He watched the families and the couples who were there, but he was mostly interested in the individuals who sat quietly at their tables with bloodshot eyes, barely eating their meals. He knew their minds were still in the casinos. When he had finished, he got his car from the valet and drove to the Metro PD headquarters to pick up Marty. Mindi was waiting for him outside, wearing slacks and a leather jacket. “Mind if I hitch a ride?” she asked. “Where’s Marty?” “He had some work to catch up on.” “I thought he was only assigned to me?” “Look, I know you want to go see the Steeds’ house. Marty can’t get you in there.” She pulled out a key and held it up. “But I can. Do you want to go or not?” “Fine. Get in. But tell me where Marty is.” “I wasn’t lying. He had a bunch of paperwork from old traffic tickets that are going to court, and he had to catch up on it. I told him I would cover this.” Stanton typed the address into his GPS and pulled away from the curb.
