As Eloise drove, her mind went over the statements she’d taken. No one knew anything. Couldn’t account for the thieves discovering the delivery date. Right now she had lots of questions that would take days to answer.
She and Brandy had just entered the squad room when Lieutenant Chambers caught her attention and motioned for her to come to his office. Thinking he wanted an update, she grabbed her notes and hurried over, stopping short when she saw Dante seated in one of the two chairs before Chambers’s desk.
“Have a seat, Detective.”
Eloise lowered herself, glancing at Dante for a hint of explanation as to what had precipitated the meeting. His expressionless face told her nothing.
“I called you both in here for two reasons.” He met her gaze. “Detective Archer, that call you took this morning. Did it look like our teen car problem?”
“No, sir. It was too deliberate. Too planned out.”
He nodded. “The dealership in Palm Cove isn’t the only one to be hit in recent months. Even dealers like Marcus King, with car lots in multiple cities, are being affected. Intel leads us to believe there’s a ring operating locally. We need to find it and put a stop to their activity.”
“What did you have in mind?” Dante asked, interest lighting his eyes.
“Matthews, I need you to go undercover again.”
Dante sat straighter in the chair.
“With your interest in restoring cars, you have an in. One of our officers, already undercover on a different case, reported unusual activity at an automotive shop under surveillance. We’d like you to infiltrate. We’re hoping this leads you to the ringleader.”
“Does this officer have an in?”
“Yes. You’ll pose as his cousin. He’ll give his seal of approval to secure you a job there.”
Dante nodded. “When do I start?”
“Monday. You’ll be briefed today about the garage in question, as well as the owner, who’s a potential suspect.” He paused a beat. “You won’t be going alone.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t want a hint of failure like last time. I’m sending another detective in with you.”
“To keep an eye on me?”
Eloise tightly gripped her notebook as the tension in the room accelerated.
“To make sure this operation is carried out to satisfaction.”
Dante’s jaw worked but he didn’t respond.
“In order to make this plausible, we’re going to set you up as a married man. Just a guy looking to support his family. A wife in the picture makes you less suspicious.”
“And who is this wife going to be?”
No, Eloise thought. No, no, no.
“Detective Archer.”
“Oh, no,” she groaned under her breath.
* * *
DANTE GLANCED TO his left. Eloise? They were partnering him with Eloise?
“Are you sure, sir? Detective Archer hasn’t had any undercover experience.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll show her the ropes. She’s a smart woman. She’ll catch on quick.”
“I don’t think—”
“It doesn’t matter what you think, Matthews. You work with her or you don’t get the case.”
Eloise? How on earth was he supposed to work the case and train her at the same time? Prove to the brass that he wasn’t going to screw up this investigation?
“If I may,” Eloise cut in.
Chambers nodded.
“I might not be experienced, but I can certainly be an asset.” She sent Dante a sideways look. Annoyance glittered in her eyes.
“I agree. You’re a fast learner, Archer. And you’re more than competent. While Matthews works at the shop and uncovers information there, you can work the technical end. We’ll have a computer station set up at the house you two will be sharing. You’ll be doing background checks, monitoring security once Matthews is employed at the shop and working the rest of your magic with a computer.”
Wait. The house they’d be sharing?
“You’ve already closed cases involving car theft, Archer. You know how serious this is. The call you took this morning proves that the problem is getting bigger. As you said, this was a professional job. This group is organized and has insider information. We need that information, as well as to find out how they are altering VINs and bills of sale successfully. Where are the stolen cars going? It’s a big deal.”
“I appreciate you needing the technical end, sir,” Eloise was saying, “but I’d like to be more visible.”
“That’s why you two will blend into the neighborhood we’re setting you up in. Be active. The whole point it to collect viable intel on the car ring. We need to know participants, specific delivery schedules, dealerships they plan to hit, and at the top of the list? The name of the boss behind the ring, without your neighbors knowing exactly who you are.”
Dante cleared his throat. “And who are we exactly?”
“Dan and Ellie Smith.”
Dante heard another quiet groan escape his new partner. A good rule of thumb when undercover was to use a variation of your real name so you wouldn’t get mixed up during the op. She was going to hate this.
“From the intel we’ve received, whoever is running this ring is good at hiding their identity. We need a name. Then we stop him.”
“Are the feds involved?” Dante asked.
“As of right now, no. Far as we can tell, the stolen cars have not crossed any state’s border.”
“Then we focus locally.”
“Yes. I want this one, Matthews. Archer has a good head on her shoulders. Listen to her.”
He glanced in her direction. She kept her chin up, facing the lieutenant. What was she thinking about all this?
“Moving on to the next item of business. Chief Perkins and I have been discussing possible candidates for the sergeant position. Both of your names have come up in consideration.”
He turned his head and met Eloise’s gaze. If she was surprised, she didn’t show it.
“You both have strengths that would work for the position. You both passed the civil test, and even though we haven’t officially interviewed you, we know both of you well enough to determine you’re ready for a promotion.”
Dante planted his feet on the ground to keep from jittering. As much as he’d told his mother he wasn’t sure about taking the position, he discovered he wanted it. Badly. Enough to battle Eloise over it? Yep. Did that make him a bad guy?
“The two of you pairing up as partners works to our advantage. We’ll watch how you handle the investigation, your decision making, how you interact with each other. Then we’ll decide who moves ahead at this time.”
Eloise squared her shoulders. She wanted the job. It was written all over her. She was a good detective. Probably a better administrator than he. But he knew his fellow officers. Could be a better supervisor. Office management could be learned as he went along.
“You’ll both report for a briefing in an hour. Dismissed.”
Eloise hightailed it out of the room. He had to jog to keep up with her.
“Ellie.