Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie's Story (Maine Justice Book 4)

by Susan Page Davis

  “But you did something,” Harvey said.

  “I had to. I couldn’t just let him—” Jordan rested his head in his hands.

  Harvey said, “Did it never occur to you to tell Chief Browning what Kyle planned to do?”

  “Yeah, it did. I suggested that very thing, but Misty said no way.”

  “Why?”

  Jordan winced. “She was scared a bunch of cops would ambush Kyle and take him out.”

  That wasn’t so far-fetched, in light of several incidents that had recently happened in other cities.

  “Besides,” Jordan said, “Misty’s pregnant.”

  That little detail had escaped the detectives. She was hiding it better than Jennifer.

  Harvey said, “So...”

  “So, she didn’t want her kid to have no father.”

  But that was exactly what had happened. They were all silent for a moment.

  “I see,” Harvey said. “Did you come up with a plan?”

  “Sleeping pills,” Jordan said. “Misty and I talked about our options, and we decided that was best. It would keep him down long enough for us to figure something out.”

  Eddie’s mind zipped to the autopsy prelim. Kyle had ingested a triple dose of sleeping pills Friday night.

  Harvey asked, “And how would you protect him from Al’s thugs when he didn’t deliver?”

  “We didn’t get that far,” Jordan said. “We figured we’d stop him from doing the—the thing he said he’d do, and then we’d find a way to fix it with—” He broke off and shook his head.

  “Wasn’t Kyle already asleep after you’d talked this over?” Harvey asked.

  “Yeah. But I thought Misty could get him to take them when he woke up, and it would put him out again. She said she’d try it. She had a bottle in the cupboard.”

  Eddie remembered seeing them when he’d searched the bathroom—over-the-counter sleeping tablets. They were perfectly legal, so he hadn’t confiscated them. Ray Oliver had bagged them with the rest of the medicine cabinet’s contents, but Eddie still hadn’t considered them important until the tox screen came in.

  “Did you give him the pills?” Harvey asked.

  “No. I didn’t stick around. Misty said she’d try to get him to take them. The next thing I know, she’s calling me at 4 a.m.”

  The early morning call to Jordan, Eddie thought. Misty had used Kyle’s phone.

  Jordan went on, “She said Kyle took three pills she’d told him were headache tablets, but that didn’t seem to slow him down. He’d loaded his gun and left.”

  “What did you do?” Harvey asked.

  “First, I had to calm my wife down. Kay had heard my side of the conversation, and she was very upset. She’d already suspected something was up when I went over to Kyle’s earlier, because I never went over there, and I had made it a point not to get to know Misty very well.”

  “Why was that?”

  “She was a druggie, too. I didn’t want them coming around our kids.” Jordan swore and dropped his head into his hands again. “We didn’t want to kill him! In fact, we were trying hard not to kill him.”

  A tap on the door alerted Eddie, and he opened it a crack. Tony.

  “Quinlan’s lawyer is here.”

  Eddie told Harvey, and he stood up and came to the door.

  The attorney, Ned Baxter, was one of the better criminal lawyers in the city, and therefore one of the most expensive. Eddie was glad Jordan’s father had the money to hire him, because he felt sorry for the guy.

  Harvey told Baxter he was going to put Jordan in custody and charge him with conspiracy and manslaughter.

  The lawyer took exception to that, but Harvey said, “Listen to his story, Mr. Baxter. The deceased man’s girlfriend, Misty Carney, made bail yesterday on a lesser charge, but we’ll bring her in again for this.”

  While he continued talking with Ned Baxter, Tony motioned Eddie aside.

  “I found out that the man you asked about, Alfred Hawkins, was released the end of November. He went to a halfway house, but they said he’s gone elsewhere now.”

  “Where?” Eddie asked.

  “I’m not sure yet, but I got his parole officer’s info.” Tony handed him a sheet from his notebook.

  “Okay, I know this guy. I think he’ll be straight with us. You want to call him?”

  But at that moment, Harvey called out, “Tony, Jimmy, Nate, you three go with Arnie and round up Ms. Carney again. Eddie, I need you.”

  The other men headed for the locker room for body armor. Eddie doubted Misty would have a gun, but then, you never knew.

  Baxter had gone in to talk to Jordan.

  Harvey put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “I’ve got to go up and tell Mike about this in person.”

  “Of course. What do you want me to do?”

  “I need you here to handle Baxter.”

  “You don’t think Arnie would be better at it?”

  “Focus, Eddie. Arnie will be out of here tomorrow. I’m letting him make one last collar, but we’ve got to get along without him. That means you boys need to find some finesse to deal with sensitive situations. I picked you to lead on this case, and I want you to deal with Mr. Baxter.”

  “Okay.” Eddie recalled that Ned Baxter was Senator David Murphy’s lawyer when they’d arrested him for murder. That was big stuff.

  “You’ll be fine,” Harvey said, “but I need to get with Mike ASAP. No doubt he’ll be taking some calls about this before the sun is down.”

  “I haven’t seen him at all today,” Eddie said.

  “He’s here. He’s breaking in the new deputy chief.”

  “Okay. I’ve got this.”

  “Right.” Harvey went out the door.

  Eddie sent up a prayer for Mike. Yesterday he’d attended the funeral of a friend’s son. Today he not only had to get acquainted with his new second-in-command, he had to learn that he was the target of an assassination plot, and that his son’s friend was being arrested in connection with his brother’s death.

  Eddie’s head spun. Arnie and the guys would get Misty, but they really needed to bring in Alfred Hawkins. If he was the dealer Kyle had been in debt to.

  *****

  Eddie ended up not seeing Leeanne Thursday night. Misty Carney was in custody by six o’clock, and Nate and Jimmy did some legwork, confirming that Kyle Quinlan had been one of Hawkins’s runners, but Hawkins eluded them. He had given a new address to his parole officer. Harvey and Eddie went there with their whole crew, but Hawkins wasn’t around. The word was, he’d stayed there a couple of nights and decamped.

  Harvey sent the other guys home. He and Eddie followed up on a couple of rumors, but they found no trace of Hawkins.

  “Think he’s left town?” Eddie asked.

  “Oh, he’s still here,” Harvey said. “I think we should set up a protective unit at Mike’s house.”

  “I guess that makes sense, but he’ll hate it.”

  “He’ll hate it worse if Hawkins sends someone else to kill him and the new guy doesn’t accidentally overdose himself.”

  Harvey called the night sergeant and arranged for an unmarked car to watch the chief’s house that night. Then he did the hard part—he called Mike to break the news to him. Eddie could hear Mike ranting and cussing. Harvey winced and held the phone a couple of inches from his ear.

  When he could get a word in edgewise, he said, “Mike, I know you don’t like it, but this is not an ideal world. It’s just until we bring Hawkins in. I want you and Sharon to get a good night’s sleep without wondering who’s creeping around in the bushes outside.”

  At last Mike calmed down. The chief agreed to the home surveillance overnight and an escort to the station in the morning.

  They finally called it a day around ten o’clock and went home. Eddie called Leeanne, and they talked for a half hour. Everything seemed good, and he started to believe they were past the rough patch. He was sorry he hadn’t seen her. She would leave on Sunday. Three days
.

  *****

  Ten minutes after Eddie got to the office Friday morning, Mike came off the elevator and walked over to Harvey’s desk.

  “You guys ready for an early prayer meeting?”

  Eddie stared at him. Harvey leaned back in his chair and looked up at Mike.

  “You want to pray with us?”

  “I figured you wouldn’t mind, and I’m taking a lot of stress right now.”

  Harvey stood up. “Eddie.”

  “I’m with you.” The three of them went into the interview room.

  “How close are you to finding Hawkins?” Mike asked, pacing the limited floor space.

  “Not very,” Harvey said. “I’m sorry, Mike. He’s in the wind.”

  Harvey and Eddie sat down, and Mike continued to pace.

  “I had to tell Sharon everything, and I called Mikey last night. He was pretty upset when he heard you’d arrested Jordy.”

  Mike was calling the “boys” by their childhood nicknames. Harvey seemed to take it in stride.

  “I’m sorry, but we had to. You know that.”

  “Yeah, I do. Jordy knew about the hit on me, and he didn’t tell me. Man, oh man. I taught that kid to tie flies.”

  “Is Sharon okay?” Harvey asked.

  Mike came over and sat down at the end of the table. “You know Sharon. She’s good. Always practical. Told me to delegate to Jack Stewart until this thing shakes down. She suggested a weekend in the Bahamas, but I nixed that.”

  “The Bahamas sounds pretty good to me,” Eddie said.

  Mike shook his head. “I can’t skip town because some thug is mad at me.”

  “I looked at the reports from when we arrested him,” Harvey said. “He should have stayed in longer.”

  “Good behavior, I guess.” Mike grimaced. “Although I wouldn’t have thought Alfred Hawkins was capable of that.”

  “It’s part of that prison overcrowding flap,” Harvey said. “They’re trying to free up beds.”

  “More like they’re trying to keep the press quiet about the burgeoning inmate numbers.” Mike ran a hand through his hair. “I still can’t believe that kid was going to kill me. On Christmas.”

  “Not very considerate,” Harvey said.

  “Ha! Debbie and Elliott and the kids were there, not to mention Sharon. What was he going to do, sneak into our bedroom and plug me? Sharon would have torn him to shreds or died trying.”

  Harvey put his hand on Mike’s arm. “Take it easy, Mike. Do you still want to pray?”

  Mike exhaled. “Yeah. That’s supposed to help, right?”

  Eddie closed his eyes, and Harvey started praying. He thanked God first for protecting Mike and his family. Then he prayed for the Quinlan family, for comfort and peace. Then he asked God to help the police find the people responsible and to not let anyone else get hurt.

  Mike stirred, and Eddie peeked. He was getting out his handkerchief. When Harvey said amen, he sniffed.

  “You remember what Reverend Rowland talked about Sunday?”

  Harvey’s eyebrows pulled together. “You mean about dying to self?”

  “Yeah. Giving up your rights.”

  Eddie remembered it too. Pastor Rowland was doing a sermon series on Matthew 5. Jesus talked about loving your enemies, not just your neighbors.

  “See, I don’t get that,” Mike said. “Our main purpose in life is to protect people’s rights. But he was talking like rights don’t matter.”

  Harvey nodded, his blue eyes sober. “Not other people’s rights, Mike. We’re supposed to stand up for them. But we’re not supposed to demand our own rights. For Jesus. I don’t need equal treatment. I just need to do what I can for other people. That’s what the job is, right?”

  “Lonnie and Rita Quinlan are shattered.” Mike swiped away a tear with his handkerchief. “And Jordy! He sat there all stony-faced during the memorial service, and all that time, he knew. He knew about the sleeping pills and the whole thing. He knew his numbskull brother was going to murder me, and he just sat there like a stump. And I’m supposed to turn the other cheek? What does that mean? Give him another chance to kill me?”

  “Easy, Mike. Jordan never intended to kill you.”

  “Well, he sure didn’t do much to prevent it. Give his moron brother sleeping pills? Come on! How about a little heads-up to his buddy’s pop, huh?”

  “I know,” Harvey said.

  “So, what am I supposed to do in this case?”

  Harvey closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. “I don’t know, but I suspect Jesus would forgive Jordan and show some love to Mr. and Mrs. Quinlan.”

  Mike drummed his fingers on the table for a few seconds. “Okay. I can do that. Maybe. Lonnie and Rita, yes, but Jordy will be harder.”

  Harvey smiled. “One thing at a time.”

  “Yeah.” Mike’s shoulders relaxed a little. “What about Hawkins? Am I supposed to protect his right to kill me?”

  “Absolutely not. You should let us protect you. We’ll get him, but it may take some time. You owe it to Sharon—not to mention the entire city of Portland—to stay safe, Mike. May I suggest you wear body armor whenever you leave the building?”

  “Crap.”

  Eddie stifled a laugh.

  “Maybe you should reconsider the vacation,” Harvey said.

  “No way. I don’t hide from scum like him.” Mike frowned. “What about you? Doesn’t he hate you, too? Why is he fixated on me?”

  “You made the arrest, remember? You led the investigation. You handled the court testimony. He sat there in the courtroom glaring at you while you told the judge all the wonderful things he’d done to hook our community’s kids on drugs.”

  “Including Kyle,” Mike said. “Yeah. I remember. The dirt bag.”

  Eddie remembered too. He could picture Al Hawkins in his jail jumpsuit, with hatred flashing from his steely eyes.

  “I’ll organize the protective detail,” Harvey said.

  “Okay.” Mike pressed his lips together for a moment. “This prayer thing.”

  “It’s not a magic potion, Mike. And it’s not just prayer.”

  “Yeah. Sharon says if I believe in Jesus and I get myself killed, she’ll be sad, but she’ll know I’m safe in heaven.”

  “That’s true,” Harvey said. “I’m sure it would be a great comfort to her. The flip side is, if you don’t believe Jesus died for you and you get yourself killed, she’ll never see you again.”

  Mike met his gaze. “I...” He looked away.

  Harvey sat there for a few seconds, and Eddie just kept his mouth shut, but inside he was praying for Mike.

  “You know, God’s never going to leave you alone,” Harvey said.

  Mike nodded about six times, gritting his teeth. “Okay. I can believe in Jesus.”

  “For you? Or for Sharon?” Harvey asked.

  “For me. She already believes for both of us, but she says it’s not enough.”

  “It’s not.”

  “Okay. But tell me about the resurrection part again, because I don’t get that. It’s too hocus-pocus.”

  Harvey looked over at Eddie. “Could you please get me a Bible?”

  “Sure.” Eddie got up and went out into the office. The other men were all working at their computers, probably wondering what they were up to. Then he saw Lonnie Quinlan sitting in the visitor chair by Harvey’s desk. Eddie looked over at Paula, and she gave him a tiny shrug.

  Quinlan stood up. “Detective Thibodeau, is Captain Larson available? I tried to see Chief Browning, but his secretary told me he was out.”

  “The captain’s in conference right now,” Eddie said. “May I help you?”

  “I want my son released in my custody.”

  Eddie didn’t have the power to do that, and neither did Harvey.

  “Can you wait just one second?” he asked.

  Quinlan frowned and sat down again. Eddie got his Bible from his desk and took it to the interview room. Harvey and Mike were deep
in a discussion about dead people, ghosts, and yes, the resurrection.

  Eddie handed Harvey the Bible. “Mr. Quinlan’s outside.”

  “You can handle him.”

  “He wants Jordy released.”

  “Tell him to talk to the lawyer, who can talk to the D.A.”

  Eddie nodded.

  “Maybe I should speak to him,” Mike said.

  “You stay out of it,” Harvey told him. “One of his sons tried to kill you, and the other one could have warned you but didn’t. You keep your distance. You could make a big mess of the legal issues in this case.”

  Mike sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “He doesn’t know you’re in here, Chief,” Eddie said. “I’ll tell him to go to Mr. Baxter.”

  “Good.” Harvey met his gaze. “And get moving on Hawkins again.”

  Eddie went out to Harvey’s corner. Mr. Quinlan jumped up.

  “I’m sorry,” Eddie told him. “The captain says you’ll need to let your son’s attorney handle this for you, through the district attorney’s office. It’s out of our hands.”

  His whole frame slumped. “All right. Thank you.”

  As soon as the elevator doors closed, the other men crowded around Eddie.

  “What’s going on with the chief?” Jimmy asked.

  “We’re setting up a personal guard for him whenever he’s not in the building, and a protective unit at his house at night until we catch Hawkins.”

  “That sounds good,” Arnie said. “Want me to set up the schedule?”

  “Can we do the bodyguard duty ourselves?” Tony asked. “Because I volunteer, if we can.”

  “Better wait and ask Harvey about that. He and Mike are talking personal stuff now. And our number one task today is finding Hawkins.”

  “What about that Mel Tucker woman?” Jimmy said.

  “Yeah, do you still want her?” Nate asked. “Because we’ve got a lead from an informant on where we might find her.”

  Eddie wanted to ask Harvey, but Harvey wanted him to show leadership, so he made a decision. “Bring her in if you can. She supposedly works for Hawkins. Push her for any info she can give us on him.”

  “Got it.”

  Nate was halfway to the stairs, and Eddie yelled, “Flak vests, guys!”