Monday morning, Warren sat bolt upright in bed, startled awake by his phone ringing. It was his day off and he’d planned to sleep in an hour or two before heading to the gym, then over to his sister’s to check on her and the kids later in the afternoon, after they would be home.
“Hathaway.” He’d long ago quit saying hello, especially if he didn’t know who was on the other end.
“Officer Hathaway, this is Detective Howard. What time are you supposed to go in this morning?”
Warren blinked as he tried to make the other man’s words make sense in his sleep befuddled brain. “Um. I’m not, sir. I’m off today.”
“Can you come in? I just read the report you turned in at the end of shift Saturday and I’d like to talk to you a bit more.”
“Sure, but you’ll have to give me a bit. I’m afraid you woke me.”
“No problem. How long do you think until you can be in?” Howard didn’t seem to care that Warren couldn’t be there in the next ten minutes.
He glanced at the clock, 8:15 a.m. “That depends, you want me in uniform or street clothes?”
“Better go for uniform. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get paid if this takes more than a few minutes.”
“I’m not worried about that, sir.” He did a little figuring in his head, how long it would take him to get dressed and down to the station house. “I can be there by about nine-thirty, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you then. Oh and, Officer?”
“Yes?”
“Come on up to the third floor, we’ll be waiting for you.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be there soon.”
The detective hung up without saying goodbye. That didn’t surprise Warren, a lot of cops were that way when dealing with business or an investigation, he’d done it himself a time or ten. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He’d have to get his work out in later, no time now.
On his second day assisting the detective with the homicide investigation, Warren realized how much he missed this part of the job. Not the murder or the bodies part, but the deeper thinking. The digging for more information, the working out possible suspects and motives. He hadn’t been a detective in Albuquerque, but on the vice team he’d done more in-depth work than a patrolman, either there or here in Blackjack.
It felt good to do more than issue tickets and respond to domestic violence and disturbing the peace calls. Okay, okay. Occasionally there was a theft or robbery in progress call to break up the monotony, but not often. Warren had dealt with more run-away teenagers, most of whom came home after a few days, than anything more than a misdemeanor, in the year he’d been with the Blackjack Police Department.
Not that he hadn’t liked what he was doing in vice. He did. He’d also desperately needed the break. After three years on vice, working on child prostitution and sex slave rings, he’d been on the verge of burn out. It had been a big part of why he’d walked away and started over. Well, that and Nancy needing help.
His sister, Nancy had been a new widow, her husband Thomas having been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, leaving her with four kids under six. Thomas’s parents lived in New York state, where he’d been from. The distance made them limited help. Plus, Nancy hadn’t said it, but Warren got the impression they blamed her for Thomas’s death, at least in part, and she didn’t talk to them often.
Warren and Nancy had three other siblings, one sister and two brothers, but he was the closest to her, both in their relationship and geographically. Sometimes that happened with larger families.
Either way, Nancy was doing better now and while Warren still helped, she didn’t need him as much. That left Warren both thrilled and depressed. Thrilled that she was doing better. Losing Thomas had left her a shadow of her former self and it was great to see her back on her feet, at least mostly. She wasn’t ready to start dating, or even considering it yet, but she could handle the kids, her job and day to day life. Which led to why her doing better left him depressed — He’d spend most of the last year with his nieces and nephews and now that Nancy didn’t need him as much, he missed them, and her too. He still visited frequently but he let them have their time, their space. It gave him more free time, time he could use to date a little.
If only the one person who haunted his thoughts, and occasionally, his dreams, would agree to go out with him. He knew why Sergeant Hayley Moreno had turned him down. She was his boss and she’d worked hard to get there. He respected that. Maybe it was time for a change, one that would remove the problem? Maybe he should look at leaving the beat, maybe moving up a little.
He shook his head and pushed wishful thinking away. He had a case he needed to focus on, and this wasn’t getting that done.
Warren had been surprised when he’d sat down with Detective Howard after the detective had called him in the day before. The other man had questioned him for over an hour about the report he’d turned in. Not just what it said, but why he’d put different things in. Why had Warren included this or that? They hadn’t been chewing him out or threatening in anyway and had in fact, asked him to assist them. That alone had surprised the shit out of him, but he’d readily agreed. While at the time, he’d not thought about leaving patrol, he was eager to help find whoever had done that to the girl. He had a name for her now, Tanalynn Snyder. Tanalynn, he looked at the name again and thought, not for the first time, that it was an odd name. He had to admit though, she was probably the only one in her class. He shook his head and flipped through the pages he’d spread out in front of him. He’d interviewed a dozen people over the last few days and this was the only way he’d remember it all, just read it all over and over until something clicked. He knew something would. It had to.
Chapter 6
Hayley walked into the station house Wednesday morning, her last day before her days off, half expecting some smart ass — half way inappropriate — comment from Hathaway since this was the one overlapping day they had in between their days off. But he didn’t seem to be around. A little odd for the start of a shift, but not unheard of. Sometimes things came up. She made her way to her office to catch up on a few things before the shift change briefing.
Thirty minutes later, she stepped into the briefing room ready to take on the day. Scanning the room while she waited for the men and women seated and standing along the edges of the room to quiet down, she once more noticed Hathaway’s absence, though this time she’d expected it. On her desk had been a memo letting her know one of the detectives had asked for his assistance with a homicide investigation.
Fine by her. She wouldn’t mind a few extra days without the man around. She mentally kicked herself for even looking for him now. He was a pain in the ass, but she had to admit, at least to herself, he was a good officer. Hathaway hadn’t done anything inappropriate, but he’d let her know he was open to more than just a professional relationship. Hayley had said no, and he’d let it go, but she was intensely aware of the heated looks he sometimes sent her way when he thought no one would notice. She could only hope no one else had. She’d worked hard to earn respect as a female officer and harder to make Sergeant. She wasn’t willing to give up that for a man.
Even one as sexy and tempting as Hathaway.
Hayley had a policy about dating men from work — she didn’t do it. It was a policy she might have been willing to bend for Hathaway, if she wasn’t his supervisor. But she was, so it could never happen.
After she handed out assignments, including giving Hathaway’s partner, Johnny Reed, a temporary partner, she headed back to her office. Experience had taught her if she didn’t take care of everything on her desk now, at the end of two days off it would take her three to catch up.
Hayley was on her way out to her car at the end of her shift when she passed him coming in. He smiled and nodded, she did the same, but kept going without a word. There was no reason, besides that she wanted to, to stop and talk to him. Someone might notice. He might take it as encou
ragement. Which she definitely didn’t want. Why torture yourself with something you can’t have? With a shake of her head she slid behind the wheel of her car and shut the door.
“You need to get laid.” Her voice echoed around her in the empty car as she watched him walk away in the driver’s side mirror, unable to keep from noticing the way the denim of his jeans cupped his ass to perfection.
Hayley shook her head and started the car. He disappeared into the station house and she put the car in gear. No point in lingering any longer. She was tired and despite not having done much more than sitting at her desk shuffling paperwork all day, she ached all over. She couldn’t wait to get home and relax in a tub full of hot water. Once more she wished for a jacuzzi, not that she needed the bubbles, but she loved soaking in hot water and a hot tub would make it so much easier. She pushed the wishful thinking out of her mind and turned her attention to the road. For some reason traffic seemed heavier tonight than usual and it took her almost twice as long as her usual fifteen minutes to get home. By the time she pulled into the driveway, she was gritting her teeth to keep from screaming at the idiot drivers around her. She parked the car, gathered her things and went inside, where she hoped she’d be able to relax. Usually she started unwinding on the drive, but it was as if something was acting against her today and she’d only been wound tighter and tighter until, as she unlocked her front door, she felt like she was ready to snap.
Hayley hated losing her temper, partly because she nearly always said something she didn’t mean and made the situation, no matter what it was, worse. No. She wouldn’t do that. Not today. She let herself inside and set the paperwork she’d brought home on the table beside the door then headed for the bedroom, starting to peel out of her uniform along the way.
Thirty minutes later, her hair piled and pinned on top of her head, she sank to her chin in bubbles. The huge tub in the bathroom was a big part of why she’d chosen this house. If she couldn’t have a jacuzzi, and there was no way she could afford one, then she would have a tub big enough to cover all of her but her head in hot, steaming water. Denni thought she was strange. She lived in the desert, and it got hot, how could she possibly stand to sit in water hot enough to turn her skin pink? At least that was what Denni kept asking her. Hayley wasn’t sure. All she knew was that the hot water calmed her, soothed her in ways that nothing else she’d found could. Hayley suspected that living in the desert was part of it. Not that she needed more heat but her body wanted more moisture. Yes, she knew hot water took moisture from the skin, not the other way around, but on days like today, she didn’t care.
By the time that horrible tension inside her started to loosen the water was starting too cool and the bubbles were gone. She didn’t care so much about the bubbles, other than they smelled nice, but she needed more heat so she drained a couple inches of water and turned on the hot tap. Hayley swished her hands and legs through the water to help distribute the added water so there wasn’t a hot spot in a cool tub, shut the water off when it was full again and sat back. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the rim as she tried to clear her mind of all the stupid crap that had been piling up all day. Reports that should have been turned in days ago had appeared on her desk today, and the officers responsible swore they’d turned them in on time. Hayley knew the reports hadn’t been there the day before, but how could she prove it? And her lunch had disappeared again. She hadn’t had time to go out this time and she was too tired of the game to bother ordering delivery again, so she’d skipped lunch.
As if thinking about it reminded her stomach it was empty, it rumbled and rolled, making its dissatisfaction audible.
Crap, she needed to eat, but nothing in the house sounded good, or at least nothing that wouldn’t take at least forty-five minutes prep and cook time, and while the time didn’t really bother her, she didn’t feel like cooking tonight, not for just her. The longer she thought about it, the more she dreaded the idea of finding something to eat. When she realized she was only stressing herself out again, she decided she was done. Delivery it would be, but that somewhat limited her options. There weren’t that many places that would deliver here.
Decision made, she pulled the plug and stood, stepping out of the tub without waiting for the water to drain, and grabbed a towel. After wrapping it around her body, she stepped into the bedroom where she’d left her phone. She’d briefly considered taking it in the bathroom with her, then decided she’d relax better without it. Now she wanted it. She called and placed her order from Rocky’s, her favorite pizza joint, then turned to the closet. She had about forty minutes until her dinner was delivered and as tempting as it was to just stay in the towel, it wouldn’t look good for a BPD Sergeant to answer her door mostly naked.
Chapter 7
Warren wasn’t as optimistic as he climbed the stairs into the station house Wednesday afternoon. Six more interviews and he’d not found anything new. He was starting to wonder if they’d catch this guy and if he’d kill again. He wasn’t so lost in the case that he missed seeing Sgt. Moreno pass on her way out for the day. She looked tired, not that he’d ever say it to her, but it made him want to take her home, feed her and tuck her into bed. Then join her there. They’d sleep, eventually. He wanted to stop her and ask her out again, but knew it was a bad idea. Once was acceptable, but to ask again, with nothing having changed, could be considered sexual harassment. That wasn’t his style.
He’d spent a good portion of his evening, well, what time he’d not been thinking about the Snyder girl, considering whether it was time for a change. Patrol wasn’t a bad gig, but Howard had pointed out that he was wasted there. His experience and training wasn’t for patrol, and while it had been a good fit, it had given him the time he’d needed to come down after his time with Vice, and to help Nancy, it wasn’t where he wanted to spend the rest of his career. Howard was right. He would look into seeing where else they might let him go.
Warren wasn’t looking to leave Blackjack or BPD, but he was ready to move on from patrol. Once this case was solved, or he was taken off it, he’d see what he needed to do to advance.
Pushing his way through the doors, he nodded at the desk officer and headed up to the third floor, where Detectives Howard and Cooley were waiting for him. They wanted to hear what he’d found out, what he hadn’t then they would discuss possibilities, leads and where to go from there. It had only been three days since he’d started working with the pair but they’d fallen into an easy routine and seemed to feed off each other when discussing the case and trying to figure it out.
As he climbed the stairs, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering to the lush curves of the Sgt and wondering what she was doing tonight. He had little doubt, he’d be eating cheap take out and reviewing this case again. He could only hope she’d have a better night.
Chapter 8
Hayley walked back into the station house Saturday morning almost as uptight as when she’d left three days before. Despite her desire to unwind, and an underlying knowledge that getting laid would help, she’d spent too much of her time off listening to her sister complain. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Denni had only one thing to complain about but no, she’d had an entire list. Her job, a client, a judge who wouldn’t allow some ‘key’ piece of evidence that would supposedly prove her client’s innocence, her latest date, the list kept going on and on. By 9 p.m. on Friday night, Hayley had been ready to go back to work just to have an excuse to not listen to Denni.
She felt bad about that. Their parents were gone and Denni and Hayley only had each other left. It wasn’t easy, but she did her best to be there and at least listen to her sister. It was more than either of her parents had bothered to do. Besides, Hayley still felt guilty that she hadn’t been able to protect her sister better from her father and his drunken rages. It didn’t matter than Hayley was barely a year older, she was older and she should have protected her sister. That had been part of why she’d become a police officer. To protect
other children as no one had tried to do for them.
Hayley stepped into the squad room and gave her head a slight shake to clear it. She needed her mind on the here and now, not on her bad childhood or sucky ass weekend. She scanned the room, trying to read the attitude of the place before she went in her office to read through a few things so she would be ready for briefing. Something was different. She wasn’t sure what off hand but something in the room had changed, and it wasn’t just the faces of the men in cuffs who sat at a couple of the desks around the room as they waited to be questioned or booked. Not willing to stand there and keep looking until she figured it out, she continued to her office where she left the door open in case anyone needed to speak with her while she logged into her computer and checked her email. There was a lot to do today, and that was before she knew if anything major had happened over her days off, she needed to get started.
Chapter 9
Warren was dragging as he made his way up the stairs to the third floor on Saturday morning. It had been a week since that early morning call out that had resulted in the body of Ms. Tanalynn Snyder and they weren’t much closer to finding who’d killed her than when Detective Howard had called him in on Monday. The three of them, him, Howard and Cooley had talked to more people than he could remember, including Ms. Snyder’s roommate in the dorms, her boss at her work study position and all the frequent contacts in her phone, and no one knew anything about a boyfriend. The roommate said she’d been on several date’s recently, but she didn’t know with whom, she didn’t even know if they’d been with the same person, or how many there might have been, the only thing she had been sure of was that Tanalynn dated men. Not just males, men. She said Tanalynn wouldn’t date them unless they were at least twenty-five and that was just the bare minimum, she preferred her men over thirty. No one else had had as much to say about Ms. Snyder and her dating habits. Warren had to wonder if she’d gotten mixed up with a professor who didn’t want to lose his job over dating a student. But why would he rape her first?
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