Her Husband’s Partner

by Jeanie London

  Do-Wap elbowed him, and Cakes sidestepped the blow, nearly taking Scott down in the process.

  He scowled. A girl who hung in the periphery of any gang wasn’t likely to have a bead on the inner workings, even if she was sleeping with a senior member. “A peripheral? You think there’s something to that?”

  Mateo shrugged. “The Big House brothaz all up in H Creek’s grill, Big Home. Everyone knows that.”

  Not everyone. Big House operated on Scott’s beat, and this was the first he’d heard about any connection to Hazard Creek. If the gang was operating out of Poughkeepsie proper, there had to be some solid link to the area.

  The link wasn’t likely to be a bunch of similar-minded drug dealers, otherwise Scott would have heard. Any connection between Poughkeepsie inner city and H Creek had to be one that could enable these thugs to branch out operations into new turf without a lot of press. That meant only the most senior gang members were in on the operation.

  Had these kids heard right? Could there be a leak in one of the departments?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THROUGH TEARY EYES, Riley stared in the rearview mirror, her stomach sick.

  Just four days ago, Mrs. House, with her kind smiles and soft voice, had seemed to be the most perfect kindergarten teacher in the world. Today, she seemed more prison warden while leading Jake through the car-rider line execution style.

  “Mrs. Angelica,” she’d said oh-so diplomatically on the telephone last night. “I think it might be better if you drop Jake off at school. Camille and I will get him to class, and he’ll have a little time to adjust before we get inside.”

  All the excitement of kindergarten had disintegrated into a raging case of separation anxiety for her son. Riley assumed he’d feel better when he had a clearer idea of what to expect. But the situation wasn’t working out that way, despite Riley’s best efforts at reassurance. She’d given Jake checkpoints to look forward to during the long day.

  Smiley-face notes in his lunch box.

  One of Daddy’s handkerchiefs in his pocket.

  Unfortunately, after three days of panicked tears at the door, the teacher had decided to assume control.

  In her heart, Riley knew Mrs. House was right. Camille, who was genuinely excited about school, became worried and sad whenever Jake melted down. Then there were the other twenty-five little kids in class to consider. This wasn’t the best start to anyone’s day, nor did Riley want Jake labeled a problem this early in his school career.

  So last night she’d spent the night prepping him for today’s change of routine. She’d placed her picture in his pocket so he could pull it out whenever he missed Mommy. Then she’d bypassed the parking lot and headed for the carriders’ line, where Mrs. House stood waiting as promised. Riley had given each kid a kiss and hug. Camille had jumped out of the minivan eagerly. Riley had nearly had to throw Jake out.

  This was not how life was supposed to be. Riley should be walking her kids to class, then hanging around to help out as homeroom mom whenever she didn’t have an early assignment. She should be comforting her son, not relying on a kindhearted but all-too-busy teacher to do the job.

  An impatient horn sounded behind her, and she dragged her gaze away from the kids and quickly glanced at her blind spot before pulling away from the curb.

  That sick feeling in her stomach intensified at the stop sign. Her own separation anxiety spiked as she faced the decision to drive home or wait at the nearby coffee shop until she knew for certain Jake had calmed down. Did she want to be too far away if she had to pick him up?

  Uncertainty echoed in her head, and the horn beeped again, impatient, forcing her to make a choice she didn’t want to make.

  Riley wheeled the minivan into the flow of traffic.

  Of course Jake would calm down, she told herself, physically willing herself to drive past the coffee shop. He had to make peace with school, and Mrs. House was trained to help him. She also understood the unique aspects of the situation, and the factors that made leaving mommy difficult. And Jake wasn’t alone; Camille was in the same class. Thank goodness Riley had kept them together instead of separating them as so many parenting guides suggested.

  No. She’d go home. She’d hope for the best, and if she was needed, she’d only be fifteen minutes away.

  The best obviously wasn’t on the schedule today, though, because as she rounded the last bend before her house, she was greeted by the police.

  Cruisers parked haphazardly in her driveway, on the street, on the lawn between, as if the entire police force had been dispatched to her place. For one breathless instant, her memory flashed back to the day Chief Levering had shown up to tell her about Mike….

  Had something happened to Brian?

  Her heart pounded out an uncomfortable rhythm. She couldn’t remember if she’d seen her nephew’s car in the driveway this morning.

  One of the uniformed officers recognized her and flagged her to a place on that semicircle of grass between the driveway and street. He was at her door by the time she’d set the emergency brake.

  “Riley, it’s good to see you again.” He was smiling. That took her by surprise.

  “Charlie, what happened—”

  “Everything’s okay,” he reassured her. “459a came through dispatch.” He glanced around and gave a sheepish shrug. “Everyone recognized your address.”

  “My alarm went off? Why didn’t the security company call?” She slid a hand automatically to her waist to check her cell phone, then realized it wasn’t there. In the turmoil of the morning’s anxiety, she must have forgotten it.

  Charlie frowned. “Intruder attempted to gain entry through a bathroom window—the one over the basement door. Looks like the alarm scared him off.”

  “A burglary?”

  Charlie nodded. “Got through the window on that overhang. Don’t worry. We don’t think he got into the house.”

  Don’t worry? That was the twins’ bathroom.

  She had to stop her imagination from leaping straight to the worst possible scenario, to an image of Camille or Jake walking in on an intruder.

  But they were safe at school, settling in for the day, or trying to in Jake’s case. No worries.

  “Riley?” Charlie asked. “You okay?”

  She forced herself to move past the fear, forced herself to reply, “The point of entry makes sense.”

  Charlie nodded. “No question. No one’s getting in around back without a ladder.”

  The house was situated on a descending slope that left the front porch ground level and the back of the house a full story higher with a magnificent view of the duck pond and the surrounding acreage. Since the front of the house was visible from the street, the bathroom window provided some cover.

  “Have there been burglaries in the neighborhood, Charlie?” She didn’t want to overreact, but the idea of someone inside the house… “I need to call Brian and make sure he’s okay. May I go inside and get my phone?”

  Charlie didn’t get a chance to reply because just then another uniformed officer—Janet DiBenedetto—noticed Riley and called out, “She’s here, guys. Riley’s here.”

  That began an avalanche of greetings. Riley had never seen so many of Mike’s former coworkers together at one time except at police functions. And his funeral.

  They welcomed her home and sought to reassure her they’d be working double-time, no triple-time, to keep watch on her place after this break-in so often that she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed.

  She felt as if she was repeating the same words over and over. But “thank you” wasn’t nearly good enough in the face of so much support, and just as the lump in her throat grew almost impossible to talk around, she spotted Scott circling the side of the house.

  He came to an abrupt stop when he saw her, and their gazes met across the distance. One brief instant and the crowd seemed to vanish. All the greetings and laughter faded to white noise. From where Riley stood his eyes seemed almost black, but she
knew they were really deep, deep brown. He searched her face, assessing, and he was relieved by what he saw, the look in his espresso-colored eyes somehow liquid.

  She knew how relieved he was. Though his expression never changed. Though the sharp lines of his face might have been chiseled from stone.

  As though held by some bodily connection, she just stood there, trapped by his gaze, feeling so aware of him, so glad he was here.

  She could barely acknowledge that this wasn’t the first time she’d felt so relieved to see him. So grateful he kept showing up exactly when she needed him. How, Riley couldn’t say, but he seemed to know with an uncanny knack because he headed straight toward her. Suddenly he was at her side, assuming a quiet control over the well-meaning chaos simply by inserting himself into the conversation.

  He complimented Janet on her suggestion to notify the neighborhood crime watch for some extra eyes. He thanked Roger, who offered to have his son, a friend of Brian’s, spend a few nights. He ragged on Charlie for offering to drive by Riley’s place at three in the morning when he was coming off duty. And his good-natured presence gave Riley time to catch her breath before she had to deal with the matter at hand.

  The matters at hand.

  Someone had broken into her home.

  And she was far too grateful to have Scott beside her.

  Charlie’s waist crackled a static interruption, and he withdrew from the group, taking the transmission where he was out of earshot.

  Scott glanced down, his dark eyes looking over her, not assessing but gently, as if they stood alone. “You okay?”

  Two simple words, but somehow they were a caress, no different than his gaze. She found her voice. “I need to call Brian, but my cell phone is in the house. May I use yours?”

  Scott nodded, adding, “I spoke to him already. He’s been on campus since the crack of dawn. Doesn’t have a clue what went down. He tried calling you. He was worried.”

  Again she felt that sense of appreciation. For Scott. For his becoming a part of her life. “Oh, thank goodness he’s okay. And thank you for checking on him.”

  “Called you first. When I couldn’t get you, I got worried.”

  Riley didn’t get a chance to reply, didn’t get to dwell on the fact that Scott so obviously cared, when Charlie circled the cruiser again. “Neighbor reported seeing a motorcycle tear-assing toward Route 55 not long after dispatch got the alarm.”

  “Motorcycle?” Janet narrowed her gaze. “What makes you think it’s our perp and not some kid out for a joyride?”

  “The neighbor said she didn’t hear the bike coming down the road. It sounded as if it pulled out from somewhere right before the bend. That would be Riley’s place.”

  Riley guessed the neighbor must be Peg Haslam, the widow who’d parceled off some of her own land after her husband’s death to add to Mike’s acreage.

  “Sal.” Charlie radioed the officer investigating the shoulder of the road leading away from the house. “That fresh rubber look like a motorcycle to you?”

  “You betcha,” the voice transmitted. “Our intruder must not have been looking to score stuff he could hock.”

  “Money or jewelry, then,” Charlie said. “That would be easy to carry.”

  Janet nodded. “Jewelry’s an easy enough pawn.”

  Scott frowned. “He obviously didn’t know the security system routes a silent alarm to the precinct. A normal system would have given a burglar a good five or six minutes before the security company dispatched the police. Time enough for Riley to get a call and confirm whether or not this was a false alarm.”

  “I didn’t get that call, either,” she admitted, frustrated by her own absentmindedness. Leave it to her to forget her phone the day she actually needed it. She had so much on her mind that things were slipping through the cracks. “But I don’t know anything about a silent alarm. What are you talking about?”

  Scott met her gaze. “The chief authorized it as a precaution after Mike. Until we figured out exactly what went down and who was involved, we didn’t want to take chances.”

  “It’s active?” She wasn’t the only one looking at Scott.

  “We talked about disconnecting after we closed the investigation, but you were gone, and Brian was alone in the house.” He shrugged. “Seemed a good idea to leave it.

  “Which raises a question.” Scott leaned against the cruiser and folded his arms across his chest, looking strong and capable, a man in control. “So as far as the perp knew, he should have had time to get in and out. But if that was the case, we’d have caught him. So why’d this guy run?”

  “Petty hood got spooked?” Sal offered as he joined them.

  “By what?” Janet asked.

  “Or he knew the cops were on the way,” Scott said.

  Sal frowned. “You thinking he had a radio?”

  Scott nodded.

  “He must have been looking to make a fast getaway,” Charlie said. “Why else the bike?”

  Scott usually wore a poker face, but right now Riley could see through his intensity. She wasn’t sure why. Perhaps only because she was getting to know the nuances of this man who was becoming her friend, establishing his own place in her life. He wasn’t going to let this go until he had answers.

  And knowing that reassured her. So much.

  “It’s not possible to predict your work schedule, Riley,” he said, his gaze holding hers. “You don’t always know when you’re heading out on assignment. So how long have the kids been in school—a couple of days now?”

  “Since Monday.” Four days that had passed in a blur.

  “So whoever tried to break in didn’t know about the silent alarm, but he knew the exact time you’d be gone. How long does it take you to drop the kids off and get back?”

  “Thirty minutes round-trip give or take.”

  That got everyone’s attention. Riley could see it in the way everyone focused on her. Even the latest arrival, a man appearing from around the garage, wore a frown. A detective, judging by his casual dress.

  “That’s not a very large window,” Scott said. “And not a very established routine.”

  Riley thought she understood what was troubling him. “Brian only takes early classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.”

  “And the semester started last week.”

  She nodded, feeling her heart rate speeding up again.

  The new guy extended his hand to Riley. “Kevin Rush,” he said. “Scott’s partner. Pleased to meet you.”

  Riley introduced herself. Mike had been Scott’s partner for as long as she’d known them. She’d never thought to ask how his new partner was working out, hadn’t thought of Scott in any role other than the one he’d always played—as Mike’s friend.

  But now she wondered how this man compared. How did their work measure up? How did Scott pass his days now—with camaraderie or stoic professionalism?

  Then Kevin said, “Whoever this guy was, he had a pretty tight bead on your schedule.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.” Scott reached for Riley’s elbow as if he knew she was putting two and two together and didn’t want her to worry. “Come on, Riley. Let’s unlock the house. We need to do a walk-through.”

  “You said he didn’t get past the bathroom.”

  He squeezed her elbow, a gentle touch. “He didn’t. Barely had time to break the window let alone get inside. It’s a precaution.”

  “We’re the best. You know that.” Janet laughed. “We want to be thorough.”

  “The chief’ll fry our asses if we’re not,” Sal added. “You don’t want to make us deal with him, do you? We’ll wind up in front of the review board.”

  “Or suspended without pay,” Charlie added. “Can you imagine what Sarah-Lynn would have to say about that?”

  Riley smiled, knowing the performances were for her benefit. Charlie’s wife would be as bad as the chief, she knew. Maybe even worse since Charlie actually lived with her.

  “Come on.” Scot
t guided her to the front porch door. “I want you to check your messages.”

  That snapped Riley back to her right mind. “Ohmigosh. My phone. What if Mrs. House tried to call me? Who has the time?”

  “Eight twenty-four,” Janet offered, clearly puzzled.

  But Riley didn’t bother to explain, just grabbed her keys off her belt and headed toward the front porch. She’d left school nearly thirty minutes ago. What if Jake hadn’t settled down? What if Mrs. House had been trying to reach her?

  She was yanked from her thoughts when Scott plucked the keys from her hand.

  “If you don’t mind.” He didn’t give her a choice as he unlocked the door.

  Suddenly she found herself flanked by a personal security force made up of Poughkeepsie’s finest. They kept her from entering until assured the coast was clear.

  Riley finally entered and beelined straight for her cell phone charger, which she kept on her bedside table. The phone read Charge Complete on the display. She cleared the screen and, sure enough, found her missed calls.

  Home security.

  Scott.

  Brian.

  No calls from the school. She exhaled a pent-up breath.

  “Everything okay?” Scott asked, startling her.

  She hadn’t heard him approach and turned to find him framed in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the opening, that serious expression hinting at how much he cared.

  “Jake had a rough morning. I was afraid the teacher might have called.”

  “She didn’t?”

  Riley shook her head, appreciating his concern.

  Scott didn’t move. He didn’t quite meet her eyes, either, as if there was some invisible line that kept him from even glancing inside the private domain of her bedroom. He shifted from foot to foot, looking so uncomfortable that Riley keenly felt the distance between them, the way he no longer seemed like Scott, who’d been around forever. Her husband’s partner. His friend. Scott had been many things through the years. A handsome, sometimes somber man, who wore his loyalty to those he loved on his sleeve. But he’d never been her friend.

  He’d always kept his distance. She didn’t know why. Yet now, as Riley watched him, she knew things were changing between them. And she was very, very aware of those changes.