Chapter 5
The next morning…
“I got it, Hawkeye,” Will McLeod promised. He ended the call and took his empty cup to the sink, rinsed it, and put it in the drainer.
“What did Hawkeye want?” Jules asked, gathering her things before heading out the door to catch the ‘L’ to go to the youth center.
“He wants me to pay a visit to Clint Rogers this morning,” Will told her. “The guy has been placed on administrative leave like Dugan until Flynn’s death has been sorted out.”
Jule’s scowled as she zipped her work bag. “I don’t like you going alone. We don’t know Rogers that well.”
“We don’t know Dugan either,” Will pointed out. “But Brand talked with him last night. It’s only right that I do my part.”
“I know, but why do you have to go alone,” Jules persisted. “Why can’t Don Juan or Wyatt go with you?”
“They’re dealing with other tasks today,” Will said, pulling her close to kiss her quite thoroughly. “I’ll be fine, honey.”
“I’m sure you will. Those arms of steel you pack are proof of that,” she teased, and he hugged her again, overwhelmed by the fact that she was in his life.
“I’ll walk you to the ‘L’ before I head across town,” he offered.
“You could just drop me off at the Youth Center if you are going that way?” Jule said.
“I could,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “But I don’t want you to get spoiled.”
“As if,” she chuckled, stepping away and grabbing her bag before heading for the door. “Call me later if you have a chance.”
“Of course,” he said, following her into the fall and closing the door behind them. When they got downstairs to the parking garage, he used his key fob to unlock the vehicle. “Get in.”
“Really?” she said.
“Of course. Do you think I wouldn’t take you?”
“You never know,” she quipped.
“Jules. Jules. Jules,” he repeated, and she laughed as she climbed into the SUV. She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.
“You know I love you.”
“Sometimes I wonder.” He started the vehicle and pulled out. “Have you thought anymore about the baby idea?”
Surprise drew her eyebrows together. “I thought we had a plan?” she said.
“We did,” he said. “And I think it’s time.”
“Just because everyone else is having babies we should too?”
“Don’t you want our child to grow up with playmates?”
“That would be nice. But just because we try doesn’t mean it will happen right away,” she warned.
“I like the idea of us trying,” he said, flashing a wicker grin. “Think of the fun we’ll have.”
“I’ll have to go off of the pill.”
“Then go off it.”
“I’d like to check with my doctor to make sure we were doing things the right way,” Jules said.
“Sure. I’m due for a physical anyway,” he said.
Jules stared out the window as if in thought. “Colleen didn’t have an easy birth,” she said. “They ended up having to do a c-section because Christopher wasn’t coming naturally.”
“And you heard her say she’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he reminded her.
“I was there when she said it holding that beautiful baby in her arms and smiling like a loon.”
“I’ve never seen Wyatt look prouder,” Will said. “Or happier.”
Jules grinned. “So do you think we’ll have a boy or a girl?”
“Maybe both. We could have twins if we’re lucky. Get it over with in one smooth swoop.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jules said, swatting him on the arm. “You don’t have to swoop them out. So you only want two?”
He shrugged. “Unless you want more.”
“We’ll see.”
They fell into a connected silence as they drove across town and merged into traffic near the Youth Center. “I’ll call my doctor today,” Jules said.
“No rush,” he said.
“No. I think I should. If we are going to do this, then we need to be proactive,” she said.
“Carly has already finished with her first trimester. Margot is due sometime in February or early March. If we want our baby to be close in age with theirs, then we shouldn’t delay because I don’t see Simone and Don Juan announcing anytime soon.
Simone is freaking scared of getting fat. ”
“Dear Lord,” Will chuckled. “Poor Don Juan.”
“Has he mentioned anything about wanting kids to you?”
“Not really.”
“Pepper didn’t say anything about Jett either,” she mused.
“I guess they’ll eventually join the baby movement or not.”
Jules looked at him again. “I’d like to keep this between us for a while, just until we are certain baby McLeod is viable,” she said.
“Like until after the first trimester the way Brand and Carly did?”
“Yes. Especially since we haven’t even started trying yet. If it clicks right away, that will put us closer to Easter before making an announcement,” Jules said.
Will turned on his turn signal and pulled over to the curb to let her out. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“You be careful today. Our future children are depending on you so they can become a reality,” she said.
“Pressure. Pressure,” he groaned, but smiled as he leaned over to kiss her before she exited the SUV.
Twenty minutes later, Will parked and got out at Clint Rogers’ high-rise apartment building.
There was no doorman, but there were three banks of elevators inside and twenty-four floors within the building.
And Will wondered how a cop could afford living in a place like this.
When he got to Rogers’ floor and knocked on the door, he soon found out.
The door opened to show a disheveled Rogers. His hair was uncombed, a day’s worth of stubble covered his cheeks and his wrinkled clothes suggested he might have slept in them. His expression, to say the least, was no welcoming.
“What do I owe the pleasure for this visit, McLeod?” Rogers drawled. “First I get called on the carpet by Internal Affairs because of the fight with Flynn and now here you are showing up at my door. What gives?”
“Commander Burns asked me to follow up about the fight, since Chambers and I pulled you and Dugan off of Flynn when he went down,” Will explained. “Just a few routine questions for our paperwork. May I come in”
“Paperwork?” Rogers said, stepping back. “We were off duty.”
“We were. But it was still a police function and that makes what happen a gray area that we have to handle carefully,” Will explained, and followed Roger’s into the small space that served as his living room.
The apartment was actually a corner studio and so tiny he felt he was going to suffocate.
He sat in the room’s only chair, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Go ahead. What else do I have to do while I am on admin leave,” Rogers said sinking down on the arm of the loveseat since the space was too small for anything larger. “I think this whole thing is being blown way out of proportion anyway.”
Will’s temper hitched at Roger’s arrogance. “A man lost his life because you ran your mouth off,” Will said tersely. “If you hadn’t, don’t you think things might have turned out differently?”
“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you after all,” Rogers lurched to his feet. “It sounds to me like you think I’m guilty of Flynn dying.”
“I didn’t say that,” Will said. “But showing a little compassion would be nice.”
“He lunged at Dugan,” Rogers argued. “What the hell did you want me to do? Stand and watch? If anything, it was his fault.”
“Is that your statement?” Will asked.
“Yea. It is,” Rogers sat again and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Why’d you start talking about Monte Adams when you knew the man was a sore spot with Flynn?” Will demanded. “Especially when he was a teammate before a big exhibition game. To me, that doesn’t make sense. It would have made more if he were on a rival team and you wanted to get him riled up.”
Rogers shrugged. “I never liked the raw deal Adams got from the department and I believed Flynn’s evidence against him played a big part in it.
Seeing Adams at the arena every time we practiced was a reminder, a slap in the face that brought the fact back to mind. I guess I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“And so you spouted off to Flynn before the game?”
“Yea, I did,” Rogers said, defensively. He paused and added, “Not my best moment.”
“No kidding, Sherlock.”
Worry settled over Rogers’ features. “Do you think the commander will bring me up for disciplinary action?”
“How should I know?” Will said. “Burns asked me to gather information about the incident and that’s what I’m doing. Outside of what internal affairs is looking at, I suppose the commander is also considering whether he needs to act, but that’s above my pay grade. I’m a consultant.”
“Anything else you need to know?” Rogers asked, getting to his feet.
“How do you like working with Dugan?”
“He’s okay. We only just started working together, so I can’t give you a personal opinion yet, but we seem to be getting along okay.”
“I figured you were,” Will said, “or you wouldn’t have jumped in, having his back in the fight like you did.”
“I’d hope he’d do the same for me.” The defensive tone returned to Rogers’ voice. “We’re brothers in blue, after all.”
Nodding, Will rose. “Thanks for your time.
“You’re welcome,” Rogers said.
“We all worked together great on the ice,” Will mused. “Too bad when we finally play the exhibition game we’ll be down a player.”
“Do you think we’ll get to play it?” Rogers asked.
Will shrugged. “Tickets were sold, and it was for a charity fundraiser. I can’t see the department having to refund the money because we don’t.
They’ll find a time for us to play before hockey season ends.
It might not be before Christmas or the end of the year, but we’ll be back on the ice soon enough. ”
“I hope so,” Rogers said. “I’d like for our team to bring home the trophy in Flynn’s honor.”
“Maybe we can,” Will said. “Thanks for talking to me.”
“If you think of anything else you need to ask me about, let me know,” Rogers said, walking him to the door. “Sorry for being such a prick, being put on administrative leave over this has hit me hard.”
Will only nodded. “It’ll be over with soon.”
Rogers offered him an outstretched hand and Will shook it before leaving the tiny space and heading for the elevator.