Trial By Fire (Rainbow Cove Book 1)

by Jet MacLeod

  Reagan looked back down at the papers on her desk. She felt so completely overwhelmed by everything. She was…she needed a day off, a week. She didn’t care but the stress over the everyday was starting to get to her. She thought for a moment that the night before had been something that she had dreamed up until Grace did confirm her fears that someone did try to break into her home.

  Her home. It was supposed to be somewhere safe. It was her place away from everything else that is why she built it on the lake. She was still grateful to Padrick for selling her the land and so much more. She was now thankful to his daughter. Grace could have been rude and was at first, but she let Reagan spend the night. Reagan shook her head.

  “Now, don’t you go fallin’ for her, you idiot. You did that once and look where it got you. Nowhere. This isn’t high school. You are still so different. She doesn’t even look at you like that, what are you thinking?” Reagan asked herself out loud.

  “Ma’am?” Mrs. Bentley called from the other room.

  “Nothing!” Reagan called back.

  Reagan went back to work on her papers before her. She was oblivious to everything that was going on around her. She still couldn’t believe that Grace had been so nice to her the night before. It wasn’t like the Grace that she remembered from high school or the woman that she had been sitting with for dinner weeks ago. She was a different person and it scared Reagan how much she liked this woman.

  Grace came into Reagan’s office and sat in a chair in front of her desk. She didn’t say anything to disturb Reagan who looked lost in thought as she combed over her papers. Grace just reclined in the chair and waited for Reagan to look up.

  When Reagan finally did look up, it took her breath away. Grace was seated in the chair right in front of her in a tight pair of jean that hugged Grace like a glove. The white, crisp collared shirt that Grace was wearing was accented by the black leather blazer she was wearing. Reagan could see the bulge of Grace’s pistol on her hip and the badge clipped to her belt. The black boots made the outfit complete.

  Forger “power suits” I’ll take this any day, Reagan thought.

  “You ready?” Grace asked, bringing Reagan back to reality.

  “Umm…sure,” Reagan said.

  “Good, let’s go. I’ll drive. If that’s okay with you?” Grace asked.

  “Fine. Fine. No trouble at all,” Reagan said almost stammering.

  Reagan followed Gracie down to Grace’s truck. Reagan was prepared to take a ride in a police cruiser. She wasn’t ready to ride to the station in Lexington in Grace’s giant, supped up and decked out black F150.

  “We’re going in that?” Reagan asked.

  “Yeah, is that a problem?”

  “No, I was thinking that since you were on duty that you would have a cruiser. I didn’t think that you would get to drive your personal car on the job. It’s okay.”

  “This is my work truck. I have to go all over Lexington. I need to be able to get to where I need to be. This is my truck. They tricked it out with all the bells and whistles by the sheriff’s office standards. This is all I got,” Grace said.

  “It’s fine. Really. I promise. I was…it’s okay. Can we go, now?” Reagan asked, flustered.

  “If you’re ready,” Gracie replied.

  They rode in silence for the most part. Reagan didn’t mind the radio selection that Grace chose as the rode down I 20. She didn’t mind the truck. It fact, she was enthralled with Grace’s truck. She liked the truck. She thought it made Grace even more “butch.”

  Grace drove straight to the station house. She ushered Reagan into the station and then to a small office. Another detective walked in and sat down with them.

  “Hey, Frenchy,” Grace said.

  “Hey, Grace. You must be Reagan. I am Detective French. I am Grace’s partner. I heard that you had one hell of a scare last night. Want to tell me about it?”

  “Depends, are you going to take my statement?” Reagan asked him.

  “If you would like me to, I will. If not, Captain Wannamaker will do it for you. You choice, it won’t bother me. By the way, you can call me ‘Frenchy.’ Everyone does,” he told her.

  “Okay, I don’t care. I really don’t mind you questioning me. I knew that Detective O’Shea needs to go see the captain to make her report of what she saw last night. If it would help speed things along, I think that you should go ahead and question me,” Reagan answered him.

  “Alright, then, I see that you got this under control, Frenchy. I am going to see the Cap, then and give her my report. Beep me, if you need me,” Grace said leaving Reagan with him.

  “Well, I guess we should start. Do you want me to record this? I can if you want,” French asked her.

  “If you think that is necessary, I don’t mind. I just want to feel safe in my own home again. Can you do that for me?”

  “I am not sure, Ms. Knightley, but I am going to try to help you,” French stated.

  “I guess that is all I can ask then isn’t it.”

  “Let me start with a series of questions. Just answer them as best as you possibly can and then I will let you read the statement that you’ve made once it had been typed. If you agree with what it says, then you’ll sign it and we will do what we can on our end to catch the guy.”

  “Okay, um, Frenchy,” Reagan replied.

  “First of all, do you have an alarm system on your house?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have a dog?” French asked.

  “No.”

  “No warning system at all?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. How did you notice something? Did you hear something?”

  “Yes, I heard some weird scratching on my back door.”

  “Scratching? Hmm, why did it sound weird? What exactly did it sound like? Can you describe it to me?” French asked.

  “It sounded weird because there is nothing at the back of my house that could scratch the window. I don’t have any trees and as far as I knew, no one that lived near me had a dog. I didn’t know what could have made that sound. It was odd. It was something scraping glass, you know? I don’t know how else to explain it,” Reagan stated.

  “What exactly do you mean when you say that ‘as far as I knew no one that lived near me had a dog’?” French asked.

  “I didn’t know that Grace had a little dog at her house. But, the sound was coming from too far up on the door to be her dog, plus he was inside her house when I got there. I don’t think that he could have made the noise,” Reagan said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, pretty sure about that,” Reagan said.

  “Okay, well, you said that it sounded like scraping. Kinda like nails on a chalk board, would you say?” Frenchy asked.

  “I guess, but it was on the glass though.”

  “Did you hear the door open or anything?”

  “No, I heard the scraping and turned on the lights from upstairs. I think that scared him away. I am not sure, but am I pretty sure that no one got in while I was there,” Reagan said.

  “Okay. How soon did you leave the house to go get Grace?”

  “I would say about five minutes or less. I didn’t want to be in that house. I didn’t want to be caught in the house if someone did manage to get in, you know what I mean? I was only thinking, that I…umm…didn’t want to be a victim,” Reagan said.

  “I understand. So, what happened once you were at Grace’s house?”

  “I got there. She told me that she wasn’t too pleased with me disturbing her evening. She also wasn’t too pleased that I didn’t call the police but came and got her instead. She told me to sit down on the couch, shut up, lock up behind her and don’t move until she got back. So, that is exactly what I did,” Reagan told him.

  “So, did she tell you anything when she got back to her house?”

  “She just told me that the police had gotten there and they were taking care of it. I had fallen asleep on her couch. She let me stay the night.
”

  “I see. So, is there anything else that you want to tell me, Reagan?” French asked.

  “I just want to feel safe in my own home again. Can you do that for me?”

  “I will do whatever I can, but it will be up to another detective to do the investigation. I am only doing this because Grace asked the captain to let us get your statements. I am sure that Grace will keep in contact and up to date on the investigation. I am sure that she will keep you informed,” Frenchy told her.

  “Thank you, Frenchy.”

  “Cap?”

  “Come on in, Lieutenant.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “So, Gracie, you want to tell me what happened?”

  “Danica, I don’t know what happened.”

  “Then, explain why I got a call from Captain Luke this morning about you calling in a B and E 911 call.”

  “My neighbor came over to my house to get me because she thought that someone had broken into her house. I got my gun and a flashlight and proceeded to clear the house. I left her at my house locked in and safe,” Gracie said.

  “So, what happened?”

  “All I know is that she was scared. I didn’t think that our history was important. She was scared and she needed help and she came to me. I got to the house and it was an obvious B and E. I called it in on the phone. I didn’t have my radio to radio it in, so I did the next best thing. I told the responding officer what I saw. I waited until the CSU unit arrived to process her house and then I left. I told them that I would report to you today with the victim, Reagan Knightley to make our statements,” Gracie told her.

  “Is that it?” Danica asked her.

  “Yes, that is it.”

  “There is nothing else that you would like to tell me.”

  “No, Cap, there isn’t.”

  “Gracie, level with me, what is going on with you and this woman?”

  “Nothing. She is in business with my father. She owns RL’S Closet in town. That is all I can tell you. We went to high school together and liked to dislike each other. We aren’t exactly from the same background. We didn’t exactly float in the same circles, if you know what I mean? That is all I know, honestly, Cap.”

  “I believe you. I just need to make sure. I know that you would tell me the truth. It is just odd that you would ask to let our department do the statements. That is Luke’s major argument. I have to agree with him.”

  “I understand that. I am not trying to step on anyone’s toes, Captain, but she is scared. She has latched on to me. She was still shaking when I picked her up. She doesn’t feel safe alone, but she feels safe with me for some reason. I don’t know why, I really don’t like her. I wish this would just all go away, but I don’t like seeing her that way. That is why I told them that I would bring her into us. She seemed to be better off with us. You know that SVU detectives have a better reputation when it comes to victims. I didn’t want her to feel threatened by some hard-nosed, old, ruff detective that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the case,” Grace said.

  “Well, I can appreciate that, Grace. I will turn your statements over to Captain Luke and I am sure that you know what to do to keep yourself informed. I’ll see what I can do on my end. Is there anything else that you need, at the moment?” Danica asked her.

  “Nope, Cap, nothing that I can think of right now.”

  “Good, you’re dismissed. No, go and try to relax. See if you can get Mrs. Knightley to relax as well. I’ll see you the next time that you are on shift.”

  “Alright, Cap,” Grace answered and then she left Danica’s office.

  “I hope that you find whatever it is that you lost in Atlanta here, Grace. I would hate to lose a good detective like you. I hope that Mrs. Knightley can help you somehow,” Danica said, knowing that Grace couldn’t hear her say it.

  Grace walked into the main area of the precinct. She saw Frenchy and Reagan talking. Grace was actually happy to see that Reagan had a slight smile on her face.

  “Everything good to go?” Grace asked walking up to them.

  “Yes, we’re done. I’ll get this filed ASAP. She’s all yours, Gracie,” Frenchy said.

  “Umm…okay. You ready to go, Reagan? We can go, if you are ready,” Gracie said.

  “I guess so. If we are done, then I would like to go home and clean up everything. I know that it must be a mess after your units finished with it,” Reagan said.

  “Alrighty then, that sounds like a plan. I’ll take you back you to your office so that you can get your car and then I’ll follow you home, if you’d like. Is that okay?” Gracie asked.

  “Sounds good. Look, I don’t want to be a bother. I just want to go home.”

  “I understand. Here, why don’t you go get in the truck, I am going to grab some paperwork that I need for a case and I’ll be out there in a second,” Gracie said, noticing that Frenchy wanted to talk to her before they left.

  “Okay,” Reagan said taking the keys.

  Grace and French both waited until she was gone until they said anything to each other. It was like they both knew that there was something that needed to be said, but they didn’t know what it was. They knew that they didn’t want Reagan to hear whatever it was that they had to say.

  “Well,” Gracie said.

  “Yes,” French said.

  “What is it, Frenchy?”

  “She needs an alarm system. You and I both know that. I think that you should help her find a good one,” Frenchy said.

  “Is that all?”

  “For now.”

  “What do you mean for now?” Grace asked.

  “I think that there is something there and you are trying to deny it.”

  “Frenchy, trust me there is nothing there. We knew each other in high school. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing is ever going to happen there,” Gracie stated.

  “Okay, if you say so, but Grace, take care of her. She seems fragile. I would hate to see something bad happen to her,” French said.

  “Whatever, French.”

  “I’ll remember this day and I’ll make you eat your words. Remember this. I swear that there is something there,” Frenchy told her.

  Chapter Nine

  Grace sat on her couch happy to be home. She was worried about Reagan, but she was worried about her being worried about Reagan. She didn’t want to feel anything for her, but she was afraid that she was beginning to feel something beyond neighborly friendship. She couldn’t help but feel that maybe Frenchy and Danica saw something that she didn’t. Or, was it something that she didn’t want to see?

  She sat back and relaxed into the couch letting the softness envelope her. Grace flipped through the channels hoping to find something that would make her forget about Reagan. She finally settled on something on Tru TV, until it hit too close to home. She began to channel surf, again. She landed on Spike and CSI. She couldn’t help it but she was addicted to cop shows. Every now and again, she would watch COPS just to laugh at the punks that got arrested every week. It was how she relaxed, listening to someone else’s problems. It made her forget about all the crap that she had to deal with on a daily basis with the job.

  Grace got fed up with the nonsense of the TV and decided that she needed something else to distract her. She had to admit that Reagan was a good distraction from the daily toil that she dealt with on the street with each new case. She wondered what she could use to distract her from Reagan because Reagan wasn’t a distraction that she wanted to have. She stood up and found herself on her deck overlooking the lake, again, like she did every time that she wanted to get away from the real world.

  She watched the boaters running across the lake. She saw the skiers and the jet skiers racing out in the open areas of the lake. She was happy that the traffic was out on the open water and not in the cove that she lived on. She liked watching them enjoy themselves on the water and see them not having too much to worry about anything but whether or not they stayed up on top of the water. She wished sometimes that she co
uld return to that life, to the innocence of it all, but then she knew that she would have never been able to stay that way after she decided that she wanted to be a police officer.

  She sat back on the bench she was sitting on. She looked over at Reagan’s house. She felt the pull to go see her but couldn’t think of any reason why she should go see Reagan. Grace couldn’t make herself forget the night that Reagan called her parents. She couldn’t make herself stop thinking about Reagan, either. She was torn, but she didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to feel sorry for Reagan. She didn’t want to feel anything for Reagan. She just wanted to think of Reagan like any other case. She wanted to be able to forget it when the case was completely over. She didn’t want to worry about Reagan. But, she definitely didn’t want Reagan to feel anything for her, either. It would just be too much for her to deal with; the real world was enough for Gracie to handle at the moment.

  Gracie was debating whether or not she would take a tour on the water tonight. She wanted to feel the rush as she ran across the waves. She wanted to let go and just be free for however short a period of time she could. She thought that if she did decided to take a ride on the lake that it would help clear her head and she could get back into thinking about her cases. She sat on the dock thinking about her prospects on the water and finally decided to go out on the water. She got in her boat, fired it up and took it out for a spin around the lake.

  Reagan had gotten home from work. She was tired and wanted to see her Catherine. It was only Thursday and Reagan knew that he would have to wait another day until she could go see her Catherine again. She was counting the hours. It was the only thing that kept her from losing her mind. She was sure that Grace was avoiding her and she didn’t know why besides the incident that caused Reagan to call Grace’s parents.