NY State Trooper- The Complete Box Set

by Jen Talty

  “Maybe Doug and his wife don’t want their laundry discussed over and over again.”

  “Now you sound like my father.”

  “Your father is a smart man.” Reese decided it was time to redirect the conversation and take advantage of this walking font of gossip. “What do you know about the Heritage Inn?”

  “My dad would love to get his hands on the Heritage Inn. He and Doug have too much equity tied up in other projects right now and can’t buy it, but if they had the funds, they would.”

  “What would they do with it?”

  “Restore it, and then find a buyer so some big land developer doesn’t come in and rip the place down. The woodwork inside the main hotel is exquisite. You should see the staircase. And the cottages? So adorable. There is also a house on the property, where the originals owners—”

  “You’re going to hyperventilate,” Reese said. “Can you just answer my questions with a simple response?”

  She crossed her arms and gave him the best smart ass smile she could muster. “Sure.”

  “What does a place like that go for?”

  “Millions,” she said. “That direct enough for you?” Her smile was as playful as the sarcasm dripping in her words. He was going to like working with her, babbling mouth and all.

  “If you know so much about this, why not take your dad up on his offer and take over the family business?”

  “Because my dad would put me in an office and give me some stupid title that would prevent me from getting my hands dirty. When I was little, he kept trying to make me into a prissy little girl, and this was my way of rebelling.”

  “Being top of your class at the academy is an interesting way to rebel.”

  “Should have seen what I did at some beauty pageant my father put me in when I was ten. He was mortified, but I think he realized I wasn’t a prissy little girl,” she said. “But getting back to your problem, buying something like the Heritage Inn. You should file a plan when you place the offer. With a bid like that, it’s best if you have a plan, and best if that plan feeds into what is already there, and how any changes you make will enhance the area.”

  This young lady was turning out to be one surprise after the other. “Who says I want to buy, much less have the money?”

  “I don’t know about the money, but I can tell by the sound of your voice and the look in your eye you want to buy. You know, my dad might help finance something like that, especially if you’re going to keep it basically as it is.”

  “You really think your dad might be able to help?” He didn’t need the financing, but he would certainly hire the man.

  “If you’re serious, I’ll give him a call later to see what he says.”

  “I’m serious.” He snagged his iPhone, pulling up Patty’s contact information. But what would he text? That he found them the perfect home? A place where they would be happy. Where their child could have everything he or she ever needed or wanted. A place where they could go old together. A place where it would be okay, no matter what?

  He couldn’t say that, so he opted for ‘lets have a date night, we need to talk’. It was better than the nothing.

  Patty dreaded going into work. It had only been two days out from the shooting. She should have told Conrad to piss off, but he’d always been good to her. She had full benefits, and he paid her well, treated her well and the shooting wasn’t his fault. None of that reasoning made her feel any better. Nor did it stop the slight tremor she had in her hands. Too much had been at stake during those few hours when a stranger threatened her life and the very existence of her unborn child. She questioned her sanity as she pulled into the office parking lot.

  She entered the building, surprised the window to her office had already been fixed. The receptionist, Angela, was on the phone, but greeted her with a nod and smile as she handed Patty a stack full of folders, a few phone messages, and note from Conrad. “Can you hold please?” Angela asked, then set down the phone. She was in her mid-sixties and had worked for Conrad for the last eight months. She had snow-white white hair. “I can’t believe he’s making any of us come in.”

  “The world hasn’t stopped for everyone,” Patty said, though she knew the words fell flat she hugged the receptionist. “Sometimes its best if we all move on with life.” She wanted to believe the words she had spoken, but what she really wanted was to spend a few days in bed, alone, watching mindless television.

  “I’ve got to get back to this call.” Angela gave Patty a good squeeze. “Conrad wants you in the conference room.” Had it not been for Angela, Patty might not be alive.

  Patty walked down the hall, hesitating at the spot where Matt had been shot in her doorway. A floor mat currently covered the stains. The hair on the back of her neck stood upright, and she shuddered at the memory. Matt would be fine, though he was still in the hospital after having extensive surgery, but would either of them ever recover emotionally?

  Her office had been cleaned and Conrad had managed to put in a new wood desk and a nice new office chair. What little blood had trickled from her wound had been successfully removed from the carpet. She placed both hands over her belly, thinking about how precious life, or the potential of life, was.

  The stacks of paper on the new desk had been straightened, and someone had placed a large bouquet of flowers on the corner. The arrangement was filled with tulips, a sure sign of summer. She smiled. The only reason she knew the flowers were tulips was because Reese was so into gardening it was weird. The card read Welcome back—Conrad.

  She dumped her new workload on the desk, took off her coat, and then headed toward the conference room with a bottle of water in one hand, and a pencil and legal pad in the other.

  The conference room was an oval room with glass all around it. As she rounded the corner toward it past Conrad’s office, she noticed the two office associates, Ben and Russ, at the end with Conrad, and across the table sat four unfamiliar men. Conrad waved her in.

  “Everyone, this is our other paralegal, Patty Harmon. She’ll be doing most of the grunt work on this. Patty, this is Mister Keith Holland of Holland Development. You may have seen him around before…the unfortunate incident.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Patty said, doing her best to push ‘the unfortunate incident’ from her mind’s eye.

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Keith said. “I’m so sorry about what my previous employee did to you.”

  “Previous employee?” Patty felt a wave a nausea as she made the connection to the man that had held her, and her baby, at gun point. She was also bit surprised by the color of Keith’s eyes, the same, bright ice-blue as Reese’s. Not a forgettable color.

  “Terry worked for my company, though I’d never met him. He was stealing from me, and Conrad figured it out. I’m so glad you and your coworkers will be okay. If there is anything I can ever do for you, please, just ask.”

  “Thanks,” she said, wishing this meeting would come to a quick end so she could go home. This was harder than she thought it would be.

  “Patty,” Conrad said, “can you pull up the deeds and do title searches for the Heritage Inn and Kendrick’s Paper properties?”

  “Not a problem.”

  “Also, can you work on filing a motion to get the financials on the Heritage Inn? Shouldn’t be too hard, since it’s for sale. The hotel closed at the end of the season, but I heard a couple of the cottages are still rented through the rest of the winter season, so find out who is managing that.”

  “The realtor is handling that,” Ben said. He always spoke more than Russ, though neither of them spoke often, but they were good lawyers. “Once those renters vacate, the hotel and the cottages will officially shut down.”

  “Anything else?” Patty asked.

  “Yes,” Conrad said. “Find out from the realtor what other property listings are comparable to the Heritage Inn could be going on the market.”

  “I’m looking for something with a house, and perhaps a couple of guest hou
ses or an Inn. Bed-and-breakfast type places with a decent amount of land and water frontage.”

  “Any particular area? I know there are some on the east side of the lake, but much farther north.” Patty scribbled a few notes on her legal pad, which she thought should make her feel normal. Comfortable in her work place. But all it did was remind her of being held at gunpoint.

  “I’d prefer to be closer to the village, if possible,” Keith said. “Any chance of keeping this quiet? We really want to weigh our options.”

  She added it to her list. “The moment I do I a title search, it’s going to create some buzz.”

  “Then do that last,” Keith said.

  “All right,” Patty said.

  “Thank you.” Keith motioned to the other men from his company. “Once the casino is up, I’m going to enjoy living here full-time.”

  “Anything else I can do?” Patty hated the idea of someone like this man owning the property next to Harmon Hill. She couldn’t put her finger on it, and assumed she was just affected by the shooting, but this man gave her the creeps.

  “That’s it for now,” Holland said. “We’d best be on our way. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Let me show you out,” Patty said.

  “I’ll join you,” Conrad added.

  Ben and Russ were passing papers back and forth, talking quietly between themselves. They were related somehow to Conrad, though she wasn’t sure how. Ben was just out of law school, so this was his first job, and Russ about five years older. Both men kept to themselves, only communicating with Patty when absolutely necessary.

  Keith stopped at the front door. “Again, I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what happened. I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you.”

  “I appreciate it, but it’s over with,” Patty said. “I’d prefer just to put it behind me.” She shook Keith’s hand then watched him and his entourage leave the building.

  “I appreciate you coming in,” Conrad said. “With our caseload, and Matt on medical leave, I need someone on this full-time.”

  “Can I do some of this from home? I’m still a bit shaken up.” She clasped her hands together, trying to keep them from shaking as she stood just ten feet from where Matt had been shot. “I’m uncomfortable being here right now.’

  “Of course you can,” Conrad said. “Holland is a big client. He brings in a lot of billing hours, and he’s going to bring us more.”

  “I understand,” she said. “I’ll take all this home for now. I’ll report in later.”

  “I’m good with that.”

  Patty gathered her belongings, along with four full boxes of paperwork, and made a beeline for her car. She couldn’t get out of that office fast enough. So many unsavory memories flooded her mind she thought she might go crazy staying there another second. It was going to be a long night.

  “I need to make a phone call.” Reese signed his end-of-shift report while Stacey put the keys to the patrol car away in Jared’s office. He had thought this assignment would be nothing but a pain in the ass, but Stacey was capable, smart, and damn funny. “Are you sure your dad won’t mind us dropping in?”

  “You’re dropping in. I live there. No ‘us’ in the equation.”

  “I see.” He laughed. “And now I remember how young you really are.”

  “My age has nothing to do with my living arrangements,” she said. “Once my boyfriend finishes law school and moves here, I’ll be moving in with him.”

  Reese figured that might be over her father’s dead body. “And where is the boyfriend now?”

  “Columbia University.” She headed toward the door, wrapping herself in her large, non-issue parka.

  It really isn’t that cold out, Reese thought. “You’re going to wait for me, right? I’ll follow you.”

  “I’ll be in my car,” she said, “waiting for you, old man.”

  He shook his head, then punched in the speed dial for Patty on his phone. It went straight to voicemail. “Can you meet me tonight? I’ll text you with the details. Probably around nine, if that’s okay.”

  He ended the call, and then dialed a number he never kept in any phone or address book, anywhere. He probably should, but it was nice to actually know someone’s phone number without asking Siri for it.

  Elizabeth answered on the first ring. “So, you got my email.” Her voice indicated she was a little pissed and very disappointed.

  “Well, hello to you, too, Nana.” Reese called her sometimes twice a week, but it had been over ten days now, and while he had good enough excuses, they were still excuses.

  “Hello, Reese,” she said softly, but the edge hadn’t disappeared. “I don’t hear diddly from you, then I get this email with a bunch of documentation for a bid on a hotel, saying you need it all signed, with bank statements, and you need it yesterday. Mind telling me what the heck is going on? I nearly got in the car and hauled ass north.”

  Reese had been so private with his personal life that Nana had never once visited him anywhere in the last seven years. He made it down to see her every three or four months. It had been nearly four months since their last visit.

  “I think the documentation speaks for itself.”

  “Don’t be coy and cute with me,” she said. “Why do you want to buy a fallen-down hotel?”

  “It’s not fallen-down. Just needs a little TLC.”

  “Whatever,” Nana said, full of her usual piss and vinegar. “Why do you want to buy it? And if you mention a woman, we’re going to need to have a long talk.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Everything with you and women has either been complicated or non-existent.” The disdain oozing with her words spoke volumes. “So, this purchase is because of a woman?” The suspicion and trepidation in her voice grew.

  Reese wasn’t sure how to answer that because he hadn’t sorted out the Patty situation, and he wasn’t about to give his grandmother a heart attack over the phone by telling her about the baby. “It’s complicated.” Besides, he didn’t want her to ‘haul ass’ north and give Patty the third degree.

  “I don’t like it when you say that. I’ll need to have her vetted.”

  “So not necessary.”

  “I beg to differ,” Nana said.

  “We’ll talk more when I come to visit, but I need to access to a large sum of money, along with your signatures on the offer, now. If this goes through, maybe it’s time you sell the house and move up here. Get away from the city.”

  “White Plains is not the city,” she corrected. “Please tell me you’re not buying this hotel for this woman. Or with this woman. Reese, you haven’t always been—”

  “That was one mistake, Nana, and I won’t ever repeat it again,” he said, though considering Patty was pregnant, Nana might see this as more of not learning from his mistakes. “This purchase is for me. For a future, and once I own the hotel, you could move here with me. Wouldn’t you like that?”

  His grandmother let out a long sigh. “You know I’ve been talking about selling this place. Making a change. I’m not getting any younger and I know you won’t ever live here again.”

  “So, you’re going to do this favor for me?”

  “Normally, I’d say, ‘Anything for my favorite grandson,’ but right now, I’m very disappointed, therefore you are no longer the favorite.”

  “I’m your only grandson,” Reese said, knowing her chiding hid a world of hurt and frustration. “I understand your concern, but my job is good, and I want to stay here. Permanently.”

  “I’ve heard that before.”

  “That was different,” Reese said. “Can I get access to the money?”

  “I’ve already set up an account that you can use to finalize the offer, if you get it. But no woman will be on the title other than me, got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Now, I’ve got a crazy question for you.”

  “Crazier than you wanting money to buy a hotel?”

  Well, here goes nothi
ng, he thought. “Does Jessica’s family still live in Jersey?”

  “I haven’t seen her or her family since that dreadful day. Why the hell do you want to know?”

  “Because I never divorced her.”

  Total silence on the other end. “Nana?” Reese checked his phone, noting a text from Stacey that she was going to leave his sorry old ass behind. The idea that he was actually getting older made him realize it was time. He was going to be a dad, something that he never thought he’d look forward too.

  “I’m here, plotting ways to toss you over my knee and whip you with your grandfather’s belt, may he rest in peace.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I’m still technically broke, so she won’t be getting any of your money if she tries to fight dirty,” Reese said.

  “I can’t believe you think she’d be anything less than unfair and downright ruthless,” she said. “But I’ll see what I can find out about that little witch.” The line went dead.

  Reese was betting on two things: first, by putting down roots, he’d show Patty he wasn’t the kind of man to ever hurt her or their child, and that he was in it for the long haul. How he was going to prove that was left to been seen.

  Second, he loved her. Just admitting it to himself took a load off his shoulders. He couldn’t just tell her, because she’d think he only said it out of obligation. Or that he felt trapped. He understood her reasoning behind those feelings. He’d never given her any reason to believe differently. But he was determined to start making his life uncomplicated in the female department. That meant he needed to prove to Patty that any action he took from this point forward wasn’t because she was pregnant, but because he wanted what that pregnancy offered. Family.

  A really family. That he was all in on. Now it was time to prove it.

  Stacey was already in her vehicle, and her mouth was moving as fast as her hands; she was obviously on the phone and not happy. He waved. She waved back, but continued talking on the Bluetooth device. The girl had a lot of spunk, but she talked way too much and way too fast. But that wasn’t his problem. Right now, he needed to show Patty he meant business.