“That, too.”
Several hours later the boys were booked, the meth lab photographed, fingerprinted, and dismantled.
By the time Gina and Darin got back to the squad room the others had left for the day.
They were at their desk when the captain interrupted them.
“It’s been a long day. Paperwork can wait until morning.”
“You sure?” Gina asked. “Won’t take long.”
“Get out of here,” he said as he headed to the door. “Both of you did a good job today. Take advantage of my generosity. Doesn’t happen often.”
“That’s the damn truth,” Darin said as the door shut behind the captain. He threw his paperwork into a drawer. “Captain Wells is usually a hard-ass.”
“Let’s go before he changes his mind.”
“You go ahead. There’s something I want to check,” Darin answered.
She threw him a questioning look, but left. She had something of her own to check out.
When she showed up at lock-up, Darin was already there.
“Kids out yet?” she asked, hiding any surprise she might have felt at seeing him there.
“What do you think?”
“Thought so.”
“We put them in. They get out. We put them in again…”
“I know,” Darin said.
Gina waved and took off. It was true, but all the cops could do was their job. It was up to the courts to finish it. All too often they didn’t.
Right now her concern ran to her real job. So far, Callahan gave out no signals he wasn’t who and what he was supposed to be, a good cop doing his job.
Could be an act put on for the sake of a new partner.
Or he could be totally innocent.
Either way her job wasn’t near completion. She hadn’t turned up a single clue to point to any member of the squad or to her partner.
Letting out a sigh she got in her car and headed to her sister’s. What she needed now was a glass of wine and another one of her sister’s wonderful meals.
****
Darin was tired. Hunter’s death had shattered a part of him he hadn’t examined before. It was so sudden, so unexpected, he still hadn’t wrapped his mind around the fact he’d never see his friend again. Still couldn’t comprehend the loss.
Cops knew their jobs were dangerous. They carried guns for that very reason. Few expected to die on the job. If so, there wouldn’t be so many applying each year for the police academy.
Hunter’s death had been unnecessary. All it would have taken was one phone call, and he would have had all the help he needed. Yet Hunter hadn’t made the call. It angered Darin all over again.
Why? He had to find out, but so far he’d gotten nowhere in his clandestine efforts. Homicide wasn’t getting anywhere either. Where did he go from here?
If only he could have talked to the suspects, there was the possibility he’d get enough to at least identify the drug lord involved. Maybe one of the men could tell them something.
Darin would have to find someone else who would talk.
Easier said than done.
He needed someone to bounce ideas off of. Hunter had always been his sounding board. Now he felt as if he were fighting a losing battle alone.
He couldn’t go to another member of the squad. He didn’t know if Hunter had called one or more of them just as he’d called Darin. If he had, it meant a member of the squad was involved.
He’d always trusted his fellow squad members, every one of them. That familiar sick feeling washed over him. Could it be? It didn’t seem possible. Sure, they could all use extra money, who couldn’t? He shook his head. He couldn’t see any one of them involved in this. Not one.
His thoughts turned to his new partner. Gina had joined them after Hunter was shot. She couldn’t possibly be involved.
His heart picked up an erratic rhythm. Could he trust her? She was a newbie. He knew nothing of her background and had only known her a few days. Still, she’d given him no reason not to trust her. According to the captain she was a cop with a good reputation. Maybe if he talked to her one-on-one, he’d be able to read her better and see what his gut told him. So far she’d held up well on the busts they’d been involved in. But they were easy ones.
That was another question. Why were they so easy?
And why were those they’d arrested getting out almost as easily?
The urge to talk to her grew stronger. Besides, he needed to speak to her about her damned perfume anyway.
Feeling better, he left his parking space.
A dark four-door sedan wheeled in behind him.
Darin went on alert.
This was the second time he thought he was being followed.
Chapter Five
Maybe he was just spooked, but Darin would swear there was a car on his tail. Otherwise his antenna wouldn’t be on full alert. His glance kept going to his rearview mirror. Maybe he was being paranoid. Clouds threatening rain brought night on earlier than usual. All he could see were dozens of headlights as drivers guided their cars through traffic.
He should be going home, instead he was fighting traffic and the weather in the hopes his new partner would help him in his quest to find Hunter’s killer. A light turned yellow two cars ahead. Both ran through, the last one on the red. Stupid. The slick streets were begging for an accident.
Once more his gaze went to his mirror. Traffic had thinned by now. Had that black sedan been there all this time?
He was sure it had been.
Darin was about a mile from the address for Gina’s apartment. But he sure as hell wouldn’t lead whoever was following him, if anyone was, to her doorstep.
Spotting a Starbucks, he stopped, got out of his truck, and ran through the rain to the welcoming brightness. Just the scent of freshly ground coffee beans warmed him.
Taking off his Stetson he went to the counter and ordered a plain cup of coffee. No prissy latte, frappuccino, mocha, or any other drink with mounds of cream and sugar for him. He remembered how he and Hunter had rolled their eyes at those buying specialty coffees. Nothing but black straight coffee for them.
Taking his cup to the table in the far corner he set it down and placed his hat beside it.
Feigning a trip to the restroom he checked for a back door. Found one of those emergency only doors right where he thought it would be. It was locked from the outside, accessible inside.
He dialed Gina’s number from his cell phone.
It took less than a minute for her to agree to meet him, another minute to tell her to knock on the back door instead of coming in the front.
Back at his table he took a sip of coffee, scrutinized every person who walked in.
Business was slow.
Only what appeared to be die-hard caffeine addicts showed up. Two college students came in with laptops in hand. Nothing suspicious.
The door opened again.
Darin watched closely as another college kid walked in and waved at the two just sitting down with their coffees. After ordering a latte he joined them.
In minutes their laptops were out and a study session was on.
Darin’s nerves settled somewhat. Why would anyone follow him anyway?
If whoever was at the storage facility had wanted him dead they could have accomplished it then with no resistance from him. The assholes had taken his gun. So why didn’t they?
By the time there was a soft knock at the back door he was ready to chalk up his paranoia to his imagination.
He opened the door and let Gina in. One of the guys behind the counter ran over. “You can’t open this door. It’s for emergency use only.”
Darin flashed his badge. He got a frown in return as the young man went back to his station.
Leading Gina to the small table Darin fought the urge to call off this meeting. What was he thinking? How or why would a newbie on the squad help him? He was on the verge of going rogue. He couldn’t ask anyone else to take the risk of damaging
their career. It wouldn’t be right. He stopped in his tracks and turned. “On second thought, Gina, maybe—”
She held up a finger. “Be right back after I get a coffee.”
“Have a seat. I’ll get it.” If anyone was out there, he didn’t want whoever it was to know the two were meeting. But hadn’t he convinced himself it was just his imagination?
“Thanks. I’ll have a latte, no sugar.”
It wasn’t like him to be so indecisive. He was the team leader because he was just the opposite. Knowing someone had put a bullet in his partner had changed something vital inside him. He hoped to get it back, but suspected that wouldn’t happen until the killer was behind bars.
He put her coffee in front of her, took a seat opposite. Even in an old pair of jeans and a faded T-shirt she was beautiful. Looking into those blue-green eyes did something to his insides.
Had he called her here because he was attracted to her? Couldn’t be. Not him. But this wasn’t a normal reaction. Most women he could take or leave. After a date or two his interest waned. Not one of them interested him further. Certainly, no one had ever caused the reaction his brothers claimed they had with their wives. Nor did they evoke any can’t-live-without-you heart stuff—none had stayed on his mind longer than a few minutes.
Gina Carlson might be different. Darin didn’t like the idea one iota.
She was his partner. His new partner. The only reason he was here now was to prove to himself he could trust her enough to bend the rules a bit if need be.
Heaving an inward sigh he got to it. “How did you come to be a cop?”
****
She took a sip of coffee, smiled. “I wanted to put the bad guys behind bars.” Not exactly true. She’d wanted to put one particular guy behind bars. A goal she hadn’t accomplished just yet. “You?”
Darin shrugged. She liked the way he handled himself on the job…the professional, firm manner when he arrested the kids. Truth be told, she liked him. Period.
That wasn’t good. Wasn’t professional. Her main purpose here was to investigate his partner’s death and make sure Darin Callahan had nothing to do with it or with the missing drugs.
How could she do a good job if she harbored secret thoughts about the man under suspicion?
To be honest, Chief Hamilton was convinced Darin was innocent. But Internal Affairs always investigated. HPD’s IAD hadn’t filed their report. Because of the captain’s unsubstantiated hints of wrongdoing, she’d been called in. Gina had been given a wide field to investigate, and it covered every member of the squad.
She watched him study her even as she studied him, as if making up his mind about something. “What’s up, Callahan? You didn’t call me here and throw all this cloak and dagger stuff about coming in the back door just to share a cup of java.”
He cleared his throat. “Your perfume,” he began.
“What perfume?”
“I could smell it when we did the bust. I can smell it now. It’s a dead giveaway.”
She leaned across the table. “I don’t wear perfume. It’s soap. And I’m not giving up soap because your sense of smell is sharper than most.”
He gave her a half-smile. Her blood heated up a notch. The man was way too attractive and she was acting way out of character.
“Sorry. But I don’t know how to begin to tell you the real reason for this meet.”
“Something to do with your partner’s death?”
Darin nodded.
“Then why don’t you begin there?”
He leaned closer to the space she set around herself, the one she kept everyone except her sister out of. She maneuvered back a notch.
“Tom Hunter was a good partner, an even better friend. I took him to the ranch a couple of times to meet the family. We told each other everything. At least I thought we did. But a couple of months ago he got real quiet. When I asked him about it he shrugged me off.
“It got so bad I pinned him down one night and told him I wanted an explanation. I thought I had pissed him off or something. Hell, I didn’t know. He laughed and told me he wished I was right. I pressured him to come clean. He promised he would when the time was right.”
“Nothing else? That’s all he said?” This was more than she knew from her files. She wanted to know more.
“He did say he’d accidentally uncovered something major, as he called it. But he wouldn’t tell me what it was. Just told me it was coming to a head.”
“How long ago was this?”
“The day before he was shot.”
She sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry. Sorry your partner was killed, and sorry you feel guilty. It wasn’t your fault. There’s the possibility if he had told you what he knew, he’d be alive today.”
“I know. It doesn’t help. Hunter is dead, and I still haven’t a clue who shot him.”
“What can I do?”
“Are you sure you want to get involved in this?”
She did her best to dampen her enthusiasm, but only partially succeeded. “I’ll do everything I can to help, but you know Homicide is investigating his death. They promised to keep us informed.”
“I know. But they’re not familiar with the drug trade. We are. By we, I mean the narcotics squad. As you know we haven’t found a single lead. Time isn’t on our side. I’m surprised the drugs aren’t on the street as we speak. Homicide doesn’t have any leads on Hunter’s killer either. I owe it to him to get to the bottom of this.”
“You have your suspicions though, don’t you?” She could see it in his eyes.
“I can’t see that amount of drugs coming here without one, or a coalition of the drug lords working in Houston being involved. They have the money and the connections. Someone involved with the drugs that night shot Hunter. Either the drugs were stolen from someone else, or one of the drug lords bought them and was moving them, I don’t know which. But we have to find whoever has them. When we do, we’ll have Hunter’s killer.”
“Have you thought of a way to confirm any of your theories?”
“I have. It will be risky. That’s why you’re here. I want to go undercover. It’s the fastest way to get to the truth. To do so, I’ll need help.”
“You don’t have the time.”
“I realize that it takes months, sometimes years to get embedded in an operation this big—”
“What if you’re a buyer?” she interrupted. “You could change your looks. We could put word out on the street a dealer is interested in making a big buy.” She eyed him up and down. “I was thinking of a New York dealer, but you’d never pass the test. You’d have to be from Texas with ties to Mexico. Do you, by any chance, speak Spanish?”
“Now why would you not think I couldn’t pass for anyone but a Texan?” he drawled. “But, yeah. I speak Spanish. Took it in college, mastered it on the job.”
“Good. You’ll need it.” She looked at him, wrinkled her forehead, contemplating the idea. “Your Texas drawl is a dead giveaway for the area you came from.” She paused, reconsidering her impulsive suggestion. “I don’t know about this…”
“It’s the only way I can see to get them in the open.”
“It would be too dangerous. The two of us could never pull it off without help.” Understatement. She had issues with the whole idea. But Darin was paying no attention to her roadblocks.
“I’ll go it alone then. I will find Hunter’s killer.”
He was serious. And there was no way she could allow him to do this alone.
“Okay. Let’s start over.”
Another cup of coffee and an hour later they were still bouncing ideas back and forth.
When Darin gave her an admiring look. Gina felt heat. For the first time in her life a man made her face warm. Not just her face, her entire body.
This was definitely not a good thing. She had a job to do—a serious one.
Out of the blue, Darin was making that job easier. Or was he making it harder by being so attractive? Should any of this bother her?
>
“Do you have enough connections to set up a background for our fictional buyer?” she asked. “These guys didn’t get where they are by dealing with strangers. They’d want proof you are who you say you are.”
“I don’t have it planned out just yet.”
If he didn't have a way, she had enough connections to pull it off, including false IDs. She could almost see his brain churning with options. “I repeat, we’ll need help. A few members of the squad maybe.”
He rubbed a hand through his hair. She wanted to smile at the way the gesture made the thick reddish-brown hair almost fall into his eyes. He raked it back, impatient to think through the logistics. “Might present a problem.”
Gina could see multiple problems, but wanted to hear his.
“We keep as close an eye as we can on the drug trade. We’ve arrested dozens of dealers, small and large. We have snitches that clue us in on much of it. The way I see it, for a load of drugs to make it to a warehouse and out again without a whiff of the deal getting to us they had to be confident HPD wouldn’t interfere. When Hunter showed up they were stunned enough to kill him. Is someone on the inside calling the shots? Is someone on a drug payroll as well as HPD’s so they can wheel and deal with greater ease? What makes me even more into this theory is seeing how our bust the other night should have been much bigger. Since it wasn’t, I want to know why. Even more I want to know if a member of the squad is involved.”
Darin looked at her, his eyes intense. “I have a difficult time thinking such thoughts. I’ve always trusted every one of my co-workers. Had to. Our lives depend on each other. Besides, they’re like a second family. I don’t want to think like this. So I have to go this alone. I’d like one person on standby if I need help. That’s why you’re here.”
Alone! Was he crazy?
“You’re going to do this alone and you want me on standby? Is that the deal?”
Darin scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll be careful and do everything by the book if I can.”
“And if not?”
“I’m hoping that situation doesn’t come up.”
Gina hurt for him. He wanted his partner’s killer in the worst way, but could ruin his career in the process. What was he thinking?
Promise Renewed Page 6
