C. Paradee - Deep Cover

"Hell, I don't know, offhand. You two, me, Jeb, Dennis, Director of Ops, his boss." Earl paused, thinking. "That should be it."

"And secretaries?"

"Not the details, but they know you're here working on a case."

Earl leaned back in his chair. "Have a seat. I was going to call you later, anyway."

"I'd rather stand. I get enough sitting time on this case."

Grinning, Earl said, "Hey, how do you think I feel? We got the ballistics report back this morning. The bullet was too damaged to determine much except that it was fired from a rifle."

Kris raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"Care to tell me why?"

"You have to be good to fire a rifle from a moving car unless you have a driver. That bullet just missed. The silver Cavalier might've been coincidental. I could be wrong, but I got the impression there was only one person in the front seat."

"You ruling it out?"

Kris shook her head. "I'm not ruling anything out yet." Switching subjects, she asked, "You remember Michael Benton?"

"How could I forget that bastard?"

"I saw him in the canteen yesterday. Know what he's doing here?"

"No idea. Probably visiting his brother. You knew he was Jeb's brother, right?"

"I'd heard that. Jeb know why Michael was pulled from the field?"

"No, and he'll never know. That whole operation and the ensuing board inquiry have been sealed."

Kris nodded. "Why am I not surprised? I always thought he had friends in high places."

"I've wondered about that, too. Not much I can do about him being here. He is one of ours. How's the case coming? You going to be able to wrap it up by the end of the week?"

"Maybe. We've got nine names left. Just depends on how much time it takes to check each one out."

"Okay. Anything else? I've got a meeting with the Director."

"No, that was it."

Kris turned and left the office. She hadn't expected Earl to provide any answers, but found it interesting that the recovered bullet had been fired from a rifle. A short time later she returned to the office carrying two cups of coffee.

Shelby took the coffee cup and change Kris handed her, setting both down on her desk. "Thanks. Find out anything?"

"Not about the leak or Michael, but the ballistics report came back on the bullet. It was a round from a rifle."

Surprise covered Shelby's face. "I didn't think...I just thought..."

Kris nodded in agreement. "Does your stepfather have a rifle?"

"Not that I know of. He used to go hunting, but I think he borrowed a rifle or else he kept it at someone else's house."

Musing out loud, Kris said, "He spent 4 years in the Army."

"Yeah. He met Mom a couple of years after he got out."

Kris sat down at her PC and looked at Shelby. "I didn't get a good look inside the car that night, but all I saw was a driver. It's pretty hard to shoot a rifle while steering a car, but it can be done and he was barely moving."

"I still don't think he did it."

"I know, but we can't rule him out until we find out why he was there in the first place." Unbidden, an image of Michael appeared in her mind. I'm going to have to pay him a visit. "When do you want to go see your stepfather?"

"Well, since we're going spying tonight..." Shelby laughed at the look on Kris' face. "Okay, so we're doing surveillance; how about tomorrow after work?"

"Sounds good. Oh, and Shelby? We'll probably be doing surveillance for the next several nights. Hopefully sometime this week, we'll spot a suspect."

Shelby nodded. Normally the idea of sitting in a car for hours on end watching a building or whatever it was they were going to watch would've bored her to tears, but for time with Kris, she'd watch the grass grow.

Lisa smiled at the tall, handsome man standing in the doorway. "Hi. Come on in."

Jonathan walked over and hugged her. "Hey, Babe. What'd you make for lunch?" He pulled out the kitchen chair and sat down, slouching down comfortably as he looked at Lisa expectantly.

"I made some spaghetti." Lisa knew how much Jonathan had always liked her spaghetti. "How's that sound?"

"Great. When do the boys get home from school?"

"Around four." After serving her guest, Lisa sat down. She would wait for the boys to arrive before eating. "They're really going to be excited."

"This is good, Babe. You're still the best cook in the county."

Lisa flushed with pleasure. "I've really missed you. I'm so glad you're moving in. Did you hear on any of those jobs you were checking out?"

Jonathan spoke around bites. "Nope. It's only been a week. If my record gets expunged, I can quit being a common laborer. But don't you worry - no matter what, I'll be working and helping support my beautiful wife and kids."

Smiling, Lisa nodded. She could only imagine how tough it must be for a man like Jonathan to pump gas. She'd supported his decision to quit his gas station job and try to find something better. Her thoughts were interrupted when he spoke.

"Did you tell Shelby?"

"No. I want to wait until I see her again. I thought it would be a good idea to give her a little time to get used to the idea that you're back in our lives first."

Jonathan looked up sharply, but kept his voice calm. "What if she comes over before you tell her? I was planning on moving in this weekend."

"I wanted to talk to you about that. Let me talk to her first. Another week won't make much difference. She really does mean well."

"Lisa, I don't believe you!" Jonathan bit off the barrage of words threatening to erupt from his mouth, silently cursing himself for his stupidity.

Lisa recoiled at Jonathan's harsh words as memories flooded her mind.

Reaching across the table, Jonathan took Lisa's hand into his own. His voice cajoling, he asked, "Are you going to let your daughter rule your life? I know you love her and so do I, but this is our life. She doesn't live here. Would you allow her to deny us the happiness that we deserve? I know she would want you to be happy. I love you, Lisa. I thought you loved me, too."

Lisa relaxed again. She really couldn't blame Jonathan for being upset. He'd so been looking forward to moving in. "I do love you. Tell you what. I'll call her tonight and tell her. I don't want to alienate her or she'll never accept you again."

Somewhat mollified, Jonathan said, "Okay, Babe, whatever you want to do is fine with me. Are we still going to tell the boys today?"

Smiling, Lisa said, "Oh yes. I've been looking forward to that, too." She glanced at his empty plate. "Want some more?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Lisa served up a second plate of spaghetti and joined her ex-husband in waiting for Jason and Jimmy to arrive.

Shelby watched the cars drive by, alert for anyone she recognized. It had been a whirlwind afternoon and evening. After leaving work, they'd gone back to the apartment, dropped her car off and set out in the vehicle Kris had rented. They'd returned it to the depot Kris had rented it from, then taken a cab to a different rental car agency and, after filling out the necessary paperwork, departed in a green Ford Taurus. The two women were now sitting in the car on a side street, parked between several other cars, and had been for the previous four hours.

The time had passed quickly for Shelby. She and Kris had discussed each person with knowledge of the case and speculated on who could be leaking information. She'd listened, spellbound, as Kris recalled the events leading to Michael's withdrawal from the field, and then they'd just chatted. Well, actually, she'd done most of the talking, but Kris had contributed, too.

She'd finally gotten the operative to agree to leave at 10:30, arguing that anyone going to the drop would likely go early, while the street was well populated. She glanced at Kris, noting the tension reflected in her beautiful countenance. Shelby knew her partner was hurting - and wished she could do something to ease her pain, but she didn't know what that would be.