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

by Susan Page Davis

  Nate and Jimmy U-turned for the locker room.

  Tony and Arnie still stood there.

  “So, the kid might have a lead on Hawkins,” Arnie said with a nod toward Tony.

  Eddie raised his eyebrows in Tony’s direction.

  “It may be significant,” Tony said. “EMTs responded to a cocaine overdose last night. They took the victim to the hospital. I caught their report on Jennifer’s program. It was a bad batch. I was thinking maybe we could trace it back, so I called the EMT who filed the report. He says the other people at the party might be able to tell us where the coke came from.”

  “They never tell you that,” Eddie said. “We’d arrest their dealer, and they’d lose their supply.”

  “But the O.D. victim died,” Tony said. “I figure the girls at the party will be really upset today. They might be willing to talk.”

  Eddie thought about it. Tony and Arnie together should be able to charm anything in a skirt.

  “Okay, go. But call in with a progress report before noon.”

  Tony grinned. “Got it. Thanks, Eddie.”

  The office was empty, except for Eddie and Paula. She got up and walked over to him, smiling. Paula was about forty-five, sweet, and motherly. She had three teenagers, and Eddie thought those kids were very lucky.

  “Good job, Eddie. Turn around so I can pat you on the back.”

  He laughed. “Thanks. I’ll feel better when we get this guy who’s after the chief.”

  “We all will. Meanwhile, I don’t say this much in order to avoid sexist stereotyping, but may I get you a cup of coffee and a doughnut?”

  “I’d love it. Thanks.” Eddie went over to his desk and pulled up everything they had on Alfred Hawkins.

  Chapter 12

  Friday, December 31

  About twenty minutes after Paula brought Eddie coffee and a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles, Harvey and Mike came out of the interview room.

  “Eddie, my man.” Mike walked over to him grinning. Eddie thought he might shake hands, but instead, Mike pulled him into a bear hug, tousled his hair, and said, “Thanks, kid.”

  He let go, and Eddie eyed him cautiously. “For what?”

  “For changing.”

  Puzzled, Eddie looked at Harvey. He just smiled, as though he understood perfectly.

  “I’ve been watching you,” Mike said. “Leopards can’t change their spots. Did you know that’s in the Bible?”

  “No.”

  “It is. Sharon showed it to me. She said if Eddie Thibodeau can quit chasing women and follow Jesus, will you admit God is real?”

  Eddie wasn’t sure how to take that.

  Harvey said, “You know, Mike, a lot of the time those women were chasing Eddie.”

  “Yeah,” Eddie said. Seemed like he’d gotten a totally bad rap since he started behaving himself—worse than before.

  “Well anyhow, I see it, and I believe it. There’s hope for you, Eddie, and that means there’s hope for me.” Mike slapped Harvey on the back. “Later, Harv.”

  He walked toward the stairway, and when he passed Paula’s desk, he grinned at her. “You look especially great today, Paula.”

  “Thanks, Chief.”

  Eddie looked at Harvey as the door closed.

  “So?”

  “He believes. He understands, and he believes.”

  “Even the resurrection? Because I agree, that’s a tough one.”

  “Even that.”

  “Fantastic.”

  “He was serious about watching you. Watching both of us. I almost ruined it when I had that go-round with Jennifer about her old boyfriend.”

  “Wow,” Eddie said. “He mentioned that?”

  “Yeah. He said if I was going to act like an idiot once in a while, I cleaned up well afterward.”

  Eddie laughed. “Sharon’s going to love this.”

  “I wish I could see her face when he tells her,” Harvey said.

  “Maybe it will make it easier for her to swallow the protective detail.”

  “Right. We’ve got to set that up.”

  “Arnie said he’ll make a schedule,” Eddie said, “but since he went out, maybe you should set it up for tonight. We all want to volunteer for watchdogging Mike.”

  “I think you can make better use of your time cracking the case. Let the uniforms handle it.”

  He was right, as usual. Eddie told him what leads their men were following.

  “Good,” Harvey said. “You keep close tabs on them and follow up on anything they need.”

  At noon, Mike called Harvey, apparently upset because he’d asked Sharon to meet him for lunch and two beat cops insisted on escorting him to the restaurant. Eddie only heard Harvey’s part of it, but it was enough.

  “Forget about them,” Harvey said into the phone. “This is your special time with Sharon.” And a bit later, “No, Mike, do not buy them lunch. Just let them do their job. They’ll eat later. No, the city’s not paying for their lunch at the floating restaurant.” Finally, Harvey said a bit testily, “Mike, go back to the table and tell Sharon all the things you want to tell her, and ignore the officers. Thank you.” Harvey hung up, shaking his head.

  “You want to go to the diner?” Eddie asked.

  “Let’s take turns today. You go first. I’ll stay in case something breaks.”

  Nothing broke. They both got lunch. All afternoon, Arnie or Nate would call in and ask for intel on some two-bit felon or other. Eddie would pull up the rap sheet and tell them where they might be likely to find the crooks.

  Arnie’s retirement party was scheduled for four-thirty. At four o’clock, Harvey called all the guys back to the station. When Nate and Jimmy came in, they went with Eddie and Harvey up to the chief’s office. Arnie and Tony came in last. Paula was under orders to tell Arnie that Mike wanted him to go up to his office for a minute to finalize the surveillance schedule. She and Tony were to follow him up there.

  Arnie was surprised when he saw all of them, plus Mike and the new deputy chief, Jack Stewart. Mike’s secretary, Judith, had ordered a fancy cake, and the outer office was hung with balloons and streamers.

  “Man, you know how to keep things on the q.t.,” Arnie said to Mike.

  “Comes with the job,” Mike said.

  Arnie swung around to look at Harvey. “Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have called us in from the case, but thanks, Captain.”

  Harvey just shrugged.

  Pete Bearse, Arnie’s old partner, was there. He’d left about six months earlier to join a law practice. Mike introduced all of them to the new deputy chief. Jack Stewart looked about forty-five or fifty, a little shorter and heavier than Mike. He wore steel-framed glasses and had short, light hair. He seemed personable and chatted a few minutes with each of the men during the festivities. Ron Legere and his detective squad came in about quarter to five.

  They all ate cake and drank soft drinks or coffee and told Arnie how much they’d miss him. Mike presented him with a nice .30-06, for which the men had all donated.

  “I just wish we could have caught Hawkins on my last day,” Arnie said.

  Harvey nodded. “You and me both. I’ll be glad when we put him back where he belongs.”

  The party wound down a little after five, and most of the guys left. Mike and Arnie and Pete Bearse were hashing over old times.

  “I guess I’ll head out,” Eddie said to Harvey.

  “New Year’s Eve. Big date tonight,” Harvey said.

  “Well, yeah.” Eddie smiled. “Thanks again for the tickets.”

  “Have fun. I think I’ll stay a few more minutes and catch up with Pete.”

  *****

  Leeanne was ready long before Eddie arrived. Abby was off that night, and she and Jennifer planned to stay in and watch To Kill a Mockingbird for the umpteenth time and enjoy a low-key evening with Harvey. It hadn’t taken long for Leeanne to learn that when Harvey was not at work, he liked peace and quiet, preferably at home with Jennifer.

  Eddie
, on the other hand, liked a little excitement, and she was looking forward to their evening together. He arrived shortly before six o’clock, not long after Harvey came home. Eddie looked like he’d just blow-dried his dark hair, and he wore a clean cotton shirt with his dark jeans and down jacket, and his eyes glittered.

  “Hey.” He bent to kiss her cheek. “You look nice.”

  “Thanks.” She was glad she’d taken care to choose her outfit—black leggings and a long, glittery top she’d borrowed from Jennifer.

  He put a small stuffed sheep in her hands.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  Eddie shrugged. “My cousin’s kid was selling stuff to raise money for a school trip. She didn’t have any goats, so I got the closest thing.”

  Leeanne laughed. “I like it. It’s really soft.”

  “I guess Harvey’s home,” Eddie said.

  “Yeah, you want to see him?” Leeanne took him into the living room. Harvey was sitting on the couch with Jennifer, and Abby was curled up in a recliner with an afghan.

  “Hi, Eddie,” Jennifer said. Harvey gave him a nod.

  “Hi.” Eddie looked at Abby and pretended to be shocked. “What? You don’t have a date tonight?”

  She made a face at him. “Rude, rude, rude, French Boy.”

  “Jeff and Beth are supposed to come home tonight,” Leeanne said.

  “Oh, wow. Are they coming here?” Eddie asked.

  Jennifer smiled. “We hope they will.”

  “Go on, get out of here,” Harvey said. “If they show up, we’ll try to keep them around until you get home.”

  Leeanne stashed the toy sheep on the edge of the stairs, and they went out.

  “You two have fun,” Jennifer called after them.

  Eddie drove to a seafood restaurant. Just from the lighting and decorations, Leeanne figured it was expensive.

  “Do you eat here a lot?” she asked after the hostess had seated them.

  Eddie shook his head. “I’ve never been here, but Tony Winfield says it’s good, and it’s not far from the Civic Center.”

  Leeanne browsed the menu and tried to ignore the prices. She didn’t want him spending a week’s pay on dinner.

  The waiter had given Eddie the wine list, but he laid it aside.

  “What do you want to drink?” he asked her.

  “Uh, water, I guess.”

  “Aw, live a little. Have root beer.”

  She laughed. “Okay.”

  “I’ll have the same,” Eddie said gravely. The waiter left without comment.

  “So, you want the surf and turf?” Eddie asked her.

  “Oh, no, I can’t eat that much.”

  “Get a steak, then.”

  She couldn’t figure out if he was trying to impress her, or just to reassure her that he could pay for it.

  “I was thinking maybe the scallops?”

  “Yeah, okay,” Eddie said. “I’m having a steak.”

  She nodded, glad he seemed happy.

  The waiter brought their root beer in frosted mugs. Eddie took a sip and looked up at the waiter. “Très bien.”

  “I’ll tell the sommelier,” the waiter said without batting an eyelash.

  Leeanne swallowed a giggle. Eddie winked at her and reached across the table for her hand.

  “I wanted tonight to be special.”

  “It is.” Looking into his beautiful dark eyes made her shiver in anticipation. A hundred years ago, a woman would have swooned over those eyes.

  “Did I tell you that you look great?” he asked.

  “Yeah, you did, but thanks. So do you.”

  She wasn’t sure how long they could sit there, smiling at each other, but the waiter came back with their salads.

  “So, tell me about this ethics class you’re taking,” he said.

  “Oh, it’s Ethics and Libel.”

  “As it pertains to newspapers, right?”

  “And broadcast journalism.” She was surprised he wanted to talk about that, but Eddie seemed to take a sincere interest in the topic, especially where it concerned protecting people’s privacy. Eddie believed that criminals gave up their right to privacy when they broke the law. The two of them discussed it at length, but didn’t settle anything.

  “Tell me what you learn about that sometime, okay?” he asked as he picked up the bill.

  “Yeah, I’d be glad to. I really don’t know much yet, but I’m eager to get started on the class—even more so now. I’ve always thought truthful reporting was important, but I hadn’t considered the privacy angle much.”

  When they left the restaurant, the temperature had fallen and a few snowflakes fluttered down. The street was filled with vehicles, much worse than when they left home.

  “Glad I’m not on traffic duty tonight,” Eddie said.

  “New Year’s Eve is pretty bad, huh?”

  “Yeah, the only night that’s worse is Halloween.”

  The ice show enthralled Leeanne. Eddie told her he’d never been to one live, either, and he seemed to enjoy it as much as she did. He hardly let go of Leeanne’s hand for two and a half hours, except to clap.

  When they came out of the Civic Center, she felt dreamy and content. Maybe things could work for her and Eddie after all. She hoped so.

  The snow was falling harder.

  “I wouldn’t mind if we didn’t get any more snow this winter,” Eddie said when he got into the truck beside her.

  “I know. I used to love it when I was a kid, but now it’s a nuisance.”

  He backed out of his parking spot. “It makes a lot of people’s jobs harder.”

  Harvey’s house wasn’t far, but the quickest route involved a short stint on Congress Street. As soon as Eddie turned onto it, he groaned.

  “What?” Leeanne asked.

  “I should have taken a detour.”

  The traffic was thick, and so was the snow. They crept along to the next stoplight. Three guys were trying to push out an SUV that was stuck near the curb.

  “Bad night,” Leeanne said.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen better. I’ll turn off on the side street down there if I can.”

  They got moving again, and they’d almost made it to where he could turn onto a less busy street when a light-colored GTO going the other way crossed the center line, skidded, and slammed into the minivan in front of them.

  Chapter 13

  Leeanne gasped and flailed a hand in Eddie’s direction, then pushed on the dashboard, bracing too late. Eddie pumped the brakes and managed not to plow into the van, but stopped after barely tapping it.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I think so. The shoulder belt caught me.” Her eyes were huge in her tight face.

  “Stay put.” He undid his seatbelt and checked his side view mirror to see if it was safe to open the door. The car behind them slid into his rear bumper, jostling them.

  Eddie swore and caught himself, stifling the next word. “Sorry. Are you still okay?”

  Leeanne swallowed hard. “So far.”

  The car that had started the chain reaction had crumpled the quarter panel on the minivan and buried its nose in the driver’s side of the van. Eddie yanked out his phone and pushed 911.

  “What is your emergency?”

  “This is Eddie Thibodeau. Is that you, Tammy?”

  “Yeah, Eddie,” the dispatcher said. “You got an emergency?”

  “Yes. Pileup on Congress Street. Send a bus and as many beat cops as you can.” He told her which block they were on and handed his phone to Leeanne. “Here. Talk to Tammy at the com center while I check things out.”

  He looked again, then jumped out. They were in the far left lane going south, and all the southbound traffic had ground to a halt. The GTO had slid over from the northbound lanes, and now that side was down to one lane, which crept by the wreck. A thousand drivers honked their horns and yelled in frustration.

  Looking behind him, Eddie saw that several vehicles had been involved in fender benders
, trying to stop in time. The people in the van were the ones he was worried about. He strode toward it and slipped, catching himself on the rear door handle.

  A man climbed out of the GTO, swearing a blue streak.

  “Hey,” Eddie yelled, “I’m a cop. Just get out of the way of traffic and don’t go anywhere.” He’d reached the point where the side of the van was smashed in. It was worse than he’d thought. The GTO had sheared along from the headlight about half the length of the vehicle and come to rest with the end of its bumper embedded in the van’s sliding passenger door.

  He turned around and scrambled to the other side of the van. He was close to other cars now as they edged by, southbound. Eddie yanked on the front passenger door, but it was locked. He knocked on the window. Inside, he could see someone in the driver’s seat. After a few seconds, the lock popped up.

  He pulled the door open. The passenger side was empty, but a woman sat behind the wheel, staring at him with a blank expression.

  “Are you hurt, ma’am?” he asked.

  Before she could say anything, someone in the back seat started yowling. A kid.

  “My son,” she said.

  “I’ll get him out. Are you okay?”

  “I—no. I don’t think I can move.”

  “Help is coming, ma’am.”

  “Get Mason!”

  Eddie could barely hear her over the kid’s screams. He tried to open the back door, but it was locked. He pulled off his gloves and reached in from the front. After some fumbling, he got the door open.

  “Mason,” he said sternly. “Hey, buddy.”

  The toddler was sitting on the passenger side of the bench seat—good thing. The other side was caved in. The kid was maybe two or three years old, strapped into a padded toddler seat. He had a really good set of vocal chords.

  “Mason, Mason, calm down. I’m going to help you.”

  The child’s meaningless screams morphed into “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”

  “Take it easy, pal,” Eddie said. “Mommy’s going to be okay.”

  “Mommy!”

  “Hey!” Eddie couldn’t unhook the harness, and his patience trickled away as the little boy screeched in his ear. “Mason, I’m going to get you out of here.”