by Jen Talty
“That coat isn’t standard issue.”
“I’m in uniform.” She smiled at him. “And I do have the proper coat, but that sucker doesn’t really keep one warm, now does it?”
“It’s nearly shorts weather.”
She ignored the jab. She was the youngest trooper in the office, and when he first met her, he’d wondered if she was even legal to drink. He soon found out not only was she of age, she’d graduated with a degree in Criminal Psychology, and then graduated top of her class at the Academy. She had blond hair, tucked up in a bun at the nap of her neck, and soft brown eyes with an edge to them that said she was one tough nut.
“So, want to talk about it?” Stacey asked.
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Not what my dad and his partner says.”
Reese motioned to the desk across from his. “Do I want to know what they say?”
She put her Stetson on the desk, then took a seat. She sat up tall, folded her hands on the desk, and continued to stare at Reese with unnerving concentration. “A drunk cop who decided to take on my dad in a game of pool and lost his shirt.”
“Wonderful.”
“My father wanted to take you home. So did Doug. They do shit like that kind of often.”
“Who is Doug?” He opted not to comment on what they might do often.
“His partner.”
“Your dad’s gay?” Normally, Reese wouldn’t mess around like this with someone he didn’t know well, but in the last two weeks, he found Stacey had almost no filter and a better sense of humor than anyone in this office, even if she was a bit on the young side. Besides, it was a legit question when you referred to two men as partners without any qualifiers.
She rolled her eyes. “Business partner,” she said. “They were going to bring you home, but Mary, Doug’s wife, had a fit. They’re staying at my dad’s place for a few days while my dad and Doug put in her new cabinets.”
“And why weren’t you out and about the other night?” Reese asked. “Oh wait, you’re not old enough to drink yet.”
Her brow tightened. “I’ll be twenty-two next month, thank you very much.”
Considering everything he knew about her, she could have gone on to a top level government job at the CIA, FBI, or any other Alphabet agency, and made a shitload of money. And it would probably be a bit more exciting.
“Besides,” she continued, the words coming as fast as the credits at the end of a movie, “I can’t stand Doug’s wife, and the feeling is mutual, and Doug and my dad don’t like my boyfriend, and he’s here visiting, and we wanted some time alone, so there is that.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you offer too much information?”
“Anyone ever tell you that you don’t offer enough?”
“Point taken,” he said. “Why be a Trooper? You could have done anything with your degree.”
“Because I like it here.”
“You might not be stationed here forever, you know.”
“I am for now.”
“Where is your boyfriend? You mentioned he was visiting.”
Jared stepped out of his office. “Stacey Sutten, you file those reports.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Stacey,” Jared said. “Stop with the ‘sir’ crap. I’ve known you since you were in diapers.”
“I just won twenty bucks,” Stacey said, pumping the air with her fist. Her smile was wider than the one on a kid in a candy shop.
“No, you didn’t,” Jared said. “Your dad said that bet was if I said I changed your diaper, and that, my dear child, I will never cop to.”
“But you did change my diapers.”
Jared just shook his head and went back into his office.
“Do you have any idea how weird that conversation was?” Reese asked.
“That’s normal for us.” Stacey leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. She was an attractive young woman, but she put out a ”keep away from me because I bite” vibe. Her dry sense of humor seemed to be a personality trait, but Reese recognized it was also a defense mechanism.
“Got to be weird, being a trooper in the town you grew up in.”
“Haven’t been a trooper that long, so I don’t know. But it will be fun to pull over some of the assholes I had to deal with in high school.”
“Yeah, I could see how that would be fun,” he said. “How does your dad feel about you being a cop?”
“He hates it, but I wasn’t about to become a partner in the Sutten & Tanner Construction Company—not because I’m not qualified, but because my dad doesn’t think it’s ladylike.”
“And being a cop is?”
She tilted her head and gave a ladylike smile. “My father once told me I couldn’t handle construction, after he told me it was man’s work. He’s so old-fashioned it’s insane, and it’s not like he’s that old. He let me work with him and Doug for a summer. He told me I needed to go out in the world and carve my own way before he’d consider hiring me. I went off to college, studied criminal law, and decided to be a cop. My dad nearly passed out when I told him, and offered me a job.”
Three times, Reese tried to interject to tell her to slow down or take a breath, or just shut up, but he didn’t see the point. It was fun to listen to her ramble anyway.
“I think I’ve met your dad’s partner over at Harmon Hill,” Reese said. “Oh, and I met the Nesbitch, too. At least that’s what Frank called her.”
Stacey roared laughing. “No one likes Doug’s wife. Not sure how much Doug likes her. They got married because she was pregnant, but then lost the baby. Doug really wants kids, and she says she does, but she’s too busy with her career. I give them six more months, tops.”
His heart skipped a beat as he visualized Patty being held at gunpoint. When it had happened, he had no idea she carried his baby. The idea something could have happened to Patty, or his baby, made his stomach churn. “You really need to learn to filter what you say.” She had no way of knowing his personal situation with Patty or his hopefully soon-to-be-ex-wife, but still, Stacey was going to need to mature and learn sometimes less was more.
She rolled her eyes again. “I’m not saying anything that isn’t out there in the universe for all to know, or something I wouldn’t say to their faces.”
“Maybe Doug and his wife don’t want their laundry discussed over and over again.”
“Now you sound like my father.”
“Your father is a smart man.” Reese decided it was time to redirect the conversation and take advantage of this walking font of gossip. “What do you know about the Heritage Inn?”
“My dad would love to get his hands on the Heritage Inn. He and Doug have too much equity tied up in other projects right now and can’t buy it, but if they had the funds, they would.”
“What would they do with it?”
“Restore it, and then find a buyer so some big land developer doesn’t come in and rip the place down. The woodwork inside the main hotel is exquisite. You should see the staircase. And the cottages? So adorable. There is also a house on the property, where the originals owners—”
“You’re going to hyperventilate,” Reese said. “Can you just answer my questions with a simple response?”
She crossed her arms and gave him the best smart ass smile she could muster. “Sure.”
“What does a place like that go for?”
“Millions,” she said. “That direct enough for you?” Her smile was as playful as the sarcasm dripping in her words. He was going to like working with her, babbling mouth and all.
“If you know so much about this, why not take your dad up on his offer and take over the family business?”
“Because my dad would put me in an office and give me some stupid title that would prevent me from getting my hands dirty. When I was little, he kept trying to make me into a prissy little girl, and this was my way of rebelling.”
“Being top of your class at the academy is an interesting way to rebel.”
This young lady was turning out to be one surprise after the other. “Who says I want to buy, much less have the money?”
“I don’t know about the money, but I can tell by the sound of your voice and the look in your eye you want to buy. You know, my dad might help finance something like that, especially if you’re going to keep it basically as it is.”
“You really think your dad might be able to help?” He didn’t need the financing, but he would certainly hire the man.
“If you’re serious, I’ll give him a call later to see what he says.”
“I’m serious.” He snagged his iPhone, pulling up Patty’s contact information. But what would he text? That he found them the perfect home? A place where they would be happy. Where their child could have everything he or she ever needed or wanted. A place where they could go old together. A place where it would be okay, no matter what?
He couldn’t say that, so he opted for ‘lets have a date night, we need to talk’. It was better than the nothing.
* * *
Patty dreaded going into work. It had only been two days out from the shooting. She should have told Conrad to piss off, but he’d always been good to her. She had full benefits, and he paid her well, treated her well and the shooting wasn’t his fault. None of that reasoning made her feel any better. Nor did it stop the slight tremor she had in her hands. Too much had been at stake during those few hours when a stranger threatened her life and the very existence of her unborn child. She questioned her sanity as she pulled into the office parking lot.
She entered the building, surprised the window to her office had already been fixed. The receptionist, Angela, was on the phone, but greeted her with a nod and smile as she handed Patty a stack full of folders, a few phone messages, and note from Conrad. “Can you hold please?” Angela asked, then set down the phone. She was in her mid-sixties and had worked for Conrad for the last eight months. She had snow-white white hair. “I can’t believe he’s making any of us come in.”
“The world hasn’t stopped for everyone,” Patty said, though she knew the words fell flat she hugged the receptionist. “Sometimes its best if we all move on with life.” She wanted to believe the words she had spoken, but what she really wanted was to spend a few days in bed, alone, watching mindless television.
“I’ve got to get back to this call.” Angela gave Patty a good squeeze. “Conrad wants you in the conference room.” Had it not been for Angela, Patty might not be alive.
Patty walked down the hall, hesitating at the spot where Matt had been shot in her doorway. A floor mat currently covered the stains. The hair on the back of her neck stood upright, and she shuddered at the memory. Matt would be fine, though he was still in the hospital after having extensive surgery, but would either of them ever recover emotionally?
Her office had been cleaned and Conrad had managed to put in a new wood desk and a nice new office chair. What little blood had trickled from her wound had been successfully removed from the carpet. She placed both hands over her belly, thinking about how precious life, or the potential of life, was.
The stacks of paper on the new desk had been straightened, and someone had placed a large bouquet of flowers on the corner. The arrangement was filled with tulips, a sure sign of summer. She smiled. The only reason she knew the flowers were tulips was because Reese was so into gardening it was weird. The card read Welcome back—Conrad.
She dumped her new workload on the desk, took off her coat, and then headed toward the conference room with a bottle of water in one hand, and a pencil and legal pad in the other.
The conference room was an oval room with glass all around it. As she rounded the corner toward it past Conrad’s office, she noticed the two office associates, Ben and Russ, at the end with Conrad, and across the table sat four unfamiliar men. Conrad waved her in.
“Everyone, this is our other paralegal, Patty Harmon. She’ll be doing most of the grunt work on this. Patty, this is Mister Keith Holland of Holland Development. You may have seen him around before…the unfortunate incident.”
“Nice to meet you,” Patty said, doing her best to push ‘the unfortunate incident’ from her mind’s eye.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Keith said. “I’m so sorry about what my previous employee did to you.”
“Previous employee?” Patty felt a wave a nausea as she made the connection to the man that had held her, and her baby, at gun point. She was also bit surprised by the color of Keith’s eyes, the same, bright ice-blue as Reese’s. Not a forgettable color.
“Terry worked for my company, though I’d never met him. He was stealing from me, and Conrad figured it out. I’m so glad you and your coworkers will be okay. If there is anything I can ever do for you, please, just ask.”
“Thanks,” she said, wishing this meeting would come to a quick end so she could go home. This was harder than she thought it would be.
“Patty,” Conrad said, “can you pull up the deeds and do title searches for the Heritage Inn and Kendrick’s Paper properties?”
“Not a problem.”
“Also, can you work on filing a motion to get the financials on the Heritage Inn? Shouldn’t be too hard, since it’s for sale. The hotel closed at the end of the season, but I heard a couple of the cottages are still rented through the rest of the winter season, so find out who is managing that.”
“The realtor is handling that,” Ben said. He always spoke more than Russ, though neither of them spoke often, but they were good lawyers. “Once those renters vacate, the hotel and the cottages will officially shut down.”
“Anything else?” Patty asked.
“Yes,” Conrad said. “Find out from the realtor what other property listings are comparable to the Heritage Inn could be going on the market.”
“I’m looking for something with a house, and perhaps a couple of guest houses or an Inn. Bed-and-breakfast type places with a decent amount of land and water frontage.”
“Any particular area? I know there are some on the east side of the lake, but much farther north.” Patty scribbled a few notes on her legal pad, which she thought should make her feel normal. Comfortable in her work place. But all it did was remind her of being held at gunpoint.
“I’d prefer to be closer to the village, if possible,” Keith said. “Any chance of keeping this quiet? We really want to weigh our options.”
She added it to her list. “The moment I do I a title search, it’s going to create some buzz.”
“Then do that last,” Keith said.
“All right,” Patty said.
“Thank you.” Keith motioned to the other men from his company. “Once the casino is up, I’m going to enjoy living here full-time.”
“Anything else I can do?” Patty hated the idea of someone like this man owning the property next to Harmon Hill. She couldn’t put her finger on it, and assumed she was just affected by the shooting, but this man gave her the creeps.
“That’s it for now,” Holland said. “We’d best be on our way. We’ll be in touch.”
“Let me show you out,” Patty said.
“I’ll join you,” Conrad added.
Ben and Russ were passing papers back and forth, talking quietly between themselves. They were related somehow to Conrad, though she wasn’t sure how. Ben was just out of law school, so this was his first job, and Russ about five years older. Both men kept to themselves, only communicating with Patty when absolutely necessary.
Keith stopped at the front door. “Again, I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what happened. I wish
there was something I could do to make it up to you.”
“I appreciate it, but it’s over with,” Patty said. “I’d prefer just to put it behind me.” She shook Keith’s hand then watched him and his entourage leave the building.
“I appreciate you coming in,” Conrad said. “With our caseload, and Matt on medical leave, I need someone on this full-time.”
“Can I do some of this from home? I’m still a bit shaken up.” She clasped her hands together, trying to keep them from shaking as she stood just ten feet from where Matt had been shot. “I’m uncomfortable being here right now.’
“Of course you can,” Conrad said. “Holland is a big client. He brings in a lot of billing hours, and he’s going to bring us more.”
“I understand,” she said. “I’ll take all this home for now. I’ll report in later.”
“I’m good with that.”
Patty gathered her belongings, along with four full boxes of paperwork, and made a beeline for her car. She couldn’t get out of that office fast enough. So many unsavory memories flooded her mind she thought she might go crazy staying there another second. It was going to be a long night.
* * *
“I need to make a phone call.” Reese signed his end-of-shift report while Stacey put the keys to the patrol car away in Jared’s office. He had thought this assignment would be nothing but a pain in the ass, but Stacey was capable, smart, and damn funny. “Are you sure your dad won’t mind us dropping in?”
“You’re dropping in. I live there. No ‘us’ in the equation.”
“I see.” He laughed. “And now I remember how young you really are.”
“My age has nothing to do with my living arrangements,” she said. “Once my boyfriend finishes law school and moves here, I’ll be moving in with him.”
Reese figured that might be over her father’s dead body. “And where is the boyfriend now?”
“Columbia University.” She headed toward the door, wrapping herself in her large, non-issue parka.
