by Terri Reed
Gavin and Lani secured Parker, putting him in handcuffs. Snapper backed off, but still growled, making it clear if he resisted the dog would attack him again.
Henry worked on the bomb strapped to the chair. Olivia held her breath, praying he didn’t accidently detonate the device. His remarkably steady hands cut wires and pulled the homemade explosive apart, effectively disarming the device and saving them all.
With a shaky hand, Olivia held up the detonator. “Take this. I don’t want to hold it anymore.”
Gently, Henry pried the device from her fingers and laid it on the desk. He cupped her cheek for a split second before turning his attention to his sister. He undid the tape across her mouth and the zip tie holding her hands together. As soon as she was free, Riley threw her arms around her brother’s neck and sobbed into his chest.
Olivia’s heart throbbed with love and adrenaline. Watching the two siblings reunite made her so happy.
Then Henry was once again kneeling next to her. “Are you hurt, Olivia?”
“I’m good. It’s not my blood.” She wanted to hug him tight and not let go. But she had a job to do and it wasn’t finished. She needed to end this debacle.
Henry helped her to her feet. Her legs wobbled with the rush of blood thrumming through her veins, though she stayed upright. She leaned on Henry for support for a moment as her equilibrium righted itself.
Before Gavin could lead Parker away, Olivia went to the young man and gripped him by the shoulders. His nose had swelled and blood dripped down his chin.
“Tell me about Davey’s injuries from the incident with Detective Roarke in Owl’s Head Park,” Olivia demanded.
“It was all Davey’s idea,” Parker said. “It was all his idea. Everything. When I told him about Detective Roarke, he planned it all. He told me what to do. He made the bombs.”
“Why would Davey do this?” Olivia pressed.
Parker shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him.” He turned his focus on Riley. “I wouldn’t have hurt you. I love you. Even if you are his sister.”
Riley stared at him with anger filling her dark eyes. “You’re sick. I hope I never see you again.”
Parker hung his head but there were no tears, only anger twisting his face.
More police officers stormed the building. Gavin coordinated the removal of more explosives that were found in the apartment.
“I’ll take care of him.” Lani took Parker by the biceps. With Snapper at her side, along with several other officers, they escorted him out of the building and into a squad car.
Henry and Cody ushered Olivia and Riley out behind them. The young man would be arrested and put in jail, but Olivia hoped that he would get the help he needed. In fact, she decided she would make sure he was paired with a good psychologist.
But for now, before she could look to the future, there was someone else who needed her help. Henry.
Standing on the sidewalk, she approached Gavin. “I need to speak with Davey Carrell again. Can you have him brought right away to an interrogation room at the K-9 center?”
Gavin nodded. “I’m on it.”
“Lieutenant.” Henry motioned for her to follow him and led her away from the crowd of officers and residents gathered to watch all the chaos. Riley and Cody were sitting in one of the K-9 unit’s vehicles. “There will be time for all that. But right now, I want to make sure you and—” He stopped himself and caressed her cheek. “I want to make sure everything is okay. You mean the world to me.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love. They weren’t free to explore this thing arcing between them. But they would be soon. She would make sure of it. “We need to get out of here. Get your sister home.” She started them walking back to the car. “And I have unfinished business with Davey Carrell.”
* * *
It took a couple hours for officers to bring in Davey Carrell. During that time, Olivia managed to clean up and now sat alone in an interrogation room, writing up her report while she waited. There were just a few things she needed clarified before she could take her report to the review board. She was going to recommend dismissing the charges brought against Henry.
She was confident the board would come to the same conclusion she had. Henry was a good man, full of honor and integrity, who had done his job well. Whatever injuries Davey had sustained during the altercation were not excessive. She believed Henry, not the kid who had helped terrorize the city. Thankfully no one knew of her and Henry’s attraction to one another, because if it came to light, the facts of the case wouldn’t matter. It would become about them.
There was a knock on the open interrogation room door. She looked up to find Eden Chang standing there. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a braid that hung over her shoulder. She wore a collared navy shirt with the K-9 unit logo and khaki pants. Her gaze was warm as she said, “Lieutenant Vance, I found something on social media I think you’ll want to see.”
Gathering her papers, Olivia followed Eden back to her office.
Rounding her desk, Eden said, “I told Henry, but we didn’t get a chance to connect earlier. Understandable, considering.” Eden sat down and fired up her monitors. “So I started trolling all the social media sites that I could find for the night of March twenty-third and decided to keep looking for any mention of the park over the past few months.”
She brought up a social media account. “This was posted about two weeks ago. The poster had been visiting the city for the Fourth of July and had no idea he had evidence we needed.”
She pushed Play. The skate park came into view. The setting sun cast rays over the skaters gathered around the cement ramps.
“Oh man, this dude’s gonna try it,” said an unseen male voice, apparently the social media account holder.
Olivia drew closer to the monitor. The “dude” in question stood at the top of what looked like a drained swimming pool, his skateboard poised over the lip of the concrete wall. He had on a helmet but there was no mistaking the face. “That’s Davey Carrell.”
“Yes,” Eden said. “Watch what he does.”
Olivia held her breath. Throughout the skate park there were ramps and various other objects for the skaters to roller up and over. But what had Olivia’s attention at the bottom of the scooped bowl was a makeshift wooden ramp with large boxes placed in a row.
Davey was going to try to jump over the obstacle, Evel Knievel–style. Only on a skateboard, not a motorcycle.
Davey tapped his helmet and crouched, with one hand on the tip of his skateboard. Then he pushed off and skated down into the bowl, up over the ramp and across the obstacle. But he lost his board midjump. For a moment, he appeared to float in the air, then he plummeted to the ground, putting out his left hand and landing hard. He let out a scream, “Ow, my wrist!” Clutching his injured limb, he rolled out of view.
“That’s how he broke his wrist.” Elated by this bit of evidence, Olivia pumped her fist in the air. “Can you make me a copy and send it to my email?”
Eden grinned. “I thought this might be a game changer.”
“It certainly is. Did you find anything showing the confrontation between Henry and Davey?”
“As a matter of fact...” Eden’s fingers flew over the keyboard again. “Same social media account. It’s just the tail end of the confrontation. Like the guy had been watching the skateboarders when he turned around and realized what was happening behind him was more fascinating and started filming.”
The video definitely showed Henry securing his weapon by jamming his elbow into the side of Davey’s neck, then prying away his service weapon from Davey’s right hand.
“Well, that clinches it.” Olivia rubbed her hands together. She had the proof necessary to exonerate Henry. “I wish we’d found these sooner.”
Eden shrugged. “Like I said, both of these clips were uploaded recently. Even if I had search
ed at the time, I wouldn’t have found them.”
“I’m really glad you did, Eden. You did good work. You are a real asset to the department.”
Eden grinned. “Make sure you tell the sarge that.”
Olivia grinned back. “Believe me, I will.”
By the time she got back to the interrogation room, Davey Carrell, wearing a cast on his left wrist and a neck brace, sat between his lawyer and his parents at the metal table.
“You asked us here,” the lawyer said. “What is it?”
She sat down across from the boy and ignored the lawyer. “This is your last chance to come clean, Davey. I need you to tell me the truth about what happened on the night of March twenty-third of this year at Owl’s Head Park’s skate park.”
The boy copped an attitude, his chin jutting out. “I’ve already told you what happened. That pig cop broke my wrist and injured my neck.”
Olivia removed her phone from the pocket of her gray suit jacket, opened her email and found the video of Davey skating. She turned the phone so that all four people on the other side of the table could view the screen.
“What is this?” the lawyer asked.
“Watch.” Olivia pushed Play.
When the video ended. Davey was sitting back in his seat, looking a little sick.
“Are you really going to stick with your story?” Olivia asked.
“Objection,” the lawyer said. “We were not given that video to review and it doesn’t show anything relevant.”
Flicking a glance at the well-dressed, no doubt highly paid attorney, Olivia said, “This isn’t a court of law, Counselor. And I was just apprised of this video.” She found the next email sent by Eden. “As well as this one.” She played the video of Henry securing his weapon.
“Davey,” Mr. Carrell intoned with disgust. “You lied.”
With a mulish expression on his face, Davey’s shoulders slumped.
“Parker says you were the mastermind,” Olivia stated, gauging the kid’s reaction.
“No way!” Davey sat up, outrage making his face red. “It was all him. Parker spotted that cop when he came into the place where Parker works. He concocted the whole thing.”
Olivia narrowed her gaze on the young man. “You didn’t help him build the bombs?”
“Not even. That’s beyond me,” Davey said, sitting back. “Parker is wicked smart. And he can be scary at times. You wouldn’t want to cross him.”
Not sure how to feel about Davey’s assessment of Parker, she kept her focus on the matter she needed resolved. “Then you admit that Detective Roarke did not break your wrist and that you tried to relieve him of his sidearm?”
“Don’t answer that,” the lawyer interjected.
Davey shrugged. “They got the video, man. I never wanted to do this whole thing, but Parker talked me into it.”
Beside him his mother made a noise of distress.
Davey glanced at her then turned back to Olivia. “Yes, I broke my wrist on that stupid fall.” Davey touched the brace around his neck “But he did hurt my neck when...” He grimaced and slumped again. “He did hurt my neck.”
“What about the vandalism to Detective Roarke’s vehicle?” Olivia asked. “Were you involved in that?”
Davey shook his head. “I haven’t been allowed to leave the house for months.”
Satisfied, Olivia gathered her papers and slipped her phone back into her pocket. “Counselor, I assume you’ll recant the charges against Detective Roarke.”
“In light of this new information, yes, we will ask the DA to drop the charges.”
“Good,” Olivia said. “I’m sure the DA will be in contact in regard to charging Davey with a felony for attempting to disarm Detective Roarke.”
The lawyer rose and faced the family. “You’ll need to find new representation. I’ll send you my bill.” He walked out the door.
As the Carrells left, Olivia shook her head.
Now that the case against Henry would be dismissed, she was free to decide her future. She pressed her hand to her belly.
Something had become clear to her these past few days. Despite her desire to make her family proud by staying in the family tradition of law enforcement and first responders, she wanted something different in life. She wanted to help people in a different way. She was going to resign from the force.
If someone had taken an interest in Parker all those years ago, maybe he would have been mentally stable and lived his life making better choices.
She planned to use her degree in psychology and criminal justice to offer support and assistance to trauma victims like Parker before it ever became too late.
* * *
Henry stood on the grass outside the training center and the K-9 unit building with Cody, the puppies and Brooke, the mama dog. He’d been pacing inside when the vet, Gina, had asked him to make himself useful by taking the dogs out for a break.
Cody and Brooke were keeping the puppies in line while Henry continued his pacing. He’d seen Davey and his entourage leave the headquarters building several minutes ago.
It took all of Henry’s willpower not to go find Olivia and ask her what had happened. Was she filing her report now? What was she recommending? Would he resume his duties? Or be charged with excessive force?
He refrained from seeking her out because it wouldn’t be appropriate. Though he wanted to know her conclusions, he told himself to exercise some patience. He would find out in due time.
But his career hung in the balance.
His life hung in the balance.
A life he wanted to share with Olivia and her child. He hadn’t foreseen falling hard for the beautiful and caring woman. Finding romance while embroiled in an internal affairs investigation had thrown his carefully planned life into chaos. A good kind of chaos. The kind that made his heart pound with joy and terror all at once.
Yet, how could they ever be together while their jobs kept them at odds?
He searched his heart and realized he’d willingly give up the force if it meant he could spend his life with the woman he’d come to love.
“Are you puppy-sitting?”
He whirled around and found Olivia walking toward him. She was so beautiful, so regal, dressed in a gray suit with a pale purple blouse. Her amber eyes sparkled and the smile on her face caused a ripple of joy to cascade through him. She was warm and alive and glowing.
She held out her hand. Without second-guessing himself, he grasped her smaller hand within his, loving the feel of her soft skin pressed again his palm. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he tugged her closer.
She squeezed his hand. “You’re in the clear.”
“What do you mean?”
“Davey has retracted his accusations. We have proof he was lying. The case will be dismissed. You’re free to resume your duties with the K-9 unit.”
His knees nearly buckled. But he locked them and stared into her eyes. “That’s good news.”
Learning he was no longer under investigation lifted a heavy weight off his mind, making him a bit light-headed. He could take a full breath and not feel the pressure of the false accusation.
Olivia squeezed his hand. “And I’ve decided to leave the force and open my own trauma counseling practice here in Brooklyn.”
For a moment the ramifications of her announcement left him speechless. She was resigning from the NYPD. Finding his voice, he said, “Are you sure? I mean, I’ve already said you made a wonderful counselor, but you’re also a really great investigator.”
The determination and confidence in her eyes had his heart pounding.
“I am sure. It’s what I want to do with my life. How I want to make a difference in the lives of others.”
He so admired this remarkable woman. He swallowed, his throat suddenly closing on the words bursting to ge
t out. If he didn’t say what was in his heart now, he might never get another chance. “I have to tell you something. And I’ll understand if what I’m about to say isn’t wanted, but I need you to know. I’ve fallen in love you, Olivia. You are such a kind and caring woman. You’ve opened my eyes to viewing the world in different ways. I want you to know I would never purposely hurt or deceive you. I want the best for you and your child.”
Olivia’s eyes widened and for a fraction of a second he feared she would reject him. Then a soft, beaming smile broke out on her lovely face. “I’ve fallen for you, too, Henry. I know you are a man of integrity and honor. A man I can trust with my heart.”
Relief swept through him. “I’m so glad to hear that.”
Then worry clouded her eyes. “Henry, the baby and I come as a package deal.”
“I know.” He kissed her hand. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to be a father. From the beginning. Now that I’ve had a little practice, I’ll be better at it the second time around.”
She grinned. “Or a third?”
“Yes.” He chuckled. Love and hope and elation filled his chest to overflowing. “Whatever you want. Whenever you want. With God as our rudder, we’ll do just fine.”
One of the puppies, Maverick, wedged himself between Olivia’s legs, his little body quivering with obvious excitement.
Olivia bent down and picked up the puppy, snuggling him close. “Do you think Riley will be okay with us?”
“She’s already given us her blessing,” he told her. “She told me you would be a great catch.”
Olivia laughed. “She told me the same thing about you.”
“Then I guess we better not disappoint her.” He tugged Olivia close for a kiss.
* * *
Look for Belle Montera’s story, Tracking a Kidnapper, by Valerie Hansen, the next book in the True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn series, available in August 2020.
True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn These police officers fight for justice with the help of their brave canine partners.
Copycat Killer by Laura Scott, April 2020
