Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
After the previous day’s excitement, Jackson sat down to tackle his paperwork during the morning.
He studied the file on his desk, but his mind drifted for a moment to the latest news that had swept through the department like wildfire—Paula Stone was back.
She hadn’t called him, not that he expected her to, but word traveled fast in the PD.
News of her return from an undercover assignment had sparked plenty of gossip, though no one seemed to have the full story.
What everyone did know was she’d nailed the job, earning praise from the higher-ups.
Typical Paula, Jackson thought with a mix of pride and frustration.
She could conquer the toughest assignments but couldn’t pick up the phone.
Shaking off the thought, he turned his attention back to the file in front of him. A few months ago, Paula Stone’s partner had been involved in a family altercation that had turned into a drug bust.
Jennifer Miller and her boyfriend Ethan Young had been abusing Ms. Miller’s son to the point where he attempted suicide.
When Det. Christopher had arrived with a social worker to notify Ms. Miller of her son’s whereabouts and condition, they’d found a house full of drugs and a picture of neglect.
Both adults were in custody on charges of possession with intent to distribute, as well as child abuse and neglect.
The narcotics portion of the case had ended up on Cagney’s desk.
Josh was in foster care with Jackson’s friends, James and Laura, and he dreaded what he had to do.
Besides the fingerprints from the suspects, they had found several other sets, and they had to get Josh’s prints to exclude him from the investigation.
Jackson hated that his continued investigation would likely scare the boy and upset his friends.
He drummed his fingers on the desk. First, he would run the prints through the automated fingerprint index, or AFIS as the system went by among cops.
Jackson went downstairs to the dedicated AFIS computer system where he scanned the first set of fingerprints, and the answer came back immediately—a low-level drug dealer and his prints also connected to a hit and run that had resulted in death.
No hits on the second and third sets. Then he put the last set in.
Also connected to the hit and run. Damn!
Jackson saw who the investigating officer was and sighed.
This case just got more and more tangled.
He closed his eyes for a moment and squared his shoulders before he went to find a certain detective.
A throat being cleared made Paula look up from the report she was writing. Jackson Cagney stood by her desk looking sinfully handsome in his black leather jacket and jeans.
Even the weeks away hadn’t dimmed the magnetic attraction she felt whenever he was near. Her time undercover had been grueling, but not even the constant pressure of the job had dulled her awareness of Jackson—not as a colleague, but as a man.
She hated to admit it, but she’d thought of him more times than she could count during long, restless nights alone. And now, standing here in front of her, all leather and confidence, he made her pulse race like no time had passed at all.
Get a grip, Stone .
He’s almost a decade younger, for heaven’s sake.
But her body didn’t care about logic.
The first time she had noticed him was when she had given a lecture at the Police Academy. His questions had been intelligent, and she had wondered where he had gotten such good instincts.
Becoming aware of him as a man had started later when she’d run into him on the job. Prior to the wedding, she hadn’t seen him since the racketeering case they had worked on a year and a half ago.
She couldn’t figure him out.
Something about him drew her to him. It wasn’t only his looks or his masculinity; she was surrounded by testosterone all day.
Sometimes, it was so thick she thought it would choke her.
Her ex-husband had oozed it out of every pore and hadn’t been able to stomach her getting promoted ahead of him.
He had been sure she’d only made detective because the St. Louis department had been under pressure to hire more women and minorities.
She clenched her fists merely thinking about him again.
Yeah, good. Anger is a good emotion .
Her ex-husband had been six-foot-two with a larger-than-life ego and had been really bad in the sack. His usual MO was pump, grind, release, and sleep without a care for her pleasure.
I hate big bad men with tiny dicks and no idea how to use them.
Only Jackson’s dick wasn’t tiny, and he certainly had known how to use it.
Damn, stupid woman to think about his dick and what he could do with it right now. I haven’t always been this stupid around him. When did things change?
It took some effort, but she pasted on a professional smile. “Hello, Detective Cagney, how can I help you?”
His eyebrow arched at her formal greeting, as if he’d expected something friendlier after the night of the wedding, but he replied in a similar fashion. “Detective Stone. I have information on an old case of yours.” Jackson briefed her on his fingerprint discovery.
Paula closed her eyes when she understood the implications of his findings.
“What a mess. This is going to affect Laura in so many ways. The man killed in that accident was her ex-husband. You weren’t on that investigation, but you remember the mess that followed, don’t you?
” Jackson nodded and Paula continued. “We have to get Josh’s fingerprints first to exclude him from the investigation.
Jackson nodded. “I think it’s best if you get the prints. Less traumatic for the kid.”
Paula agreed with him. “I’ll call them right away.” She pulled out her cell phone, and Jackson took the hint and left. She couldn’t help but stare after him, admiring his ass while she waited for the call to connect.
Her friend answered on the third ring. “Hey, Paula. What’s up?”
“I’m not completely sure”—Paula sighed—“but we’ve finally run all the prints from the Miller house, and we need Josh’s to rule him out from the rest.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Do you want me to bring him down to the station or can you come here?”
“We get much better results with the digital scans, so it would be best if you could come to the precinct.”
“I’ll need to touch base with James and Henry Cole.”
“Henry Cole?” Paula tilted her head.
“Yeah”—Laura hesitated before elaborating—“he helped us with some legal issues when we first fostered Josh. I assume it’s okay to bring in a lawyer for this, right?”
Paula smiled despite Laura not being able to see her. “Absolutely. Henry’s a good choice.”
“Is this urgent or can it wait until tomorrow?”
“The sooner the better, but I think it can wait until morning.”
“I’ll call you back when I know Henry’s schedule, and we can set up a time.”
“Thanks, Laura. Bye.”