Chapter 7
Chapter seven
Levi
“Chief wants to see you,” Tristan said as I walked into the bullpen after checking on the arrestee, who’d been shouting at the top of his lungs about police brutality. “I’ll finish booking that guy and let him make his phone call.”
“Chief say what he wanted?”
Tristan shook his head.
“Nice job today,” I said, holding out my fist for my partner to bump.
I was proud as hell of how he’d handled taking lead.
It was a far cry from his first arrest when he’d fumbled while reading the suspect her rights and almost let her talk him out of the charge by crying.
I wasn’t completely immune to tears, but the woman had been going sixty in a school zone while texting, and nothing pissed me off faster than someone putting kids at risk.
“You’re still leading the interview, right?” Tristan asked, looking nervous.
“I could, but you’re more than ready.”
Tristan nodded and straightened his shoulders. “OK. Not solo, though.”
“I’ll be there,” I said, walking toward Chief’s office. “Just get the guy his phone call, so we can hopefully get the interview in before the shift change.”
Tristan headed back toward the holding cells as I knocked on Chief Fitzwilliam’s open door.
“Hey, Levi,” he said, looking up from the mountain of folders on his desk. “Come in and shut the door.”
That wasn’t a sentence any cop wanted to hear. Still, I kept my expression neutral as I closed the door and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Heard you arrested someone on campus today,” he said, sitting back in his seat.
He looked far too relaxed for someone about to rip my head off. I kept having to remind myself that Chief Fitzwilliam was more hands-on than my last boss. With a staff as small as ours, he had to jump in wherever he was needed.
“Tristan took lead. We both saw the possible exchange, so we searched the guy. Found 1,500 mg of pills. Dropped a sample at the lab, but it looks like Ritalin to me. No valid script. We’re charging him with intent to distribute as well since he had it packaged for sale.”
“Were you able to talk to the suspected buyer?”
I shook my head. “Guy was average height and build, wearing a dark hoodie and jeans. He disappeared into the crowd. Campus police is making us a copy of the security tapes from the area.”
“They give you any trouble?” Chief asked.
“They want the campus cleaned up as much as we do. We called them onsite, and they let us search the guy’s dorm room. Nothing interesting there. Roommate even agreed to let us search his stuff. I got the impression theirs wasn’t a freshman rooming match made in heaven.”
“Did you get a warrant for the suspect’s vehicle?”
“Doesn’t have one. At least not in Peace Falls. The guy’s from Northern Virginia, and freshmen aren’t allowed parking passes. I ran his license anyway to be sure. Nothing registered to him.”
“Could be in his parents’ name.”
“I’ll run a search for any vehicle registered to his permanent residence and follow up.”
Chief nodded. “I hope we get some answers. Someone will get seriously hurt if things keep going the way they are.”
Too many images flashed through my head.
No matter how many times I saw it, I couldn’t make myself numb to a life cut short.
The faces haunted my nightmares, Hayden’s more than the rest. I knew it wasn’t healthy to hold on to all of them, but it drove me to keep looking for answers, to keep fighting a battle that felt like moving a beach one grain of sand at a time.
“We’ll get everything we can from the guy. ”
“I know you will,” Chief said, studying me.
He knew everything, of course. Law enforcement talked, especially about something as scandalous as what happened at my last job.
Chief was one reason I accepted a demotion to join the force in Peace Falls.
During the interview, he’d made it clear he knew my story but wouldn’t talk about it unless I wanted to, and he’d kept his word. “You leading the interview?”
“Tristan should. I’ll be there if he needs backup, but he’s ready.”
“He’s shaping up to be a damn fine cop,” Chief said. “And I know a lot of that has to do with how well you’ve mentored him.” He blew out a breath and rubbed his forehead. “You’ve put me in a shit spot, Levi.”
I waited. A statement like that deserved an explanation, and I wasn’t about to get defensive until I had it.
Chief chuckled. “Remind me never to play poker with you.”
I waited.
Chief shook his head. “No question, you’re the most qualified for the detective spot. You’ve got that silence as a weapon part down.”
“There’s a spot opening?” I asked, the surprise clear in my voice.
“Nice to see you aren’t a complete robot,” Chief said, shaking his head. “Gunterson hit his twenty-five and plans to retire on his fiftieth birthday. Something about wanting to travel while he’s still young enough to enjoy it. That gives me a little over three months to find his replacement.”
About damn time. Gunterson was a terrible detective. If he wasn’t, he’d have been leading the campus drug investigation, not me, which was why I’d had no problem telling him to fuck off earlier. I doubt he complained to the chief about babysitting duty since we both knew I was right.
“And I’ve put you in a shit spot because I’m the most qualified candidate?” I asked, genuinely confused. I’d been a narcotics detective in Richmond for five years. No one else on the force here had anywhere near the experience I had. Add to that my master’s degree, and it should be a no-brainer.
“You’re still relatively new. Some of my staff have been with me a decade, and many of them would love a shot at detective. Plus, you and I both know you’ll jump ship the second a chief spot opens somewhere.”
There was no sense denying it. Chief Fitzwilliam was a smart guy.
He knew I had my sights on a chief position when I applied for a job as a beat cop in his jurisdiction.
I hadn’t given up on my goals, just delayed them.
“And we both know that in the meantime you wouldn’t have to train me to be a detective. ”
“That’s true,” he said. “It’s more than that. The other officers might not have your experience, but they know this town. If I’m being completely honest, they’re part of the community in a way I haven’t seen you become.”
“Which means I’m impartial,” I countered.
“Maybe,” Chief said. “It couldn’t hurt you to be more involved in things around town. It doesn’t matter as much on the campus since most of the students are out-of-towners like you, which is what I told Gunterson when I assigned you the investigation. I can’t use that excuse for the whole town.”
“So, what did you have in mind?” I asked.
“Do you remember my brother-in-law, Max?
Like I could forget. Theo Makis’s boss had tried to deck me last year when I arrested Theo.
I’d brought them both to the station and would have booked Max if Everly hadn’t clued me in that he was Chief’s beloved brother-in-law.
She’d done me an honest favor, though I hadn’t realized it then.
Based on the way things worked in town, I’d have made a complete ass of myself if I’d tried booking Max, and he still would have walked out the front door without a ticket.
I nodded at Chief, hoping he’d get to the point without rehashing the time I cuffed his family member.
“A couple years back, Max started a charity called Springboard. The first Saturday each spring, they put on an event in Centennial Park to match rehabilitated felons with members of the community who have job or housing opportunities. It’s a huge undertaking.”
“And you think Max would want my help?”
The hint of humor on his face told me his brother-in-law hadn’t forgotten about our interaction last year, and neither had my boss.
“With the event only two months away, Max needs your help. I love the guy to death, but he can be a little rough around the edges. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to have a member of the police force asking local businesses to take part.
It’s a good program, and it’d give you an opportunity to get to know people in town. ”
I studied the chief for a second. “So, what you’re saying is you want to promote me to detective, but you need me to do this to make it easier for you to turn down the other applicants?” It sounded even more ridiculous when I said it out loud.
Chief Fitzwilliam nodded.
“And easier for you,” he said. “You’re an outsider. A respected outsider, but an outsider. Doing something like this might help the rest of the bullpen see you as one of them.”
“Does it really matter if I’m an outsider?” I asked. “It’s a job, and I’m the most qualified.”
He shrugged. “If you didn’t want small-town politics, you should have stayed in Richmond.”
He said it kindly, but with conviction, and I knew arguing any more would be futile.
It helped that I didn’t have a social life and had time to spare, even if the group sounded a bit too idealistic for my taste.
Repeat offenders were the norm, and it was more likely someone would learn how to be a better criminal in prison than a better person.
Theo was the exception, and after learning more about his case, I’d started to question whether he was really a criminal to begin with.
“OK,” I said. “As long as Max doesn’t take a swing at me, I’m happy to help.”
Chief fought a smile and nodded. “I’ll make sure of it. You’ll have all the details in your inbox before the end of your shift. Better get back out there. I’m sure Tristan’s nervous as hell and needs to talk things through with you.”
“You know it,” I said, standing and offering Chief my hand. “I appreciate you considering me for the detective spot.”
Chief stood and shook my hand before settling back in his chair. “Let’s hope we don’t have to make it a designated narcotics position. I’d much rather you spent your time investigating kids pulling a prank or two.”
“Can’t argue with that,” I said, turning to leave. “Door open or closed.”
“Leave it open.”
As I stepped into the bullpen, Tristan shot toward me.
“Everly is representing the arrestee,” he said in a rush. “She’s already in interview room one.”
“She probably wants to petition the court to spring him before he has to do an overnight in a holding cell,” I said, pulling out my chair and ignoring how my pulse kicked up at her name. “She’ll have to wait. We need time to prepare for the interview.”
“We do?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Do you want to practice or not?”
Tristan shrugged and plopped into the chair next to mine. “Daddy Dearest promised he’d have the kid home tonight.”
“You recorded the call?” I asked, my stomach tightening.
Tristan’s eyes widened. “Was I supposed to? The guy and his dad just talked real loud, and I heard everything while I was waiting for him to return the phone.”
The knot in my stomach eased. “Technically, one party in the conversation has to be aware they’re being recorded. I only asked because you knew what his dad said. Did either of them say anything incriminating?”
Tristan shook his head.
“OK. You’re doing great. Let’s not rush the interview because Daddy thinks the kid will melt in a holding cell. Might do him good to suffer through an overnight.”
Tristan fought a smile. “Can you pretend to be the suspect and the lawyer? And be brutal. Don’t go easy on me cause you think I need encouragement.”
“My acting sucks, but sure. I’ve sat across from enough suspects and defense attorneys to have a pretty good idea what they’re thinking.”
Well, usually. There was one striking brunette whose mind I’d love to understand better, and unfortunately, we were about to face her as soon as Tristan felt prepared. Whether I’d be was debatable.