Valerie Hansen - The Rookie's Assignment

A shout and a heavy thud from above startled her out of her reverie. While other guests and employees froze and stared at the ceiling, Keira sprang into action.

Her boots thudded up the carpeted steps. What was going on? And why did it seem as if the whole inn was holding its breath?

I am, too, she realized, gulping air. The heel of her hand rested on the grip of her .40 Glock but she didn’t draw it. No sense brandishing a gun if calming words would do the trick.

She reached the top of the stairs in time to hear another crash. And another. Then glass breaking.

Inching her way down the hallway she tried to pinpoint the source of the sounds. There? No. Down there. One more door? Maybe.

Pressing her spine against the wall she stood to the side, out of the line of fire, just as she’d been taught at the academy, before readying her gun and knocking. “Police! Open up.”

The door swung in. A man’s shoulder and foot stuck out the opening for such a brief time they were hardly more than a blur.

Before Keira could swivel fully to confront him, he was jerked backward. The door slammed. She wasn’t certain who or what she’d seen but she was positive one of the colors involved had been the sea-green of Nick Delfino’s pullover sweater!

Hoping the door was unlocked she grabbed the knob. It turned! She was in. Almost.

Someone or something crashed against the door on the opposite side just as she was easing it open. The sudden jolt staggered her. By the time she’d regained her equilibrium, the door had bounced against the cracked frame and was standing ajar.

Keira gave it a shove with her free hand and peered inside. The room was a shambles. Its occupant didn’t look as though he was in very good shape, either.

She didn’t need police training to tell that Nick had gotten the worst of the brief altercation. He was half sitting, half lying on the polished hardwood floor, while examining the back of his head with one hand.

She directed the gun’s barrel at the ceiling as she crouched next to him. “What happened?”

“Prowler.” Acting groggy, he pointed to the open window. “That way.”

“Will you be okay if I leave you?”

“Just get him,” Nick ordered, rapidly regaining his senses and with them his air of authority. “Be careful.”

A quick trip to the window let Keira scan the snow- covered alley, then lean out just enough to see what lay directly below. There was no one visible.

She raced downstairs, scanning the area and seeing no one but concerned residents. She ran around back. No one. With a final assessment, Keira rushed back upstairs.

“He got away,” she told Nick as she holstered her automatic and reached for the radio clipped to her belt.

By the time she’d made her report and was ready to quiz Nick further, he’d gotten to his feet and was in the bathroom, washing his face and peering into the mirror.

Keira stood behind him at the open door, unable to keep from smiling. Except for a few bruises and a possible shiner, it looked as if her new partner wasn’t badly injured. That was a relief.

Frowning, he met her eyes in the mirror. “What are you grinning at?”

“Just glad to see you’re okay. How did he get the best of you, anyway? You look like a guy who can handle himself in a fight.”

“A fair fight. He conked me when I opened the door. It would have been a lot easier to hit him back if I hadn’t kept seeing two or three versions of him coming at me at once.”

Nick blotted his face with a towel, then turned to her and crossed his arms. “Which reminds me. When you went to school, didn’t they teach you to assume there’d be more than one perp at every crime scene? You came in here blind and didn’t even bother to check the closet or the bathroom.”

“I don’t believe it,” Keira said, astonished and more than a little chagrined when she realized Nick had a valid point. “I chase away a prowler and rescue you, and all you can do is chew me out for how I did it.”

“I’m trying to keep you alive,” Nick said flatly. “You can’t let your emotions get in the way of common sense and training when you’re on duty. The next time, that kind of carelessness might get you killed.”

“I told you before. We don’t have serious violence in Fitzgerald Bay. It just doesn’t happen.”

As Nick raised one eyebrow, he winced. “Oh, really? Tell that to Olivia Henry.”

“That was a low blow.”

“No,” Nick said, shaking his head. “It was a fact. One you seem to be forgetting. If I were you, I’d be on edge every second until her killer’s caught.” He paused, staring as if he could look right through his new partner. “Unless you happen to know who the murderer is and you’re not afraid of him.”

“Why would I not…?” Keira’s jaw dropped. “Oh, no, you don’t. Forget any rumors that may be floating around town. My brother Charles is not only a doctor, he’s a kind, loving man. Olivia was his children’s nanny. That’s all. He didn’t have a thing to do with her death.”

“Then prove it to me, starting by staying alert and on your guard.”

“Against the murderer, you mean?”

“Against everybody,” Nick said soberly. “Until we catch whoever hit that woman and pushed her off the cliff, a real cop would look at everyone as a possible suspect.” His eyes narrowed. “Even her own brother.”

TWO

Keira saw no reason to keep arguing with Nick about Charles so she decided to change the subject. “All right, I will admit I wasn’t in top form when I came to your rescue. I’ll do better next time.”

That brought a chuckle she hadn’t expected. He gestured at the ruins of his room. “Let’s hope there is no next time. The proprietor will probably kick me out after she sees this mess.”

“I was meaning to ask why you’d booked a room here. Wouldn’t you rather rent an apartment, even if it’s only for a month or two?”

He paused for several seconds before saying, “Sure, but where would I find one?”

“I think I may have an idea. I’ll have to check with Douglas—Captain Fitzgerald—first. In the meantime, you’d better find your uniforms and make sure they’re okay.”

“Let’s wait till your lab techs have processed the scene, shall we? I’d hate to disturb any clues.”

Keira had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “Our what?”

The befuddled expression on Nick’s face finally pushed her over the edge and she did chuckle softly before waving her hands in the air and apologizing. “Sorry. I was just imagining what it must be like to have specialists at your fingertips, night and day. Around here we do pretty much everything ourselves.”

“Okay. I get it.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“Meaning?”

She hesitated in order to choose her words carefully, then explained. “Meaning, the Henry case. Like I told you, the minute we suspected we had a homicide we treated that victim and the scene with the utmost care. Everything was handled professionally, even though there was a storm brewing and Olivia’s body was at the bottom of that steep cliff. Some of the evidence was probably affected by the fall, the surf and the weather but we did the best anyone could have. We’re not hicks. We know how important it is to preserve possible evidence.”

“I read the reports,” Nick said.

“Then you also know we didn’t write the parts dealing with the processing of the evidence. Everything went to Boston, with the body, for examination there.”

“But you did investigate the whereabouts of possible suspects and check their alibis.”

“Yes. So?”

Keira had assumed he was going to want to question a few persons of interest again but she was floored when he looked straight at her and said, “So, how can you be certain that everything in the file is accurate?”