Still, the absence sat wrong. A missing piece where there shouldn’t have been one. I told myself it was nothing. Fatigue. Nerves. A guy caught off guard. Still, something about the way he’d spoken stuck with me. Not slurred. Not confused. Just… off. Like he’d woken up mid-thought and kept going. Focus, I told myself, gripping the wheel tighter as I turned onto Maple.
The call came through clear as I approached the address: possible mugging in progress, female victim, suspect on foot. I killed the headlights and rolled in slow, scanning the sidewalk. I saw them just in time. A man was yanking a bag from a woman in scrubs, her shoes skidding on the pavement as she fought to keep her balance.