“Harvey!”
“What?”
“Beth and Eddie will be embarrassed.”
“It takes more than that to embarrass Beth, and Eddie is pretty much unflappable.” He pulled her close and kissed her. She sighed and let him hold her for a few seconds, then pushed him back toward the door. “Get out of here!”
*****
He and Eddie were waiting at Mike and Sharon’s house when the game warden brought them home.
“The welcoming committee for the new chief?” asked Sharon.
Harvey wasn’t sure how to take that, but Eddie had no qualms.
“Great! You’re going to take it!” He wrung Mike’s hand.
Mike said regretfully, “Not what I had planned. Let’s get inside.”
They carried all their gear in through the garage, and Sharon said, “If you fellows will excuse me, I’m exhausted. I know you have a lot to talk about, and I want to look my best on television tomorrow morning.”
“So, you talked to the mayor?” Harvey asked when she’d picked up a duffel bag and headed down the hallway.
“Well, she mostly talked to me,” Mike said.
“You’re really taking it?”
Mike started making coffee. “I left here to get rested, and I am so tired! I wanted to take the Allagash in short stages, not in one day.”
“Mike?” Harvey asked quietly.
He turned around and looked at them, then stuck the scoop in the coffee can. “Yeah, I’m taking it. Sharon has mixed feelings. The mayor made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I told her I’ll stay with it at least two years.”
Harvey’s lethargy was gone. He and Eddie laid out the developments in the Blake case for Mike, drank coffee, and waited. Mike paced around the kitchen.
“You don’t have enough,” he said after a few minutes. “The DNA will help on Blake. If you find out where the gun was, that may help on the old homeowner. What’s his name?”
“Fairley,” Harvey said.
“Right. And if Whitney wasn’t a suicide, it will help on that, too.”
Eddie and Harvey looked at each other, but didn’t say anything. Mike paced some more.
“Whatcha gonna do, Harv?” he asked at last.
“I was hoping you’d make a suggestion.”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t pull you out of this, even if I could. You’ve got a brain. Use it.”
“That’s it?” Harvey felt tired again, and a bit stupid.
Mike said, “The mayor wants to hold an early press conference. You need to be there. Let’s talk in the office at seven. Press conference at eight.”
Dejection set in. Harvey looked back as he walked to the door.
“Mike—”
“Not my case, Harv.”
“If you can help me—”
“I don’t have any witnesses in my pocket. And besides, you can do this yourself.”
“Right.” Harvey managed a smile. “Glad you’re back.”
He dropped Eddie off and went home. The place was empty, and the boxes gave the rooms a forlorn feel. It was Jeff’s place now. He went to bed and wished they’d been drinking decaf. It was too late to call Jennifer. He hadn’t felt so alone since before he’d met her. He realized he was angry at Mike for not helping him, and he started to pray.
Chapter 16
Monday, July 5
The weather broke in the night, and rain moved in. Harvey and Eddie ran early, in a gray drizzle. When they got to the office, Mike was at his desk drinking coffee, making the room seem deceptively normal.
“Hey, I thought you’d be upstairs,” Eddie said with a big smile.
“Not yet. You guys sit down and get comfy.”
He’d called Pete and Arnie, too, and they came in and brought their mugs and chairs over.
“All right,” said Mike, “the press conference will be held at city hall, and it’s going to go something like this: The doctor will give an update on Chief Leavitt’s condition, then the mayor will announce my appointment. She’ll also congratulate the deputy on his new position and make it clear he’s leaving the sixteenth.”
“I thought he was staying ’til the end of the month,” said Arnie.
“He’s got two weeks’ vacation coming, and Mayor Weymouth would just as soon have him take it to pack the moving truck as to pay him for staying on, doing nothing.”
The men looked at each other, but nobody offered a comment.
“Then, Harvey, the mayor will announce that you’re taking command immediately in the Priority Unit.”
“Does she have to do that?”
“She and I talked, and we think it’s best. City politics can be cutthroat. Right now there’s enough of an administrative crisis that Jill Weymouth can make these decisions without taking a lot of heat. But if she postpones making these appointments, she might be forced to go through the regular channels.”
“You mean, nominate you and have the city council rip you to shreds?” Pete asked.
“Something like that. And some bleeding heart would make a fuss and say the city had to advertise for months and take applications, and on and on and on. The mayor wants it settled now.”
“Of course,” said Pete. “She has to run for reelection this fall.”
Mike looked at him. “You’ve never had a sarcastic bent, Peter. Something tells me you’ve heard from the bar, or you wouldn’t express yourself quite so freely.”
“That’s correct, Chief Browning.
“Congratulations,” Mike said.
“Thanks. How much notice would you like me to give?”
“Let’s give Harvey a few weeks to get his feet wet.”
“End of the month?” asked Pete. He looked at Harvey, not Mike.
“Whatever you want, Pete, but I’ll miss you,” Harvey said.
Mike nodded. “Okay, after all that, the mayor will probably allow some questions, and, Harv, you and I may have to answer them. Are you ready to be hounded some more about the Blake case?”
“Not really. We don’t have much new information.”
“Well, start thinking about it. If you can throw them a scrap, they’ll be happy.”
He dismissed the other three, but kept Harvey at his desk.
“You’ll need two new detectives right away, Harvey, to fill your spot and Pete’s. Have you thought about it?”
“Nate Miller, for one.”
“Good man. He’s qualified, and he was on my short list.”
“Do you have any other suggestions?” Harvey asked.
“There are a couple of plainclothes men downstairs that are pretty good. And you might think about Yeaton.”
“Cheryl Yeaton? We’ve never had a woman up here except secretaries.”
“Exactly.”
“Come on, Mike, you telling me I have to hire a woman? You never did.”
“No, I won’t tell you who to hire. I’m just saying, if it looks convenient, Yeaton’s a good officer.”
“How about Benoit?”
“Too green. She hasn’t been with us long enough.”
“Eddie came to us fresh out of the Academy,” Harvey protested.
“That was an aberration that we won’t get into. Besides, you’re the first person to say you had to babysit him for a year.” Mike took a sip of coffee then focused on Harvey’s face. “Look, Eddie’s a good cop, and he’s a good detective now, but I think they need at least a couple of years on the beat before you start hauling them up here. Not only for training, but it causes jealousy. Officers can’t make the detective squad until they’ve put in five years. Why should they be allowed to join this one?”
That was true, and Harvey had often wondered how Eddie had skipped the usual stint.
“Besides,” Mike said, “there’s another consideration on Benoit.”
“What?”
“Isn’t Eddie interested in her? You don’t want that going on in the office all day. Calf eyes and spats and smooching in the break room. They haven’t been real strict about dat
ing within the precinct, but it can cause big headaches. Trust me on that.”
“I know you’re right, Mike. I just didn’t think before I said it. Sarah wouldn’t be a good choice. I actually had someone else in mind, but when you said that about hiring a woman, I thought she was the one I could get along with best. But Yeaton might be more professional, and I’ve never been on a double date with her. No question your advice is sound.”
Mike nodded with a chuckle. “Spare me the details. So, who’s your other pick?”
“Jimmy Cook. He’s back on duty now.”
“Hmm. I’ll consider that one.” Mike took a sip of coffee. “Don’t know if he’s had the exam.”
“So, Mike, if you don’t mind me asking, why did Eddie get put in here his first year? He’s not related to the governor or anything.”
Mike smiled and looked around warily. “Swear you’ll never tell.”
Harvey raised his eyebrows. “Of course.”
“He was my punishment.”
“No kidding?”
“That’s right. Leavitt was mad at me for doing something not quite by the book, but I got results and the mayor—that was Mayor Green back then—loved it. I guess Leavitt tried to get me fired, and when that didn’t work he wanted me demoted or censured, and finally did the only thing he could do without getting Mayor Green’s approval—tried to make my life miserable. Giving me a green recruit was just one of several little tricks he played on me. Tore the unit’s budget to pieces that year, for instance. Remember? We had to buy our own coffee.”
Harvey shook his head. “I knew you and Leavitt butted heads, but I didn’t realize it went so deep. You seem to have gotten along all right the last couple of years.”
“We came to an understanding. And, by George, I took that gawky French kid and made a good detective out of him.” Mike looked at Harvey apologetically and added, “Of course, you did most of the work, Harv. But wasn’t Leavitt mad. He was just waiting for me to complain. Every time he asked me about Thibodeau, I’d praise him to the skies and tell Leavitt how much I appreciated him hand-picking my promising new detective.”
Harvey laughed. “Maybe I should ask for Wonder Boy.”
“Who?”
“Tony Winfield.”
Mike threw back his head and guffawed. Pete and Arnie threw glances their way. Mike gasped a little. “Well, I’ll tell you, Harv, I won’t do that to you. I may give you some pointed advice, but I won’t force a man—or a woman—on you if you don’t want him.”
“Tony’s smart. If I knew he’d turn out like Eddie, I’d take him.”
“Yeah, Eddie’s all right now. I did wonder at first, though. Drove you to drink just a little, didn’t he?”
“I was already there, I’m afraid.” Harvey shook his head, remembering what a mess he’d been five years earlier. Mike had been patient with him. He looked up into his friend’s eyes. “I’ll need your help. Not on this case, I mean, but just in general.”
“I won’t desert you, Harv. You can climb those stairs anytime.”
“Really?”
“Really. And one of my first official acts will be to start paperwork on a transfer for Nate Miller.”
“Thanks. Could you do one more thing for me?”
“What’s that?”
“Get rid of the Bambi picture in the chief’s office?”
Sharon stepped off the elevator and came toward Mike, smiling. She had a first-lady look, and Mike grinned as he went to meet her. She wore a navy blue dress and gold earrings and necklace. Her hair and makeup were perfect for her. Hard to believe she’d conquered the Allagash River that weekend. Harvey pictured her next to Patsy Leavitt and decided Sharon won out easily.
She had brought Mike a newspaper, and after kissing her, he unfolded it, said, “That’s interesting,” and handed it to Harvey. The front page had an Associated Press story from Washington. The reporter speculated a special investigator would be named to look into the accusations of bribery against Murphy.
*****
Mike let them all go to the press conference, leaving the phones to Paula. They’d been with him too long to miss the moment. A large crowd turned out at city hall.
“Chief Dwight Leavitt regained consciousness this morning,” the surgeon said into a clutch of microphones. “He was able to move his arms and speak, but we’re not sure yet if he will have full use of his legs. It will be a long, slow recovery.” He threw the reporters some medical terms and said he expected Leavitt to be in the hospital for several weeks, then possibly in rehabilitation for months.
Harvey and Eddie sat to one side in the large city council chamber. Two on the aisle, as usual. Pete and Arnie were behind them, and several other officers were sprinkled throughout the room. The deputy chief was noticeably absent. Mike and Sharon sat behind the surgeon, as did the mayor and the chairman of the city council.
Jill Weymouth walked to the bank of microphones after the surgeon had finished and looked out over the packed room.
“This is a sad occasion. The weekend has been very stressful for many. Our prayers are with the Leavitt family, and it’s good to hear that Dwight is making some progress. It falls upon me as mayor of this city to step in when we have a situation like this. Chief Leavitt will not be able to fulfill his duties in the foreseeable future, and so I am appointing a new chief of police.” She turned around and looked at Mike. He stood and walked to her.
Mrs. Weymouth held up a paper and pen. “This order makes Michael D. Browning the chief of the Portland Police Department.” She signed the paper with a flourish, then turned to beckon Sharon to stand with Mike. All the officers from the P.D. clapped as she shook hands with them.
Then she said, “It saddens me to tell you all that the city is also losing its deputy police chief, Raymond Neilsen. He has accepted a position as chief of police in Framingham, Massachusetts, and will leave on July sixteenth. At this time, I’ll allow the press a few questions.”
Ryan was quick. “Mayor Weymouth, is this a permanent appointment for Captain Browning?”
“Yes, it is. In view of the police department losing its two top administrators in such a short time, I felt appointing an acting chief would only result in confusion and ineffectiveness. Michael Browning has my full confidence. The city council may take some time looking for a new deputy chief, but the chief of police has been chosen and installed.”
“Chief Browning,” said the next reporter, taking the mayor’s cue, and a faint smile touched Mike’s mouth, “I understand you were on vacation when Chief Leavitt had his accident on Friday, and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spent the weekend looking for you.”
Mike was able to turn it into a funny story and make the game wardens look good, while downplaying the scale of the search. No one questioned the time and money spent, and Harvey thought Jill Weymouth was pleased.
“Sir, has there been any progress in the Martin Blake case?”
“Yes, there has been. I’ll ask the chief investigator of that case to come up here and fill you in.”
Harvey got up and walked slowly to the front of the room, praying that he wouldn’t collapse or embarrass Mike too badly. About two hundred people were jammed into a room meant to hold a hundred and fifty. The crowed included a lot of policemen and reporters, but there were quite a few civilians, including Jennifer and Beth, seated near the back.
Before he reached the microphones, the mayor said, “This gives me the opportunity to announce another promotion at the Portland P.D. Detective Harvey Larson will, as of today, be head of the Priority Unit, which has handled so many sensitive cases so well. He now has the rank of captain, and will continue as investigating officer in the Blake case. He’s been with the Priority Unit since it was founded eight years ago, and has shown exceptional ability.”
Harvey thought it was a little thick, but the applause from the guys was genuine, and Jennifer’s smile beamed to him clear across the room. Her hair hung down loose for the first time since
the hot weather began, and he drew confidence just from seeing her there.
He cleared his throat. “Thank you.” The room grew quiet. “The Blake case is an extremely complicated one, but the investigation is moving forward. We received word late Friday that blood found on the bridge on Route 9, at Stroudwater Crossing, is the blood of Martin Blake. Blake’s body was found about a hundred yards downstream, and our assumption at this time is that he was stabbed on the bridge, and either fell or was pushed over the railing on the night of June twentieth. We’re still looking for people who drove over the bridge between 10:30 and 11:30 that night, especially if they saw pedestrians on the bridge.”
He paused, and a dozen hands shot up. He swallowed and pointed at a woman he knew was from a local TV station.
“Captain Larson, do you have any suspects in the Blake murder?”
He took a deep breath. “Yes, we do.” It was a tossup; say yes and they’d hound him for names, say no and they’d brand him incompetent.
“Can you tell us who?”
He couldn’t help smiling a little. “What do you think?” A ripple of laughter went around the room.
“When do you expect to make an arrest?”
“We’re waiting on some more lab tests that may lead to an arrest, but I expect it will be several days.”
“Was Blake robbed when he was murdered?”
“No, he had cash and credit cards on him when he was found. We believe this was a case of premeditated murder.”
“What was the motive?”
“I can’t discuss that.”
“You made a connection last week between the murder of Martin Blake and the death of Luke Frederick, a classmate of his,” another reporter called. “Were they killed by the same person?”
“We are cooperating with the state police on that. The two victims were together early the day they died. They knew each other. Beyond that, I can’t elaborate.”
It went on, until finally someone asked Mike a question about his plans for the P.D. and Harvey was able to fade into the background. Mike shut it down, saying he was happy so many from the P.D. had turned out to support him, but they all needed to get back to work.
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