The Rookie's Assignment

by Valerie Hansen

  “I’m not forgetting anything. That crime is solved,” her brother insisted. “Merry is adopting Tyler and his birth father will be cooling his heels in jail till the kid is old enough to be out of college. What I’d like to know is who has it in for Delfino, here.”

  “Maybe it’s somebody who doesn’t want me to solve the Henry murder,” Nick said. “Have you considered that?”

  The captain nodded. “Yes, we have.” He paused to eye his sister as if trying to read her mind. “How about it, Keira? Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

  She shook her head. “Not a clue.”

  Nick remained silent. He had an idea all right. The only factor that didn’t fit was Keira’s presence when the boulder had fallen. He wouldn’t put it past Olivia Henry’s killer to use violence to try to stop his investigation but he couldn’t imagine the Fitzgeralds taking a chance on injuring a member of their family in the process. Maybe they hadn’t know that Keira was down there with him.

  He had almost convinced himself that the allegations against this little police department were false until this most recent attack. Now, he was far less confident.

  Taking slow, cautious steps, Nick edged closer to the precipice so he could make personal observations. Whoever had done this must have been driving a pretty heavy vehicle with a high bumper.

  He sensed Keira at his elbow, crouched and pointed to the tread marks imprinted in the sod. “Looks like a truck.”

  “Uh-huh. Our old friends, maybe?”

  “Could be. I don’t suppose there’s a traffic cam or any other such device around here.”

  “In Fitzgerald Bay? We don’t even have a camera over the bank’s outdoor ATM.”

  “That figures.”

  “You’d think somebody would have noticed a truck pushing a big rock around,” she said. “I mean, think about it. How odd is it to see a guy shoving boulders off the cliff?”

  “Unless…” Nick straightened and scanned the area, deciding that no matter how far-fetched his idea might be, it was worth looking into.

  He cupped Keira’s elbow and hurried her back to where the captain was conversing with other officers.

  “Excuse me,” Nick said. “I was wondering. I’ve never seen snowplows working around town but I know you must have them. If I were you, I’d check their tires for a match and dust the cabs for prints.” He could tell by the way Keira was grinning that she thought he was onto something. Now all he had to do was convince her brother.

  That wasn’t as difficult as Nick had feared. Muttering under his breath for a moment, Douglas gave the necessary orders and the others quickly dispersed.

  Then he turned to Nick. “Good call, Delfino. Nobody would pay the slightest attention to a truck with a blade pushing piles of snow around this time of year. Most of our units have dual axles but there is one that could have left these tracks. It’s small enough to work in tight spaces and still have the power to do this.”

  “Hey!” Keira was beaming at her partner. “They said you were really smart. I’m beginning to think they didn’t give you nearly enough credit.”

  “Thanks. Just trying to think outside the box.”

  His gaze softened as he saw the admiration blossoming in her expression. She seemed to be developing a gigantic case of hero worship and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it.

  It would end with a bang, of course. Once he revealed his true mission at the FBPD, Keira would hate him. He didn’t blame her. Didn’t really blame any of the officers and departments he was assigned to investigate. Somebody had to act as the conscience of law enforcement and Nick figured it may as well be him. At least he was unbiased and would turn in an accurate assessment.

  Even this time? Yes. Especially this time. Because if he failed to uncover the killer it would look even worse for the chief and all the other Fitzgeralds.

  Why should I care? Nick asked himself.

  The answer to that was easy. She was standing right there in front of him, looking at him as if he were the quintessential cop. He knew better. In those fleeting moments when he had seen Keira nearly perish, his first reaction had not been to perform beyond human capabilities.

  It had been spiritual. He’d thanked God. The God he’d insisted he didn’t believe in.

  Keira felt short of breath every time she thought of how close she and Nick had come to being crushed to death. Replaying the incident over and over in her mind did little to comfort her, either. The more she visualized it, the more she realized how crazy she had been to run into the path of such imminent danger.

  Lagging back while Nick talked to some of the other officers and watched them making imprints of the tire tracks leading to the cliff, she leaned against the side of one of the black-and-whites. She was still standing like that when Charles drove up with his two-year-old twins.

  Instead of setting them on their feet after he freed them from their car seats, he gathered one in each arm and headed straight for Keira.

  She greeted him with a wan smile. “You missed all the fun.”

  “Looks like it. What happened? Not another killing, I hope.”

  “No. But it was a close call.”

  “What?”

  His alarmed expression spurred her to quickly explain. “Everybody’s fine. Nick and I were down on the beach when somebody shoved a boulder off the cliff. It just missed us. Talk about scary.”

  “You’re all right? You’re sure?”

  “I’m fine. A little wobbly. Just don’t tell Nick or the others. I think I’ve convinced them I’m a lot tougher than I really am.”

  “Would you like to come inside and unwind? We can talk after I find the kids something to keep them occupied.”

  Although Keira smiled she also shook her head. “I should stay out here. It’s my job.”

  “What does Dad have to say about that?”

  “Please.” She rolled her eyes. “I have enough trouble convincing people I’m a real cop. The last thing I need is to have everybody see my father overprotecting me.”

  “He cares about your safety. We all do.”

  “I know. The trouble is, I want to stand on my own two feet and that’s pretty hard to do around here.” The moment she spoke she saw Charles assessing her posture, clearly noting the fact she was still leaning against the car.

  Abashed, she pushed away, straightened and laughed softly. “Okay, so maybe I am a little overwhelmed right now. That has to be normal. Even Nick was shaking after it happened—and he’s an old pro.”

  “Delfino was with you?”

  “Yes, of course. I was showing him where…” Keira eyed the twins, then chose not to finish her sentence.

  “Okay. Who knew you were headed down there?”

  “I’d notified the station.”

  “Plus half the town if you used your radio,” Charles added. “You know how many people own scanners so they can listen to fire and police chatter.”

  “That’s right.”

  She jumped when a voice close behind her asked, “What is?”

  Whirling, she tried to hide her nervousness from Nick. “Hi. I didn’t hear you coming. Are they finished making imprints of the tire tracks?”

  “Yeah.” He put out his palm to shake hands with Charles before smiling and withdrawing the offer. “Sorry. I see you have your hands full. Good to see you, doc. What have you been up to?”

  “You mean, do I have an alibi for this afternoon? Yes, I do. We were paying a call on my grandfather Ian. He likes to visit with the twins when there’s not as much distraction as there is when we have our monthly family get-togethers.”

  “Sounds like that might be a little hectic,” Nick said, still smiling and eyeing Keira. “But if my partner was to ask me to join her the next time, I might agree to tough it out.”

  Keira was astounded. And speechless. She cast a pleading glance at Charles, hoping he’d come up with a suitable, polite excuse for not taking Nick seriously. Unfortunately, her brother appeared to be as shocked
as she was.

  Nick chuckled. “Hey, don’t let it bother you. I know it’s a family thing. I just thought, since she’d already asked me to the Valentine’s party, she might like to include me in something a little more casual.”

  The wide-eyed look on Charles’s face might have made Keira laugh if she weren’t so uptight. “I—I…”

  Her brother found his voice before she did and what he said floored her.

  “I see no reason why you shouldn’t come to dinner,” Charles said flatly. “Once you’ve met the rest of the Fitzgerald clan you’ll be less likely to distrust us.” He cleared his throat. “We’ll all be at Dad’s this coming Saturday night. If you’re interested in joining us, be there before six-thirty.”

  When Nick said, “Thanks. I’d love to come,” Keira almost gasped. It was one thing to put up with her partner’s no- nonsense attitude at work. That she could manage. But the idea of what would happen once he was surrounded by her boisterous, eclectic family gave her gooseflesh and made her heart pound.

  At that moment she wasn’t sure whether she was more worried about what Nick would say and do, or about how her relatives might treat him. If they thought he was being antagonistic they might turn on him en masse. If that happened, Nick would find out firsthand what it was like to be a part of a close-knit family group—only his place would be on the outside looking in.

  By the time they got through with Nick, she’d be fortunate if he was still coherent, let alone willing to attend the Valentine’s bash with her as he’d promised.

  In a way, she was glad he’d have a taste of her family dynamics before they went out on what she considered the equivalent of a date. Yes, he had misunderstood the true motives behind her invitation. That had been her fault for trying to minimize her desire to go out with him.

  But that didn’t change the fact that she had asked and he had accepted. All she could hope for was that Nick wouldn’t find her clan too intimidating or be put off by their personal questions. Aunt Vanessa wasn’t the only Fitzgerald who tended to play matchmaker, even if she was the most outspoken.

  Keira managed a smile for Nick as Charles bid them goodbye and walked away. “You really don’t have to feel obligated to come to dinner at Dad’s. I know you prefer solitude and you sure won’t find it at a Fitzgerald gathering.”

  “Not a problem,” Nick said, grinning. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  TEN

  Keira was surprised when her father called her into his office the following afternoon. She knew she’d been walking a proverbial tightrope since she’d been partnered with Nick but as far as she could tell, she hadn’t gotten into trouble, with or without him, for at least the past twenty-four hours.

  She poked her head through the doorway without fully entering. “You wanted to see me, Chief?”

  “Yes. Come in. Close the door.”

  Uh-oh. “Is there a problem?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  Puzzled, she plunked down in a leather chair opposite her father and studied his expression. “Tell you what?”

  “About your partner, for starters. What have you learned about him?”

  “You have his personnel file. I’m sure you know more than I do. Why?”

  Aiden shook his head. “I’m not talking about what’s in the man’s file. I want your personal opinion of him.”

  The color started to flood Keira’s cheeks. She squirmed, straightened in the chair and cleared her throat. “My personal opinion? In what way?”

  “Do you think he’s honest?”

  “Of course I do.” Scowling, she leaned forward and stared at her father, trying to figure out his strange mood. “You’re the one who agreed to bring him here in the first place and you said he had good credentials. Why would you ask me something like that?”

  Aiden shoved a sheet of paper across the desk toward her.

  She picked it up and scanned it. “I don’t understand. This says we got a hit on fingerprints from the only snowplow that matched the tire tracks on scene at the cliff. So?”

  “Keep reading.”

  “Okay, being in the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System database means this Anthony Carlton is a known criminal. IAFIS should be able to provide a mug shot.”

  “I got one all right. Check those details again.”

  Turning back to the report she read, then reread, before looking up. “I think I see what you mean. What do you want me to do about it?”

  “Nothing, for the present,” Aiden said, passing her a photo of a middle-aged, slightly portly man with light, receding hair and a mustache. The picture looked like an official ID. The subject was wearing a police uniform.

  “Just keep working with Delfino and keep your ears open,” Aiden said. “And please be careful. Until we can fill in the blanks, we won’t know enough to tell if Carlton’s the underlying reason for the recent rash of incidents.”

  “But you think he may be? That’s ridiculous.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I’m keeping an open mind. The prints prove that the guy who pushed that boulder off the cliff was a former lieutenant on the same Boston department as Nick. That’s too much of a coincidence to suit me. Unfortunately, portions of Carlton’s record have been sealed by a judge. It’ll take time to get access. Until we do, I don’t want Delfino to know about the hit on the prints.”

  Keira was astounded. She saw no alternative so she agreed. “All right. I won’t breathe a word until I clear it with you.”

  She rose, handed back the report and the photo to her father, and chanced a smile. “Speaking of Nick reminds me. I meant to mention it earlier. Charles invited him to dinner Saturday tonight.”

  “What? That’s when we’re getting together with family at my place.”

  “Exactly,” Keira said, starting to inch toward the door and put more distance between herself and her father. “Nick will be joining all of us at the house tomorrow evening. I made sure to tell Irene so she’d prepare enough food.”

  “And when were you planning to tell me?”

  “I just did.” She gave him a mock salute, hoping it would soften his mood, and was relieved to see him shake his head the way he did when capitulating.

  “Okay. I guess that’ll work to our advantage. I’ll inform your other brothers and we can all keep an eye on him, see if we can draw him out about his past.”

  “I hope you have better luck than I’ve had,” Keira said. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Nick and I have been together since the day after he hit town and I still don’t know much about him except that his parents are retired and living in Florida. I think the size of our family intimidates him.”

  “Good,” Aiden said. “I want him on edge. If he’s involved with a crooked cop and thinks he can hide out in my town, he’s got another think coming.”

  “Now you sound like the folks who were ready to lynch Charles the moment Olivia’s body was discovered. That’s not like you, Dad.”

  “This has nothing to do with Olivia Henry.” Aiden was suddenly all business again. “I wouldn’t have agreed to bring in an outsider if it wasn’t for the sake of your brother. Now I suspect I made a mistake.”

  “If you did, it was only because you love us all,” Keira told him. “We’ll solve the murder. I know we will. And if Nick is as clever about those clues as he was when he thought of checking the snowplow, maybe it won’t take too long.”

  As she turned and left the office she heard her father say, “I hope you’re right.”

  Nick had tried again to contact his former boss, had failed to connect privately and had left a message asking for a return call ASAP. It didn’t come. That apparent lack of commitment to his current mission was very troubling.

  It was almost as if he were the one being ostracized instead of the crooked former lieutenant he’d accused of accepting huge bribes to “lose” evidence and thereby protect members of a crime syndicate. The proof against that officer and severa
l others had been irrefutable, yet before all the warrants could be served the chief suspect had vanished.

  Nick knew there was no way Anthony Carlton or his cohorts could have known they were about to be arrested unless someone on the inside had tipped them off. Someone who was undoubtedly still on the force. Was that why Nick’s calls weren’t being returned? Was someone in Boston purposely misdirecting the messages to keep him in the dark? Was Carlton still at large?

  Even if that was so, it didn’t change anything. He had a job to do and he’d do it whether he received outside assistance or not. There had been times in the past when he’d likened his position to that of a soldier caught behind enemy lines. This assignment was no different. Operating on his own often provided the best results, anyway.

  He showered and shaved, then donned slacks and the green sweater he’d worn before. Except for his uniforms and other duty gear, he hadn’t brought much with him. Socializing wasn’t his forte. He much preferred the predictable public image of an officer of the law to the unknowns he might face if he were forced to step out of character.

  Why was that? he wondered. He could hold his own in conversations about myriad subjects and his manners were impeccable, thanks to his rigid upbringing. Still, he was happiest playing the role of a cop. It was his identity. His destiny.

  A knocking startled him. “Yes?”

  “It’s me. Your landlord,” Douglas Fitzgerald called. “Since you don’t have your own car I thought you might want to hitch a ride with me to Dad’s party.”

  Nick’s gut was in a knot when he opened the door. “Party? I thought this was just a family dinner.”

  “It is. We meet once a month for a good meal and to celebrate any birthdays.”

  “I don’t need to bring presents, do I?” Nick scanned the sparse apartment behind him as if doing so might provide needed gifts right out of the blue.

  The captain patted him on the shoulder. “Nah. You’re good. We sometimes give gag gifts but to tell you the truth, I’m not sure any of the clan have February birthdays. I know my siblings and I don’t.” He grinned. “Relax, man. We won’t bite.”