by Geri Krotow
“I want a divorce. That shouldn’t be a surprise.” She waited for him to respond. When he didn’t, she continued.
“I did something really stupid, Leo. Just to make sure it wasn’t because of us. In a stupid, drunk moment, I had a one-time affair.”
“Great, Karen. Is this making you feel better, your final confession? Because don’t think you’ll get any more out of me. You want a divorce, go ahead. Leave. But you’ll get nothing. I’m not going to support you one iota.”
She figured it wasn’t the best time to point out that by his retirement, she would have stayed in the marriage for more than half his maximum navy time, so she was entitled to 50 percent of his pension. Not that she wanted a penny from him; she only needed child support for Stefanie.
“I’m not asking for that, Leo. But you do need to know who I had the affair with.”
“No, I don’t think I do.”
“It was Petty Officer Perez.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“YOU’VE BEEN AWFULLY quiet this morning.” Gwen spoke to Ro as they both applied their makeup in front of the locker room mirror. They’d finished a run on base before starting the day.
“There’s a lot going on at work.”
Gwen paused, her mascara wand midair. “Yes, there is. I saw the reports last Friday—the war has another casualty, doesn’t it?”
“I can’t talk about my involvement in the case but yes, one of the wing sailors died. Whether it was PTSD or not hasn’t been determined.” Ro wasn’t playing coy, just being truthful.
“They’ll release the name soon enough.”
She spread cherry gloss on her lips out of habit, not because she cared what she looked like today.
“How are your change-of-command plans going?” Ro asked out of genuine curiosity but also to steer Gwen away from the hot topic of Petty Officer Perez.
Gwen sighed and picked out a clear gloss from her small makeup bag.
“Fine. But I can’t get Drew on board.” She shook her head. “He won’t even commit to helping me plan a party for it. I’d love to have both of our families out for the event.”
“He’s still upset you took the orders?”
“‘Upset’ is putting it mildly. He really thought it was time for us to settle down, maybe start a family and stay put in one place.” Gwen was visibly distraught and Ro didn’t blame her. Being chosen for command of a squadron was a Very Big Deal in the navy.
“But you will be in one place, after you get this tour done. Can’t he understand this is what you’ve worked for your entire career?”
“He does, but he also thinks that goals change as we go along in life.” Gwen’s face was wistful now, an expression Ro wasn’t accustomed to seeing on her best friend of over fifteen years. Gwen was about to become the commanding officer of a patrol squadron, one of the first women ever to do so.
Gwen was a pilot and had made her mark landing P-3s as a junior officer during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. She’d outmaneuvered enemy missiles, not an easy feat for the slow-flying P-3. Her reputation as a naval aviator was flawless, and her intrinsic ability to lead had earned her the command position.
“This should be a happy time for you on all fronts, Gwen. I’m sorry Drew isn’t more supportive.”
“It’s my fault. We agreed to have kids ‘later,’ and now, after ten years of marriage, I’m nowhere near ready to have a baby.” She sighed and shot Ro a frank look. “He got out after seven years to go back to school and become a physical therapist, so he’s reached his big goal. I’m still going after mine.”
“I’ve heard he’s great at what he does. Several of the wing staffers have been referred out to him.” Ro wondered if Drew was Miles’s physical therapist.
“He’s the best. And I did agree that once he got on his feet financially with his new practice, I’d consider getting out. But then I was selected for command...” Gwen’s voice trailed off. Gwen was the poster girl for female naval officers. Fit, young, strong and bursting with enthusiasm.
For her career. Not her personal life.
“I wonder if it’s possible to have both a successful personal and professional life? Especially with what we do?” Ro murmured.
Gwen smiled. “It is if you’re willing to sacrifice and compromise. Look at all the gals from the academy who are promoting and have husbands and kids. Unfortunately, I’ve found out the hard way that compromise isn’t in my DNA.”
Ro mulled over the fact that they were both academy grads, both female and always used to being watched, prodded and encouraged to do their very best. Work-wise. When had anyone ever suggested they pay just as much attention to their private lives?
“What about you, Ro? Did you say ‘yes’ to Miles?”
Ro hoped Gwen would think her red cheeks were from their run.
“Actually, we’re working together on this case.”
Gwen raised her brows. “Go on.”
“We’re certainly spending a lot of time together. That, combined with Krissy and Dick paying me a surprise visit, has turned this week upside down, fast.”
Ro had already filled Gwen in on the drama that had ensued after her sister and former fiancé showed up at her door. Mom was due any minute, too.
“Ro, I’ve known you for a very long time. You look like you’ve spent a week on a honeymoon, even with that ghastly black eye.”
Ro had promised herself that she wouldn’t get together with Miles again. Not like Sunday night. They hadn’t seen each other after work yesterday; she was grateful they hadn’t been able to meet with Detective Ramsey yet. She didn’t trust herself around Miles and it scared her.
“Gwen, I have too much to lose. How stupid would I be to throw away all these years of hard work on a guy?”
“Probably not as stupid as you were to throw away your life on Dick for all that time, kiddo.” Gwen could always be counted on for her frankness, which was why their friendship had survived school, the navy, deployments, boyfriends, fiancés, a husband.
“Thanks. I’m sure I deserve that.” Ro gave herself a rueful smile in the mirror.
Gwen put her hand on Ro’s arm.
“Promise me one thing. Enjoy yourself. Let go. For once, stop worrying about what anyone else thinks. Be a girl.”
Ro smiled at her closest friend.
“You mean like you have with turning your back on a navy career and becoming Suzy Homemaker?”
Gwen’s mouth twisted in exasperation.
“This isn’t about me. You’ve still got time to weigh your options more carefully than I have.”
Ro watched Gwen gather up the rest of her cosmetics and put them in her gym bag. She didn’t think it was a coincidence that Gwen had put voice to the thoughts that had been bombarding her ever since she’d allowed Miles to get close.
If it was the right thing for her to be with Miles, to reevaluate what she wanted out of life, would it be so messy, so complicated? Wouldn’t it be easier to discern?
Ro liked dealing with facts. They were cleaner than emotions.
But they don’t keep you warm when your woodstove’s cold.
* * *
AN HOUR LATER Ro walked across the hangar lot and over to the row Patsy had told her she was parked in. She spotted the blue economy sedan, with Patsy sitting in the front seat. Ro tapped on the passenger door window and Patsy unlocked the door.
Ro slid into the compact seat and shut the door.
“Thanks for getting back to me.” Ro owed her this much. Patsy had certainly taken her time but she hadn’t forgotten.
“I thought it was better to meet out here instead of in the hangar. I don’t want the commodore to have any clue about this.”
“No?” Ro clenched her fists against the tremors of intuitive awareness. Patsy ha
d checked over the records herself, apparently.
“No.” Patsy turned to Ro and shook her head. “Is there any superior officer worth following anymore? I thought the commodore, even though he can be arrogant and self-serving as far as his career goes, was one of the better ones. I didn’t think he’d hurt others, but if you see what he did in these stats—” she handed a thick envelope to Ro “—he didn’t care if planes were able to fly safely or not. As long as his stats were solid for the high-profile reporting zones.”
Ro took the envelope and let it settle on her lap. The weight of the pages made her aware of the possible criminal charges Sanders faced. If he’d been capable of putting aircrews at risk for political gain, what else would he be willing to do to protect his miscreant behavior?
“Patsy, I know we haven’t worked together at all before, but I really appreciate you putting your neck out. After I look at the stats, I’ll forward them to a place where this situation will be dealt with.”
Patsy stared at her. “I put in some comments of my own—they’re on the yellow sticky notes. Just in case some of the maintenance lingo is foreign to you.”
Ro smiled. “Thanks.”
“Just promise me one thing, Roanna.”
“Yes?”
“If there’s any way we can get him, do it. Fry his ass.”
“Trust me, I will. We will.”
Ro got out of the car and briskly walked over to her own vehicle. She needed to get these papers off the base so she could read them without the risk of anyone seeing her poring over pages of aircraft stats. Intel officers notoriously didn’t bring work home; they couldn’t, since it was mostly classified and had to stay on base, secured. All she needed was for the commodore or even the CSO to catch her looking at paperwork outside the office.
Her cell phone vibrated in her jacket pocket and she answered it as she got into the car’s front seat.
“Hi, Miles.”
“Ro, where are you?”
“In my car. I’ve got some information we’ve been waiting on from maintenance.”
“Great. Let me know as soon as you figure out anything more. I just got the call from Ramsey—we’re in to see him later this morning.”
“Great! I’m going to disappear for a bit and read over these papers.”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up in time to go to Coupeville.” He paused. “Ro?”
“Yes?”
“Miss me.” It was an order, a request. Not a question.
As their call ended, Ro stared at the phone screen and felt a smile warming her face. He didn’t have to tell her.
* * *
IN STARK CONTRAST to the quiet of their Saturday meeting with Detective Ramsey after the autopsy, the Island County sheriff’s department was buzzing late Tuesday morning.
Ro didn’t like being the center of attention just because she was in a uniform, so it was a relief to share the spotlight with Miles. Although they were treated with respect, there was an underlying current of mistrust as they got closer to seeing Ramsey.
Unlike on Saturday, they couldn’t go straight up to his office with him as their escort. They had to be identified and signed in at two different desks before they were granted access to the second floor—and only then with an administrative assistant to escort them.
“I feel like we’ve committed a crime,” she told Miles as they waited outside Ramsey’s office.
“I hear you. It’s not us, remember. It’s their job to make sure they have a handle on every person who comes in here.”
“I know that, Miles.” She was ready to remind him that her job involved intricate layers of security, as well.
“Come right on in, folks.” Ramsey’s voice reached them from his inner sanctum.
Ro was relieved to see the detective and have their escort close the door behind them. They faced Ramsey alone, with no distractions.
“I’m surprised it took you two this long to get back down here.” He gave them a rueful glance.
“We tried to see you all day yesterday, Detective, but we couldn’t even get through to your executive assistant.”
Ramsey nodded. “Sorry about that. I suppose you’re here for more than just the preliminary lab reports?” They all knew that some of the toxicology screens could take weeks, even months, to come back, depending on what had been ordered by the coroner.
“Yes, sir.” Ro figured she’d err on the side of respect, despite her anger at Ramsey’s lack of communication. “We’re both curious—” she looked at Miles, whose complete attention was on Ramsey “—about why you called the commodore with the determination of cause of death as probable suicide, but never mentioned it to us on Saturday.”
“You made it pretty damn clear that you didn’t think Perez had committed suicide,” Miles interjected, and Ro wondered if Ramsey realized exactly how perturbed Miles was.
“I made it clear that it was highly unlikely that Perez committed suicide. Not impossible.” Ramsey stared at them for a moment, waiting for one of them to speak up.
After a few minutes of silence, he sighed.
“Sit down.” He motioned to the chairs they’d sat in before. It was the same office, the same furniture, but Ro noted that the apparent camaraderie they’d shared on Saturday was as absent as their mugs of tea and coffee.
“Look, in this office we deal in facts. I know that in the military you may have more leeway with circumstantial evidence. I’m pretty sure I could have convinced the district attorney to go after a suspect on the suspicion of homicide or, at the least, manslaughter.” Ramsey placed his elbows on the desk.
“No one wants to see justice served more than me. That’s why I’m in this godforsaken career. But I can’t ask the D.A. to stick her neck out for a case that not only doesn’t have enough evidence to call it a criminal event, but also doesn’t have any witnesses.”
“What if we told you we have reason to believe someone had cause?” Ro asked.
“As in?”
“Ro and I had dinner on Sunday night with someone who believes the commodore had a fraudulent deal with Perez to falsify aircraft maintenance documents.”
Ramsey stared at Miles. “Did this person give you any way to prove it?”
Miles shook his head. “No. This person is of the belief that this crime is too hard to prove.”
Ramsey’s face started to flush and his eyes sparked.
“Out with it, you two. Tell me what you’ve heard.”
Miles turned from Ramsey to her. “We told Reis that we couldn’t promise her anything.”
She nodded. “This is about Perez, bottom line.”
They turned back to Ramsey and told him what they knew.
* * *
MILES STUDIED RO across the diner’s table. It had taken almost a year to the day, but he’d finally gotten her to share a meal with him. It wasn’t the way he’d envisioned wooing her when he’d started asking her out last year. Far from it. They were in a beat-up greasy spoon only because of the investigation.
They’d spent the morning talking with Detective Ramsey and the coroner. The verdict remained that while the death looked suspicious, the sheriff’s department couldn’t call it a homicide. Miles was glad they’d been able to lay all their cards on the table with Ramsey. If there was even a sliver of hope that they’d crack this case, it would have been worth telling Reis’s story.
Ro had been remarkably calm throughout the event. A far cry from the shaking gal she’d been at the beach on Friday, or in the autopsy room on Saturday.
Miles liked seeing her in such close proximity, without the noise of their offices and all the other staffers running around.
Face it, what you really like is that you have her all to yourself.
His laugh grumbled, along with his stomach.
“What?”
Ro’s eyes narrowed in wary observation and he wanted to reach over and rub the creases off her forehead. Her short wispy hair framed her delicate features and it was all he could do to keep his mind in the present and not wander off to visions of her naked in bed.
“Is it really this tough to be alone with me?” he asked.
“I never said it was tough being with you.” She played with the cheap plastic salt and pepper shakers on the rickety table. “It’s not my fault that you took it personally when I wouldn’t go out with you.”
They sat at one of five tables in the joint and every inch of the place was coated with grease and grime. They’d each ordered a slider, as it appeared to be the safest choice on the chalkboard menu.
“So why wouldn’t you go out with me for so long? And don’t give me your B.S. about us working together. It had something to do with that ex-fiancé of yours, didn’t it? That Dick?” He tried to make her laugh to no avail.
She pursed her lips, her quandary playing out on her face.
“Yes, no, partly.” She offered him a brief flash of a smile. “I wasn’t B.S.-ing when I told you I don’t date work colleagues. I never have. Have I dated since I broke up with Dick? Yes, of course. It’s been well over a year. I’m not a nun.”
“I’ve never pictured you as a nun, Roanna.”
He relished the flush that bloomed on her cheeks. Not because he’d made her uncomfortable, but because he knew she was as attracted to him as he was to her. He’d felt it when he’d kissed her the night they’d started the case, and he knew she’d felt it as strongly as he had when they’d made love Sunday night.
“I’m not totally opposed to dating someone like you—I mean, someone I work with but am not in the same chain of command with.” She was flustered. Satisfaction warmed his belly—she was no less affected by him than he was by her. They hadn’t spent all of their passion in one night.
“Ro.” He covered her fidgety hand with his.
She stopped fiddling with the salt and pepper and looked at him.
He wanted to lose himself in the depths of her luminous baby blues.