Valerie Hansen - The Rookie's Assignment

“That’s beside the point. You wanted to be a cop, so be one. You know this town inside out. You’re the perfect person to acquaint Nick with everything he needs to know to conduct a successful investigation.”

“Yes, sir.”

Under other circumstances she might have given her dad a cheery, comic salute to encourage him and make him smile. This time, she cautioned herself; they needed to present a fully professional front. Three of her four brothers, Ryan, Owen and Douglas, as well as the chief, were members of the Fitzgerald Bay Police Department. They had a reputation to uphold. Particularly in the presence of this interloper.

“I already have my uniforms and lieutenant’s brass,” Nick announced. “All I’ll need is a FBPD badge and I’ll be set. I can start immediately if you want.”

“Fine.” Aiden produced the ID Nick had asked for, then dropped down onto his leather desk chair as if the weight of the world lay on his shoulders. “That’s all. You may go.”

Keira’s cool glance met Nick’s resolute one and held it for long seconds before she led the way out of the private office.

“I’d tell you I was sorry you got saddled with a rookie like me if I didn’t think I was the one being picked on,” she said over her shoulder as they proceeded into the main part of the station.

“No problem. You aren’t the first partner I’ve had who wasn’t particularly thrilled with me.”

She couldn’t help herself. The opportunity for wry humor was just too perfect to pass up so she sent him the most sardonically sweet smile she could muster and said, “Good to know. Add my name to that list, will you?”

Nick had been floored when the beautiful, dark-haired young woman had waltzed into the chief’s office.

That was a cop? Not in his book. Keira Fitzgerald didn’t look able to take adequate care of herself, let alone fight crime. No wonder her father had assigned her to him. At least that would keep her out of trouble. For now. If he decided that the whole department was dirty, as he’d been led to suspect, he was pretty sure the starry-eyed rookie would find that conclusion impossible to accept.

Yeah, Nick thought, remembering what had happened after his last successful assignment in Boston, but Keira probably won’t try to shoot me over it. That was a definite plus in his book.

Briefings and his own additional internet research had shown him that the Fitzgerald Bay Police Department hierarchy was mainly composed of Fitzgeralds; Ryan was the deputy chief, Owen was a detective and Douglas was a captain, not to mention rookie Keira and the chief. Which was one of the primary reasons Nick had been recruited by the Massachusetts State Police to conduct this undercover Internal Affairs investigation.

It wasn’t going to be easy. Cops normally stuck together. Add the fact that many of these officers were blood relatives and you had an impenetrable barrier to the truth, particularly since Charles, the only Fitzgerald brother who wasn’t on the force, happened to be a suspect in the Olivia Henry murder.

“Well, I suppose you want to get started right away,” Keira said, pausing beside a small, cluttered desk that Nick assumed was hers.

“Yes. I got here last night but I wasn’t sure when the chief would want me to start so I left my uniforms in my room at the inn across the street. I’ll go change and be right back.”

“I may as well walk over with you. I can introduce you to the staff of the Sugar Plum Café and Inn as part of your orientation.”

“Okay.” He didn’t care if she dogged his steps 24/7. The more details he observed and could put into his report, the faster he’d be done with this assignment and could get back to his regular job—starting with looking into a few of his old cases that were still nettling him.

Holding the front door for her to pass he said, “I’d like to begin with you, if you don’t mind. I understand you were present when the body was found.”

“Not exactly,” Keira replied. “A bunch of us were at my father’s house when we heard the call and headed over there. Olivia had been late for a lunch date with a friend, Merry O’Leary. It was Merry who spotted her lying at the bottom of a cliff near the lighthouse. We thought she’d just slipped and fallen until some men rappelled down there and could inspect the scene closely.”

“It looked like murder right away?”

Keira shook her head. “Not exactly. Like the report says, at first glance we thought Olivia had fallen. It was the bloody rock nearby and the way she hadn’t bled much after she landed that made us suspect foul play.”

“How many bystanders had already tromped all over the evidence by then?”

Watching her face closely he saw nothing but honesty underlying her prompt denial. “None. I just told you. A couple men went down the cliff on ropes before we did anything else.”

“Why take that approach?”

“When you see the area you’ll understand. That was by far the fastest way in, and at that time we weren’t sure whether Olivia was injured or actually dead.”

Nick noted that his new partner shivered as she spoke and wondered just how much of a rookie she was. “This is your first major case?”

She rolled her eyes and tried to smile at him, failing miserably. “Oh, yes. The only death I remember ever seeing up close was a pet hamster I had when I was a kid.”

She paused, swallowed and licked her lips, making Nick slightly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom.

“I refused to look in the casket at my mother’s funeral,” Keira continued. “I wanted to remember her when she was happy and full of life.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, but having to deal with tragedy is part of this job. Surely you knew that when you chose a career in law enforcement.”

That observation brought a smile back to Keira’s face and a twinkle to her bright blue eyes. “Yeah, well… I’m afraid I pictured my job more as that of an understanding friend, kindly suggesting that lawbreakers behave themselves instead of having to exert authority over folks who have known me since I was a kid.”

“Sometimes there are far worse problems to deal with, as you found out.”

“I sure did,” she said with a nod. “The hard way.”

Keira appreciated the inn’s welcoming beauty more every time she visited. Victoria Evans had kept the flavor of the old building when she’d returned to Fitzgerald Bay to take over the business, and most of its clients openly complimented her on the ambience of the inn and the delicious food served in the café.

Some locals had predicted that the long-ago sins of Victoria’s father would keep away customers but that hadn’t happened. Other than a few folks who still mourned for Patrick Fitzgerald, Keira’s cousin, whom Victoria’s father had killed while driving drunk, Victoria seemed to have overcome her dad’s heartbreaking history. Even Patrick’s most defensive kin seemed to have mellowed during the past ten years, although there was still a lingering touch of animosity that saddened Keira.

As Nick started up the gracefully carved stairway to the second floor, she called after him, “I’ll wait right here.”

And I hope I don’t look half as uncomfortable as I feel, she added to herself. This was one of those times when she would have given just about anything to be free to turn on her heel and stalk out the door—without her new partner.

Unfortunately, it was her job to stick with the guy, to babysit him, so to speak. She could do that. She might not like it but she could do it. What was it that the Bible said in the book of James about withstanding adversity? Something about testing bringing maturity, if she remembered right. Admittedly she was only twenty-three and pretty inexperienced. Maybe this was the Lord’s way of making her better at her job.