“What property? The keys or the diamonds?”
She couldn’t see Caswell’s face, but the shock on Sperry’s shone like a beacon. He sputtered, “How . . . uh, who told you about the diamonds?”
Garrison cursed. “I’m not the fool you took me for. That’s right; I know you stole the diamonds, and I know he had your help, Thomas.”
“You’ll never prove that. Besides, what diamonds? No evidence, no crime.” Caswell’s tone was superior, and he spread his hands out.
“The girl will surface with the goods, and when both of you are in jail, I’m sure it will just be a matter of time before you’re ratting each other out. You both have made me look bad, and I’m done. Conrad, get away from the car. You’re coming with me. I think ICE has questions for you and Thomas.”
Carly’s hand was on her gun; she wondered why Garrison hadn’t drawn his if he was going to take these two into custody. But she hesitated to make her presence known unless Garrison gave her a sign.
“Hold on, Norm.” Sperry held both his hands up. “No harm, no foul. I didn’t find the keys or the diamonds. Surely we can talk about this.”
“Enough is enough. You two have played me, pretending to be friends, upstanding businessmen, the targets of baseless smears. It proves to me that I’ve been sitting on my butt behind a desk for too long that I even believed you for a second. Now, because of it, I’ll be sent to babysit old women in records.” Finally he drew his weapon and assumed a confident stance.
But Carly saw the flaw in the captain’s officer safety: he was in between Caswell and Sperry, so one or both of them could easily distract him. She unsnapped her own gun and tensed. Everything depended on whether or not the two men complied.
“You two are under arrest. We’re going back up to your car, Thomas.”
“Wait just a minute,” Caswell blustered. “You have absolutely no probable cause to arrest me.”
“You forget—the last time I was in patrol and made an arrest, we booked first and found a reason to make it stick later.” Garrison motioned with his gun. “Stand over with Thomas, Conrad.”
Carly saw the glance Sperry shot Caswell and she was moving. But everything happened so fast. Conrad started toward Caswell, crossing in front of Garrison. She leaped to her feet a split second too late. Sperry dropped his shoulder and rammed the captain.
The gun fired, Sperry screamed, and they went down in a heap with Caswell moving in. With a swift kick, he knocked Garrison’s gun from his hand, sending it flying toward the car, and landed a second kick to the captain’s head.
“That’s enough. Stop right there!” Carly pointed her 9mm as a shocked Caswell jerked around to face her.
Sperry was moaning, but she couldn’t see how badly he was hurt. Garrison brought a hand to the side of his head where he’d been kicked and seemed dazed. Carly kept her attention on the lawyer.
“I’ve got more than enough probable cause to arrest you now, Caswell. Step away from the captain.”
“What an odd pair you two make.” He stood up straight and looked from Garrison to Carly. “But I’m not going to jail.” His hand jerked from his pocket, and Carly saw the gun, pointed straight at Captain Garrison’s head. “You drop your gun or Norman is a dead man.”
38
“PLEASE, I NEED A DOCTOR,” Sperry moaned, writhing in the dirt that Carly could now see was being stained red.
“Shut up, Conrad,” Caswell said, his eyes pinpoints of fury. “The gun, now, Officer Edwards.” He had a revolver—Carly guessed it was a .38—and cocked it.
Her pulse jumping, Carly made no move to comply, fighting to think of how to gain the advantage.
“Don’t do it,” Garrison said, sounding woozy from the kick to the head. “That’s an order.”
Bam! Caswell fired a round into the dirt, right next to Garrison’s head. Carly jumped.
“Are we clear now? Throw your gun this way.”
Carly swallowed and fought panic. Giving in to panic would only cloud her thinking.
“All right, all right.” She held both hands up, then tossed her gun toward him. “But backup is on the way.”
Caswell smirked. “I won’t be long. Just one question before I end your life: Where is the girl? Norman was right about one thing—I want those diamonds. Thanks to the good captain, Conrad is out of the running for them.”
The gun was now pointed at her.
“I . . .” Carly saw a golf ball–size rock sail through the air and hit Caswell in the right temple.
“Ow!” he yelped, cringing. Carly lunged for her gun and toward the cover provided by the car.
Caswell fired, and she felt the sting of a bullet burn her thigh. She had the gun in her grasp and was behind the car as another bullet pinged the fender. Caswell was after her; he had moved from Garrison’s head and was focused completely on her.
As she turned to face the lawyer, another bullet zinged by. But Garrison was moving as well. Now behind the lawyer, he twisted and reached out with his long arms, grabbed Caswell’s leg, and jerked it out from under the man.
Caswell screamed. The gun flew from his hand as he tried to break his fall.
Carly jammed her gun into its holster and went for the attorney. She grabbed an arm in a control hold as he tried to push himself up from the dirt. Garrison moved to sit across Caswell’s legs and keep him down.
Glad she’d thought to bring the handcuffs, she pulled out a pair and prepared to apply them when Garrison caught her eye.
Clearly enjoying the fact that he had the struggling, cursing lawyer restrained, he smiled and held out his hand. “Please, allow me.”
• • •
Once Caswell was cuffed and seated against the car’s rear wheel, Carly secured Caswell’s gun, then checked Sperry while Garrison radioed for help. Sperry had been hit in the midsection and was going into shock, but there was nothing Carly could do for him but keep him still until medics came.
She had to suppress a smile as she listened to Garrison on the radio because she heard the unspoken question in the dispatcher’s voice at the captain calling for help from the field. Captains worked behind a desk; they didn’t roll around in the dirt with bad guys.
“Are you okay, Captain?” she asked after he told her that help was on the way.
“Only my dignity is bruised.” He looked her in the eye, and Carly saw none of the rancor that had framed their relationship for years. “Thank you, Officer Edwards. You came through at precisely the right moment. I owe you my life.”
“I don’t know about that.” She turned to look at the brush where the rock had come from. She saw nothing and wondered if Mary Ellen was there. A thought occurred to her, and she pulled out her cell phone and made a quick call to Jonah.
By the time she disconnected, she could hear sirens. When the sirens came to a stop, the first person to burst through the brush was the person Carly most wanted to see: Nick.
• • •
“Fat, dumb, and happy.”
“Excuse me, sir?” Once Sperry had been assessed and whisked away by ambulance, Carly and Garrison were escorted up out of the catch basin to a paramedic rig. Medics examined her leg and the captain’s head. Caswell’s kick had broken the skin above Garrison’s ear, and the cut was being cleaned. He wouldn’t need stitches, but Carly’s bullet graze near her hip was likely to need a few. Nick had hovered with her until Jonah arrived, and then the two of them had gone back down to where Harper’s car was parked, leaving Carly in the company of the captain.
“It’s what an old training officer said to me, years ago,” Garrison explained. “He said that it was dangerous for a cop to take a desk job. If they weren’t careful, they’d become fat, dumb, and happy.”
“I’ve heard that expression as well,” Carly said, a little amazed that Captain Garrison was talking to her as if she were an equal as they sat together on the back of the medic rig.
“I’d forgotten it, and that is exactly what happened to me: I lost the cop ed
ge and became an administrator.” He spit the last word out as if he were spitting out an unpleasant taste. “I should have woken up after Drake and Tucker.”
Since he started it, Carly got brave. “Can I ask what was going on with you and Caswell and Sperry?”
“At first, we just caught up. We were friends years ago. I was the one who suggested Conrad hire Thomas when Conrad’s son got into trouble. He called me after you arrested Harper, to complain. At first I thought it was just a simple case of Thomas mad because you showed him up, so I listened to him vent. But when the baby was kidnapped and he called asking about the investigation, I knew something else was up.” He paused and sipped some water. “Maybe it’s time for me to retire. Here I was, ready to chat with a thief as if he weren’t a thief.”
“Maybe you just wanted to believe the best in someone you once knew.”
“If only it were that easy.”
Carly almost felt sorry for the man. For most of her career, he’d seemed larger than life, but not in a positive way. Now that he’d been cut down to size, she saw a flawed man who’d probably used the arrogance to cover his insecurities. She realized he’d no longer be a nemesis, someone she couldn’t talk to, and for that she was glad.
He pointed. “Look what Sergeant Anderson found.”
She turned and saw Nick and Jonah walking their way, between them a small girl wearing filthy jeans and a tank top but smiling as she looked up at Jonah. Nick was carrying a grimy backpack. Carly wondered if it contained the diamonds.
“Mary Ellen?” she asked as she stood to greet the trio.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Did you throw that rock?”
“Yes, I threw it. I hate that lawyer. He had Stanley killed.”
There was a commotion behind Nick. Wiley and another agent were walking up the hill with Thomas Caswell between them.
“I had nothing to do with the human trafficking—nothing,” he was saying.
Usually the first thing a lawyer told his client was to shut up. Carly thought it ironic that Caswell obviously couldn’t take his own advice.
He broke off when he saw Mary Ellen; then he cursed. “Just tell me one thing,” he said, dragging his feet as Wiley tried to move him along. “Do you have the diamonds?”
Mary Ellen looked away. “Some of them.”
“Some?” Caswell’s eyes got wide, and he stopped, staring at her.
Mary Ellen smiled. “I traded some for money to buy food and gas.”
“We have what’s left safe and sound,” Wiley said with a snicker.
Carly thought Caswell was going to choke. He began rambling almost incoherently about how much money the diamonds were worth and how this street urchin had squandered them. Then Carly was surprised by a sound she’d never heard. Garrison was laughing.
“Well, what do you know? Who played whom? Looks like a little girl got the best of both of you. While you were killing for those stones, she used them to stay alive.”
39
CARLY FOUND HERSELF off work for the rest of the week. Four stitches in her thigh also meant no swimming for at least a week. For the first time she could remember, she was glad she was off work involuntarily. Sperry was recovering from his gunshot wound in the jail ward of County General, reputedly looking for a good defense attorney. Sperry’s and Caswell’s arrests, stolen diamonds, and human trafficking brought the case national headlines. She’d learned from Wiley that the rest of the diamonds had been recovered at a pawnshop in downtown Las Playas. The package of diamonds would be returned to the rightful owner. Cable news outlets descended on the city, but she wanted no part of any of it.
There were plenty of other people in the city for the news outlets to pounce on. Alex was trying to be a reporter but was actually part of the story for his role in uncovering the smuggled Mexican nationals. Jacobs had been promoted to captain when Garrison quietly retired.
Mary Ellen was also somewhat of a story. Jonah had been interviewed about her and his fight to see that the court went easy on her as he submitted a petition to have her released into his custody. Joe and Christy had even lined up with him—which only sensationalized the headline—thankful no harm had come to the baby and that Mary Ellen had brought him back safe.
With all the high-profile news outlets in the city, Carly had been happy to hide in her apartment for two days. But now she was ready to venture out again. Nick was taking her out on a date.
For reasons she couldn’t put her finger on, Carly felt bound up with nervousness as she dressed for the big occasion. She stood in front of the mirror, working to get the curling iron positioned correctly in her hair, acutely feeling Andrea’s absence. Andrea knew fashion and hairstyles, she knew makeup, and she knew how to put together outfits. As it was, Carly had actually gone shopping earlier with her mother, something that hadn’t happened in years.
She tilted her head as she regarded her reflection in the mirror. The bruises around her eyes weren’t quite gone, so she still needed a layer of foundation. She was happy that it didn’t take much to give her eyes a normal look.
Maddie was back with her since she was off, so in a telltale sign of stress, she talked to the dog.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve gotten dressed up to go on a date. I really feel awkward.” She fumbled with the curling iron for a few more minutes; then she unplugged it and moved to the brush. A few minutes with that and she stopped, finally satisfied with what she saw.
Carly studied the reflection staring back at her, not completely convinced it was herself she was looking at. The hair was neat and stylish, and the smallest bit of eye makeup accentuated her brown eyes. Her lips glowed a soft red. She affixed her earrings—small pearls, a gift from Nick on their fifth wedding anniversary—and added the matching pearl necklace. The new green summer dress her mother had helped her pick out clung just the right way to her athletic physique and made Carly sigh. “I hope he likes it.”
A knock at the door caused Carly to turn and her stomach to lurch.
He’s right on time, she noted as she glanced at the clock. “Be right there,” she called out. Quickly she got her purse together, dumping out her backpack on the bed and transferring what she needed to a small clutch that matched her dress. Her hands trembled and her stomach was awash in turbulence, as if she were on a code 3 run. This is like a first date! I need to calm down.
She smoothed her dress one last time, gathered up her purse, and took a deep breath before striding into the living room and opening the door.
Nick stood in the doorway, looking every bit the GQ hubby in spite of the row of stitches on the side of his forehead. It took Carly’s breath away. He stood ramrod straight and broad-shouldered, his short blond hair shone, and the blue suit jacket brought out the deep blue of his eyes. Carly admired him for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and handed her the roses in his hand.
“H-h-hello, Carly. You look great.” He stammered a bit, and Carly relaxed when she realized he was as nervous as she was.
“You look pretty good yourself.” She stepped forward to take the roses, pausing to inhale their scent. “You know I love roses. Thanks.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. The familiar smell of his aftershave made her tingle.
“Yeah, I remember some things.”
They stood and stared at one another for a moment before Nick spoke again. “We should probably get going.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Carly laughed. “Let me put these in water.” She hurried to the task and then turned back to Nick.
“Place looks empty,” he observed.
“Yeah. Andi has a lease, so she won’t be back except to visit. A lot, I hope.”
He held out his hand, and Carly placed hers in it.
His grip was warm and strong, and Carly felt her tension fade. “Thanks. I’m ready.”
They left the apartment and walked to the plain car Jacobs was letting Nick drive until his truck was repaired. As Nick and Carly settled in, anxie
ty fled, replaced by companionship and comfortable familiarity. Nick took her to the best restaurant in Las Playas, the Bay Room at the Hacienda. The Hacienda was the oldest resort in town, a beautifully restored enclave overlooking the water. They were led to a window table, and conversation flowed easily.
“So,” Nick said as they finished dessert and lingered over coffee, “in all the excitement lately, we haven’t really had time to talk about stuff other than work. I was wondering, are you still planning on doing the channel swim?”
Nodding, Carly smiled. “Yeah, I sent my application in months ago. I just made the cutoff for the solo swimmers.”
“Great. I was afraid because of the way I’ve been acting you’d decided not to go. You really are in super shape, and I know how much you’ve wanted to do that swim. And I look forward to being in the guide boat cheering you on.”
“I guess that’s fair. You let me cheer you in therapy. By the way, how is that going? You’ve been walking better lately, so what’s the word?”
“We’re still working on range of motion.” He fidgeted a little bit, and Carly wondered if he was in a hurry to leave. “But you’re right; my hip has loosened up a lot. Keith just says, ‘I told you so.’ My kind of injury takes time, and I was being impatient. I’m not 100 percent yet, but I will be.”
He shook his head ruefully. “I have to apologize again for being such a jerk these last couple of months. I feel as though my eyes have been opened after a long blindness. I’ve been so wrapped up in the fear I couldn’t be a cop anymore that I didn’t like myself much. I couldn’t imagine you liking me. I saw a career I’ve loved slipping away, and it was scary.”
“It’s all water under the bridge. I can accept anything as long as I know you are as committed to me as I am to you.”
“Know it.” He reached across the table for her hand. “This was all I prayed for, the year we were apart. You’ve always been the only one for me. I’ll earn the second chance you’ve given me. I won’t mess it up.”
“I don’t want to dwell on the past. I want to concentrate on our future. I couldn’t imagine life without you.”
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