Page 88 of Wild Fever

"You reported this to the county, correct?”

"You wouldn't be here if I didn't," she said.

"Did deputies come out and look at the car? Dust for prints?”

She scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I called to report it, saying it had been stolen and returned. You know what they said? Don't worry about it.” She huffed. “Unbelievable.”

"Sorry you weren’t satisfied with the department. You mind if we take a look around the vehicle?"

"Knock yourself out. But why all the sudden interest? Or is this just how long it takes the department to get around to things?”

“We think it may have been involved in the commission of another crime.”

“What kind of crime?” she asked, leaning in with intrigued eyes.

“A murder.”

Her brow lifted with surprise. “A murder? Who?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t discuss ongoing investigations.”

Disappointment filled her face, but she got over it. “I'll get the keys for you.”

Rose spun around and darted down the foyer and disappeared into the living room. She fumbled around in the kitchen, and keys jingled. She returned a moment later and handed the key fob to me. “Just get near the car with that, and it'll open. Keyless entry. I guess that means keyless entry for anybody,” she quipped.

"It's possible someone may have cloned your key fob.”

"Then what good is a key fob? Can we just go back to the way things were? Just give me a key. You can’t clone a key without stealing it. A key has worked just fine my whole entire life. I don't know why they had to change it. I don't need push-button start. I don’t need lane change assist. I don’t need half the crap they put in cars today to drive the price up. Just more to break.” She sighed. “I guess pretty soon cars are going to be driving themselves."

“It seems that way,” I said with a smile.

JD and I made our way to the sedan. We both put on a pair of nitrile gloves, pulled open the doors, and glanced around the vehicle. The faint traces of cologne still lingered. It smelled familiar, but I couldn't quite make out the scent.

We scoured the front and back seats, looking for any clues, but found nothing. It seemed odd to just return the car, but maybe the perps were hoping Rose wouldn't notice it had been taken. If it would have been me, I'd have burned the car to destroy any evidence.

I called Daniels, filled him in on the situation, and had him send the forensic team. We waited until they arrived. They went over the car, collecting fibers from the seats and dusting for prints.

I checked with the neighbor across the street as well as the surrounding area. There were no video doorbells that might have captured the theft.

Rose wasn't going to be happy about this, but the vehicle was now evidence and would need to be impounded until the investigation concluded. I told her as much when we returned to her door.

Her face twisted, and her cheeks flushed. "How am I supposed to get around?”

"You’ll have to make other arrangements," I said.

"Other arrangements? Let me get this straight… Someone steals my car, uses it to commit a murder, and somehow I have to go out of pocket and rent a new car because of that?”

"That's kind of messed up, isn't it?"

"It's beyond messed up.”

"Look, JD and I will cover the expense for a rental car. How does that sound?”

She lifted a curious eyebrow. "What kind of rental car? I don't want some shit box econo crap.”

"If you can find another car just like that, we’ll pay for it.”

She took a deep breath, then exhaled, feigning irritation. "I guess that would be acceptable."