“And he passed?”
“He did.”
“But?”
“But I’m realistic.” She sighed and leaned forward, keeping her voice pitched low. “He lives in Atlanta. He loves his job. He travels all the time. It is geographically impossible for us to be involved because my job is right here.”
“One of you could move.”
“Not me. The woman always has to give, and by George, I’m tired of being a second-class citizen in a man’s world. I’m a cop, and this is my home.”
“Maybe he’ll be so enchanted with you that he’ll want to move. Sloan did it for Roxie.”
“Sloan grew up here. That was different. Wyatt is from north Georgia. Hill country. And he’s from a big family. He has roots up there.”
“You thought about this already?”
“It was the first thing I thought about. Why get involved if it can’t go anywhere?”
“Still hungry, Mama,” Nathaniel said, sitting on his knees.
Jeanie handed her son Laurie Ann’s last package of soup crackers. “Are you involved?”
“There’s chemistry, though chemistry seems a tame word for the flashes of lightning between us. And with me being detailed to him night and day, well—there’s been opportunity.”
Jeanie let out a squeal of delight. “I knew it.”
Heads turned in the busy restaurant. Sable dropped the cup and trumpeted her disapproval. Jeanie ducked her head and grinned as she soothed her daughter.
“This keeps getting better,” Jeanie said. “I’m happy for you.”
“It’s not that straightforward. There’s the case. He’s convinced that his arsonist, who is also a murderer, lives right here in Tidewater County. And knowing the clock is ticking on our time together makes me even more cautious.”
“Don’t give me that ticking clock crap. You’ve always been cautious with men. I’ve known you since kindergarten. If you have a chance with this guy, I mean, really have a chance with him, why not follow your heart? What do you have to lose?”
“Besides my pride, my self-respect, and my heart?”
“It’s what makes us human. You can’t be guarded all the time, not if you really want to live. Give the badge and gun a rest. Allow yourself to feel what it’s like to be you, Laurie Ann the woman, not Laurie Ann the cop.”
Nathaniel disappeared under the booth. Laurie Ann felt him climbing over her feet. Oh, to be so young and carefree.
She pushed the spoon around the three potato lumps in her soup bowl. The need to talk to someone welled up until she couldn’t ignore the geyser of informational pressure. She leaned forward and spoke confidentially.
“Easy for you to say. You don’t work around guys all the time. They sense a weakness, and they use it against you.”
Jeanie reached across the table to pat Laurie Ann’s hand. “You’re the bravest woman I know. You face down crooks, robbers, drunks, wife beaters, and more on a regular basis. But there’s a part of you that stays locked away. Chances like Wyatt don’t come along very often. I’m challenging you to be brave about this. If you give in to your fear, you’ll be kicking yourself for the next thirty years.”
The noisy clink of silverware and pulse of conversations faded. Laurie Ann couldn’t look away from Jeanie’s kind eyes. “You think I should go for it?”
“Definitely.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Laurie Ann. You can do anything you put your mind to. Didn’t you tell me those very words a few months ago?”
Jeanie had been sobbing with a broken heart. She’d wanted to die after her husband left her. Laurie Ann had helped her turn the corner.
“I’ll think about it.”
After Jeanie and her kids left, Laurie Ann mulled the possibilities.
If anyone understood what it was like to love and lose, it was Jeanie. But for as long as Laurie Ann could remember, Jeanie had impulsively thrown herself into every situation.
Laurie Ann never had a devil-may-care attitude about life. Her friends even joked that she had an old soul. Headstrong, wild, and experimental didn’t describe her.
But the idea of being all those things with Wyatt turned her on in ways she couldn’t explain. She wanted to throw caution into the ocean and live in the moment. With Wyatt.
Chapter 34
Laurie Ann stood stiffly in Chief Tyler’s office, hat in hand. The summons had caught her off guard. Worse, the chief’s head and neck glowed like a vine-ripened tomato. What now?
“It’s come to my attention that you assaulted another officer,” Tyler said, spitting the words out like a nail gun.
Assault? She didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Still, fate didn’t reward weenies. She pressed forward. “I don’t understand. I haven’t assaulted anyone. Did someone file a charge against me?”
“I’ll decide if charges will be filed. First, I want to hear your side of the story.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Last Thursday. The day before the arson investigator came down here. You and Harlow and Calucci were in the squad room. You put your hands on Calucci.”
The argument replayed in her head. Her jaw clenched. “I didn’t touch him.” The memory of her grabbing his shirt flashed across her mental white board, searing a scarlet letter into her brain. “His shirt? This is about his shirt? I accidentally grabbed it while we were talking. It meant nothing at the time and even less now. Did Calucci complain?”
“No. He didn’t mention it.”
“Harlow ratted me out? The things I could tell you that he’s done to me. Talk about assault and harassment. No offense, Chief, but Harlow’s a jerk. I’ve seen his type drift through here year after year. They think wearing the uniform gives them control of the universe.”
Chief Tyler’s brow furrowed. “You want to file a complaint against Harlow?”
“I don’t want to file a complaint about anyone. I’m handling Harlow by ignoring his pettiness. The incident with Calucci was an accident. No harm was intended. Harlow’s trying to stir up trouble.”
“I won’t reveal the complainant’s name. That’s a matter of confidentiality. But I’m well aware of your service record and your exemplary conduct to date.”
“Calucci and I have worked cooperatively since the incident. We’re fine.”
The chief rearranged the ink pens in the beer stein on his desk. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you here. We’re a small operation, and the green cops I hire have issues. You have a natural aptitude for police work. You’re even better than your dad, though don’t tell Pete I said that.”
Even as Laurie Ann felt pride at his compliment, her heart grew heavy. There was a “but” coming, she could feel the winds of approach as surely as if it were a northeaster barreling toward the coast.
“The thing is, you’re ambitious. With your aptitude, you could go far in police work, if you keep on your current heading. But people are watching you closely, watching for you to make a mistake. And you made a mistake by grabbing Calucci’s shirt. In the station and in the public eye, everyone’s conduct needs to be exemplary. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
The chief rose. “Stay put. I’m calling Calucci in here. You will apologize to him.”
Laurie Ann’s face heated. She hadn’t been called on the carpet like this since she’d spilled a mug of hot chocolate on her dad’s Georgia bulldog hat. She didn’t like it one bit.
When Calucci darkened the doorway, she extended her hand to him. “I’m sorry if I offended you, Calucci. I meant no disrespect.”
The young officer looked confused. She nodded at him, intensely hoping he wouldn’t question what was going on. Worse, he didn’t say anything. When she’d about given up on having a law enforcement career, Calucci shook her hand and nodded solemnly.
“We good here?” the chief asked.
“I’m good,” Laurie Ann said.
“I’m good,” Calucci echoed.
“Scram.” Tyler waved them toward the open door. “I got work to do.”
As they walked out, Calucci spoke to her under his breath. “What was that?”
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Officer Calucci?” She nodded toward the kitchenette where the coffee machine resided.
His hazel eyes twinkled. “I believe I would.”
In the smaller room, she filled two cups and handed him one. “Thank you.”
Calucci leaned in. “What’s this about?”
“Someone told the chief I assaulted you.”
“What?”
She leaned against the counter, facing the squad room. “Reading between the lines, he said someone in the squad room is against me. Someone wants me to give up and go home. But I won’t do it. I am a cop, and the sooner folks understand that the better.”
He stood tall and looked her square in the eye. “You’re a great cop. All the guys look up to you.”
“They sure have an odd way of showing it.”
He gestured with his hands. “What did you expect? You work circles around everyone else. You close cases. You can outshoot the rest of us blindfolded. And you’re hot. Not too many males can handle that much competition.”
She was hot? Two compliments in one day. Must be a lucky day. She sipped her coffee, mulling his words. She was good at her job, that wasn’t in question. But she thought she’d downplayed her femininity. She never wore a hint of makeup to work, and her hair was always tidy and out of the way.
At a commotion in the squad room, she glanced through the Plexiglas window to see Wyatt bearing down on her. She groaned under her breath.
“Not now.”
Calucci set his cup down and edged toward the rear door. “I need to be somewhere.”
“Coward.”
The younger officer grinned. “Smart.”
Calucci ducked out the rear exit, and Wyatt rolled in like a supertanker. “Want some coffee?” she asked, squeezing his hand in greeting. Someone in that room had it in for her. Had it only been this morning since she’d seen Wyatt? It seemed like he’d been gone for weeks.
He gave her hand a return squeeze. A hint of facial hair darkened his jawline, giving him a dangerous air. “I want to know why you and Calucci looked so cozy in here a moment ago.”
“We were spending quality time together.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Only if you’re paranoid and think everyone’s out to get you.”
“Explain.”
“Nothing to explain. There was a personnel issue here. I got reamed out, but now everything is fine. Case closed.”
The receptionist came in and refilled her water glass from the big jug. As it gurgled, Laurie Ann wondered if Reandra was the complainant.
Before she turned to leave, Reandra said, “You got a fax from a moving company, Laurie Ann.”
“Thanks. I’ll get it in a few minutes.”
When they were alone, Wyatt took her hand again, caressing her palm with his thumb. “You get some lunch?”
Sparks shot through her arm, down her body, and spiked through her toes. Yep. The chemistry was as hot as ever. “I did. You?”
“Yeah.”
Another conversational topic shot all to hell and back. She thought about switching to the weather for small talk, but the spring-like temperatures were seasonally appropriate.
“You ready to compare notes?” he said.
She offered him a cup of coffee. “Most of what I learned isn’t helpful. But I’ll give you what I’ve got.”
He sent her a sizzling smile. “Never underestimate the process of elimination.”
She gestured across the bullpen. “Conference room?”
“Works for me.”
On the way, she grabbed her folders and notes.
Wyatt jotted down his list of suspects on the white board. The names were as familiar as family to her now. Deandre Jackson. Bird Prince. Miller Everly. Jacob Whitman. Vernon Carter. Lester Church.
Her hopes soured as she read that final name.
“It has to be on there,” Wyatt said.
She ignored him and the name. “Cross off Bird Prince for being dead and Miller Everly for being in jail. Whitman’s still in the wind. Deandre Jackson has an alibi. That leaves Vernon Carter.”
Wyatt drew lines through those three names. “And your cousin is a suspect until we clear him. Call him, and let’s hear his alibi.”
At last. A reasonable solution. Lester’s phone went straight to voice mail. She left him a message to call her back.
“He didn’t pick up,” she said. “Could be his phone’s off or they’re in a poor service area.”
“Try your dad,” Wyatt urged. “The sooner we nail down your cousin’s alibi, the sooner he comes off the list.”
“Gotcha.” She called her dad, who picked up on the third ring.
“Hey, Sunshine. Everything all right?”
“Fine. I need to talk to Lester. Is he around?”
“Nah. He left me here at the lake. Said he wanted to spend last night in town and party until dawn with some friends.”
A flicker of unease whistled through her. “When is he coming back?”
“Tomorrow, I think. We’re heading down to Ocmulgee for bass and bream whenever he shows up again. There’s some good fishing over there.”
“Ask him to call me when you hear from him. It’s important.”
“Will do.”
“And, Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Be safe.”
She pocketed her phone. Cold sweat beaded in her hairline and dampened her palms. “Lester isn’t with my father. He’s been gone since yesterday.”
“No alibi?”
“Didn’t say that.”
Reandra poked her head in the door, waving a piece of paper and staring at the suspect list. “You forgot to pick up that fax. Here it is.”
“Thanks.” Laurie Ann skimmed the place names. Over the last two years, Lester had moved furniture to many Georgia towns, including McDonough, Nahunta, Griffin, Covington, Milledgeville, Statesboro, Alpharetta, Sandersville, Warner Robins, Rome, Helen, Matthew, and Cartersville.
She recognized those cities right away. They were names from her scrap metal task force. Each one of those towns had a thriving scrap metal business and were on her call list.
Her lungs stilled. In the breathless void, she saw her world crumbling. A sob welled in her throat. She wrestled it down, forcing a few shallow breaths.
A semblance of order returned to her thoughts, but no matter how she looked at the facts, her cousin was tangled in the web of this case.
He wasn’t the man she thought she knew.
He was someone else.
She raised her eyes to meet Wyatt’s questioning gaze. “I’ve got a bad feeling about Lester.”