I tried to go to the office again, but once again, the Jeep didn’t listen to me and I found myself sitting in the police station parking lot in Uptown. I shrugged and headed inside to find Detective Harris.
This station wasn’t familiar with me, so I had to wait quite a while before I was walked back to an interrogation room to meet with Harris.
I rolled my eyes at the formality of it.
I waited another few minutes before Harris graced me with his presence.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Malone,” he lied as he shook my hand and took a seat.
I raised my eyebrow at him.
“Detective Malone,” I corrected him.
“Oh, right,” he smiled, glancing at the papers he held. “My mistake.”
“No worries,” I lied.
“So, you wanted to talk about some fires?”
“Yes, about the arsons that have been happening around the city.”
“We can’t confirm they’re arson at this time, you understand,” Harris replied.
“I realize the investigation is underway,” I conceded. “But surely the link to the city-funded programs is no coincidence.”
Detective Harris leaned back in his chair. “We’re currently looking into every piece of evidence. I can’t confirm any links have been made.”
I was getting nowhere, and fast.
“Don’t you think it’s just a little strange that every program was personally backed by Chief Sullivan?” I threw out there.
A micro frown crossed his face for a split second, followed by a bland smile.
“Miss Malone, I appreciate your dedication to this great city, but I think it would be best if you let the City Police handle this investigation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to impede the process of investigation.”
I was struggling to control my temper.
“But if you hear anything else, feel free to give me a call. Don’t try to follow up on any leads yourself,” he said leaning forward, sliding a business card across the desk.”
“Gee, thanks, Harris,” I said, taking the card. I was being excused. “Fuck you, too.”
I stalked out of the office, and the building, climbing in and slamming the Jeep door. I took a few deep breaths with my hands tight on the steering wheel. I try not to drive angry...anymore.
After envisioning my fist through his face, I felt much better and headed back to the office. But first, I swung through HERO for a cappuccino with cinnamon on top. I felt like rewarding myself for not shoving Harris’s face into the table. Progress.
Chapter 16
I ended up bypassing the office for my apartment. I had lost track of time and nearly forgot about my date with Rhodes. Sighing, I glanced at my laptop with longing. I knew if I called him to cancel because of work, he’d understand, but it was a little late to do that at this point. I considered my options.
This was why I didn’t date. I got too focused in my job for most guys. That was why things worked so well with Alex, at first anyway. I sighed again at my history with men and went to freshen up with a quick shower. I had spent too much time in the company of slimy men to feel clean enough for a date.
I dressed a little nicer than normal in a deep red flowing blouse and black jeans. I ran my fingers to loosen the waves, swiped on some mascara and was ready to go.
Luckily, I was able to make it to Rhodes’ house on time, if only barely. I hesitated in the drive wondering what I was getting myself into. After a minute or two of indecision, I rolled my eyes for being silly about a simple date, shook it off and swung out of the Jeep. I barely made it to the front door before it opened and a beautiful, broad shouldered man leaned against the doorframe smiling ear to ear.
“I’m glad you decided to come in,” he simply said.
I shifted, slightly uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” I replied with a small shrug. “Like I said, I don’t often date.”
He opened the door wider, grinned and headed to the kitchen.
I stared after him, confused. Shutting the door, I followed him in.
Rhodes’ house was distinctly masculine with large wooden and leather furniture, but also some slightly feminine touches. A candle here, a wreath there, sage green and taupe walls. It made me wonder if a previous girlfriend, Mom or sister added the warm accents. A loft with a wooden railing looked over the living room to what I assumed were upstairs bedrooms. It was somewhat spacious for a brownstone.
He was cutting carrots and cucumbers for a salad when I walked into the kitchen. He nodded to a glass of red wine on the kitchen bar.
I picked it up and watched him, totally at ease in the kitchen. The wine was nice and spicy, but not overly dry. Rhodes had a denim apron on that said “I like it hot!” and was carefully chopping veggies and ignoring me. I realized that he was giving me some space.
He glanced up at me as I sipped my wine and watched him. I grinned and shook my head at him. He smiled back, wiping his hands on his apron and turning to check a big pot of what smelled like stew. You know, if stew was the most heavenly scented aroma in the world. That kind of stew.
“Sorry I didn’t bring anything,” I offered swirling my wine, leaning against the bar.
He glanced up, “No worries. I have a few bottles.” He winked and went back to his work.
“Smells good,” I smiled sincerely. It was hard to not like him with his easy smile and warmth. Not that I was trying to not like him. Really.
He stopped cutting for a minute to take a sip of his wine. He finally looked directly at me and kept his attention on me. “I hope you like Guinness Stew.”
“Definitely,” I said earnestly. So that’s what smells so heavenly.
Rhodes walked around the center island to where I stood next to the bar. My heartrate ratcheted up as he got closer and I could smell his cologne, a woodsy leather scent that smelled right on him. He stopped a foot or two away.
“You look really nice tonight,” he said.
The intensity of his stare made me want to fidget.
“I’m really glad you decided to come.”
“I told you I could make it tonight,” I said frowning slightly.
Rhodes tilted his head and lifted one eyebrow in a light-hearted challenge. “You considered calling to cancel.”
It was my turn to lift an eyebrow, “So sure, huh?”
“Yep,” he smiled.
“You’re right,” I admitted.
“Like I said. I’m glad you decided to come,” he smiled, pleased with himself.
I smiled and shook my head. “Thanks for going to the trouble,” I motioned to the kitchen, steam and scents in the air.
“No trouble. I enjoy cooking.”
“Do you always cook at the firehouse?” I asked.
“Most of the time,” he replied. “Course cooking for a firehouse is a lot different than this.”
“Bigger meal?”
“That and I’m not trying to impress them,” he said looking directly at me, then turned to walk to the oven. He pulled out a loaf of sourdough that had been warming and set it on the top of the range. He had a bread bowl with a towel and slid the bread into it to keep it warm.
“I think we’re ready,” he said. If you want to grab your wine and the salad, I’ll bring the bowls.
“Works for me,” I replied grabbing the big wooden salad bowl and following him into the dining room.
He had lit a scented candle in the middle of the table; some kind of cedar scent that worked well in a man’s house. The table was a nice big wooden table with a bench on either side. I slide in the side opposite to him and set the salad on the table between us.
Rhodes tossed the salad a bit and served us both generous amounts. The salad looked great, with blue cheese, chopped walnuts and a lot of chopped veggies. There was a light vinaigrette on it that I wondered if he made himself.
We chatted a bit about the week we had. I told him a bit about Suzy, Sam and the case. Well, what I could without betraying any confid
ence. A lot of the case had been in the news and wasn’t confidential, so I could share that. Sam wasn’t very private about what he shared. He was pretty happy to have her home and sharing with everyone. I smiled at that. It was nice to see them care so deeply about each other.
After the salad, he went to the kitchen and brought bowls of the stew, then back to get the sourdough. It was strange having someone wait on me, but I appreciated the few moments to myself. Rhodes was a great guy, but when his attention was on me, it was very intense. I wasn’t used to someone’s full attention like that.
“Oh, Lord,” I sighed, eyes rolling back. “This is even better than it smells, if that’s possible.” The stew had bits of browned bacon, root vegetables, pearl onions and large seared hunks of beef. The stew base had a nice Guinness flavor cooked down into a nice sauce. “It’s really delicious.”
“Thank you,” he smiled back at me, blowing to cool a bite of stew himself. “It’s one of my favorite stews. Thankfully it was still cool enough tonight to make it. Pretty soon, we’ll be out of stew weather entirely.”
“That will be a shame,” I replied, grinning.
“You’ll just have to stick around till fall, then I guess,” he said.
I actually, genuinely liked the sound of that.
“What will you cook when it gets warmer out?” I asked.
“I typically grill out when the weather is nice,” he replied, pointing to the brick patio outside the dining room slider door. He had cracked the door to let the cooler air in and keep the kitchen from getting too warm. “Burgers, brats, chicken, salmon, pretty much anything meat. I have a decent smoker out there too.”
“I love smoked salmon,” I replied.”
A slow grin spread onto Rhodes’ face, “Next time, then.”
“Sounds good,” I replied. And meant it.
The wine and good food had warmed and relaxed me a bit. I settled back in my chair as we swapped stories and laughed. Me talking about some of the crazier PI cases and him talking about some of his crazier calls, leaving names out to protect the innocent, of course.
“Are you still going to look into the fires now that Detective Harris has ordered you not to?” Rhodes asked.
“Of course,” I nodded. “Someone’s got to figure out what’s going on.”
“It’s probably just standard procedure for him to not share case details, though,” Rhodes gently reminded me.
“Sure, I know that,” I conceded. “But I could tell he had already looked me up when he came in the room. He knew my background working with the Department and could have made calls to vouch for me. He just chose not to give it any credit.” I shook my head. “Some people just don’t like outsiders.”
“We get that on the job as well,” Rhodes nodded. “Different departments, volunteer firefighters outside the city, it’s all the same.”
“Well, I can’t believe the Tribune isn’t publishing articles on the fires! Feels awfully shady.”
“You would be surprised how much doesn’t make the paper,” Rhodes raised an eyebrow. “It’s not just the fires.”
“But why?” I asked.
“Well, sometimes it’s just because there’s more interesting news. Downtown news tends to outshine the suburbs, good or bad.” He toyed with his empty wine glass. “Sometimes it has to do with politics and influence and sometimes it’s simple feuds between the paper or journalist and whatever they’re reporting on.”
I sighed, “I guess I get that, but this is bigger than that. Eventually people are going to notice. Besides, in this case someone is threatening the journalists not to write articles.”
“Agreed, I wouldn’t think it’s just a case of better news,” Rhodes raised his fingers for air quotes around ‘better’.
“And I intend to find out,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“I just bet you will,” he replied half smiling, watching me carefully, then glancing down. “Just be careful, will ya, Red? I’m getting kinda fond of you.”
I smiled, warmed by that. “I always do.”
He smiled back, satisfied.
“Want a cup of coffee?” he asked, standing up to clear dishes.
“Have you met me?” I replied, laughing. I stood up to help and carried dishes into the kitchen.
Rhodes started cleaning up and pointed to the coffee pot.
“I got it ready, if you want to hit the start button,” he said.
“Thinking ahead, I like that,” I replied leaning over to hit the button.
Rhodes was mid-reach for a plate and brushed my side. He watched me, but wasn’t smiling. I looked at him questioningly. He took a step to the left to stand in front of me, eyes level with mine. He breathed in, and waited a beat looking at me, asking.
I stood still, not sure what to do or what I wanted to do. Rhodes lifted one hand to trace the skin along my collar, then to my chin. He lifted it a fraction of an inch, watching me the whole time. He was giving me time to stop him. Again, I didn’t. I leaned forward slightly to meet him halfway and he lightly brushed his lips across mine. It was a gentle, soft kiss that deepened slowly, then ended too soon.
Then he smiled and stepped back to stacking dishes in the sink and wrapping the salad for the fridge.
I caught my breath and stood there for a minute and watched him, surprised by the retreat. It didn’t feel like a rejection really, but more like he was just taking his time.
“Do you take cream or sugar,” he asked, standing next to the fridge.
“Just cream, please,” I replied, clearing my throat.
Rhodes placed the cream on the counter and pulled out two coffee mugs to join it. He ladled the rest of the stew into a glass container to cool for the fridge and wrapped the remaining bread.
“Have you talked to anyone at the Tribune, yet?” he asked.
“Not yet,” I shook my head. “Honestly, I’m not sure how far I could get there. I’ve tried to talk to them in the past and couldn’t get past the front lobby. I’ll wait to see if I’m out of leads before I do that. I haven’t had a chance to read what Paul wrote about last night’s fire.”
“Last night?” Rhodes asked.
I nodded, “In Lincoln Park, on the outskirts. I followed it to find out what happened, but didn’t learn much except some talk about insurance. I have a few questions to follow up on.” I leaned against the counter to wait for the coffee to finish brewing. “I may go see Sully again and get his take on it.”
“How did that go?” Rhodes asked.
“Well, I stopped by a couple of days ago to find out more about the fires,” I nodded, checking the coffee. Almost done. “You were right, though. He didn’t give me much to go on. Only talked about the community projects a bit. They all seem like good causes. Can’t quite figure out who would want to ruin them.”
“I agree. That community center was doing good work,” Rhodes nodded, wiping down the counter.
“Course Sully disagrees that the Tribune is covering up the stories, and tried to dissuade me from that,” I said blandly, rolling my eyes. “He seems to think it’s just because Downtown isn’t concerned about a little fire in Bricktown. Why would he be covering for them?”
Rhodes shook his head. “Sully’s a good guy, Red. I don’t think he’s covering for them.
“But we do know someone is pressuring Paul to withhold articles. And the guy at ALE said that Sully was helping with political red tape. Between all that and how he avoided my questions, it all seemed little shady to me,” I said.
“He works with the City so he gets involved in politics from time to time,” Rhodes replied looking down at the sink and frowning, then looked up at me. “I’ll admit that he acts a bit like a politician sometimes, but he isn’t a bad guy. It’s part of the job. I really doubt Sully would be pressuring the papers to withhold articles.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I was still looking into it for myself.
”Is Sully one of those leads you’re looking into or are you just reaching out to him
for information?” Rhodes asked, moving to lean back against the counter. “I mean, are you asking other people about Sully?”
“It’s a lead,” I said, half shrugging. “I have to look into everything. I’m not trying to implicate him or anything. I’m just asking questions, with an open mind.”
Rhodes considered that a minute. “Questions, can get people talking,” He shook his head and stepped closer, watching me intently. “Sully and my uncle went through academy together. I know him. He’s a good guy.”
“I’m sure he is, Rhodes,” I looked at him questioningly. I didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “I appreciate your take on it, but I have to find out for myself.”
“It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind, Mal,” Rhodes crossed his arms. “You could cause problems for him, especially as a white shirt if people start to wonder if something’s up. Look, that kind of questioning gets internal affairs investigating and they don’t stop until they find something.”
“What if something is up,” I asked, trying to reason with him.
“Not with Sully, Mal.”
“Okay,” I replied, slowly. “I’ll be careful who I ask what. I will pay more attention to how I conduct this investigation. But, Rhodes, you know I can’t just assume he’s not involved. I have to weigh every possibility.”
“Mal,” he said. “It’s not even a real investigation. You don’t have a case.”
I stepped back. “Not a real investigation? Just because I don’t have a paying client doesn’t mean it’s not a real investigation or a real case,” I explained. “There is something going on here, in our city! A police investigation going on right now anyway. Apart from mine.”
“And they’re not doing a good enough job?” he asked.
I took a step back, altogether. “Really? “I bristled, good mood gone. “Are you implying that I should sit back like a good little girl and let the real police officers handle it? I was told that once today already and it doesn’t sit well with me.”
“That’s not what I meant, Red. It’s just that you don’t have to be the one managing it. I’m sure the police have it.”
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