right in,” he says, and winks.