The Priority Unit (Maine Justice Book 1)

by Davis, Susan Page

“Again?”

  Eddie winced. “I tried to call her house, and nobody answered.”

  “But we spoke to the mother yesterday and told her to send the girl back to school.”

  “I know.”

  “This beats all.”

  “You want me to get her mother’s work number?” Eddie obviously didn’t want to make that call.

  Harvey sighed. “I’ll go down to the principal’s office and get it. You stay here and interview the next kid on the list.”

  The principal, Arthur Bonney, was pacing when Harvey arrived at the office.

  “How much longer are you and your men going to be here, detective?”

  “As long as it takes, sir. You wanted us to stop the drugs from coming into the school, and that takes time.”

  Bonney sighed. “What can I do for you?”

  “Could you please call Tonya Breton’s mother? It seems Tonya is absent again today, and we need to talk to her.”

  Harvey waited impatiently in the outer office while Bonney made the call. The principal appeared in the doorway, concern lining his face. “Her mother says she left for school this morning.”

  “We’ll check on her.” Harvey went back to the guidance office.

  “Eddie, get over to the Bretons’ house. If Tonya’s home, request female backup and take her to the station. If she’s not there, call me immediately.”

  “Right.” Eddie headed for the door then turned back. “Harv, you drove today.”

  Harvey stared at him blankly. “Oh, right.” He reached in his pocket for his car keys. “Here you go.”

  “What about your lunch date?”

  “I’ll take a cab.” He hated the idea even as he said it.

  Arnie Fowler raised his eyebrows. “You got a date? That’s unprecedented.”

  “No big deal,” Harvey said, but he couldn’t meet Arnie’s penetrating look.

  “So take my car.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Thanks, Arnie.”

  Arnie shrugged. “Pete and I will grab something to eat and meet you back here at—say, 1:30?”

  Harvey was almost overcome with gratitude. He’d expected ridicule, or at least some good-natured teasing from the other men in his unit, but instead they were coming through for him, and they hadn’t pressed him for details, or even for the identity of the woman he was meeting.

  “Thanks a lot. And, Eddie, call me on my cell phone the minute you know something about Tonya.”

  *****

  He parked in front of Catassi’s Restaurant and looked around the parking lot. He didn’t see Jennifer’s blue Escort. He got out of the car and walked slowly toward the door. What if she didn’t show? No, she wouldn’t do that to him.

  He had chosen the restaurant deliberately. It had an intimate dining room and great Italian food, but was off the beaten track for police department employees, and not too close to Coastal Technology. The last thing he wanted was to eat lunch with Jennifer in the same room with half a dozen cops. He didn’t think she wanted her gossipy friend Jane to spot them, either.

  He was nearly to the entrance when he saw the little blue car enter the lot. He waved, and smiled when her hand fluttered in a return greeting. A breeze off the bay ruffled his hair as he waited for her to park.

  “Hi.” She smiled then went all sober.

  Harvey reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, then released it. “Hi. I’m glad you came.” He knew he was smiling like a deranged clown, but he couldn’t help it.

  They stepped into the dim interior of the restaurant, its private atmosphere enveloping them. He was glad he had picked this place. The tables were far enough apart to give the illusion of privacy. They had tablecloths at noon, soft music, linen napkins, and flowers on the tables. It fit Jennifer somehow.

  They ate salad and lasagna and breadsticks, but mostly they talked. After the first awkward moments, Harvey began to relax. He drew on the information he had gotten from the background check, and eased her around to talking about her work and her college days.

  She held up her end of the conversation. They talked some about computers, and she asked him about police work and what kinds of software would make his job easier.

  He couldn’t keep his eyes off her, yet he found it difficult to meet her gaze for long. Her eyes were intent, perhaps a little cautious.

  He wasn’t used to being watched while he ate, and he thought she was nervous, too. He watched her hands. She held her fork delicately, slicing her lasagna into small bites. She wore a silver and turquoise ring on her right hand, but nothing on the left.

  Finally he couldn’t stand it any longer. “So, you’re single.”

  “Right.” She took a sip from her coffee cup and put it down carefully on the saucer. “How about you?”

  He hesitated. “I—my wife passed away…”

  Her lips parted, but she didn’t look away the way most people did when you threw that little tidbit into the conversation. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It’s been a long time.”

  “How long?”

  He gulped. “Well, actually, not that long. Since she died, I mean, but…we were separated.” He picked up the last bread stick and broke it into little pieces. “I mean, she left me. We, uh—we were divorced.” He grimaced and shook his head. “I’m not very good at talking about this.”

  She blinked twice and nodded. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “No, you should. It’s all right. I just … well, it wasn’t my idea, and when she insisted, I …” He let it trail off.

  “Maybe you’re not ready for this,” she said gently.

  “Miss—Jennifer—I—” He swallowed. “Can I tell you something?”

  She nodded, but she was terribly somber, and her gray eyes were huge. Some first date this was turning out to be.

  Well, he’d started. He had to finish.

  “Thirteen years ago, we separated. I tried to work things out, but she didn’t want that. So, I’ve waited all this time, hoping …”

  “What?”

  “Well, I guess I was hoping she’d change her mind. But she never did. And now she’s dead.”

  Jennifer sat back and studied him. “I’m sorry you went through all that.”

  “Thanks.” It seemed inadequate, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. This whole thing was harder than he’d expected. It was as if the specter of Carrie was standing just behind his right shoulder.

  He sipped his coffee. Things weren’t going well. Maybe Jennifer was having regrets already. He put the cup down. “Look, it’s part of my life, but it’s over. If there’s anything you want to know, you can ask me.”

  “Same here,” she said.

  He smiled. If she only knew how much he knew already!

  The waitress came to the table and asked brightly, “Would you like dessert?”

  “No, thank you,” Jennifer said, and Harvey shook his head.

  The waitress left the check face down on the tablecloth, and Harvey moved it toward himself slightly.

  There was another silence then Jennifer said, “Well, if you really don’t mind, there is something I’d like to ask.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Do you have any children?” Her eyes were painfully serious.

  “No.” He looked everywhere but at her, not sure how to respond. The longing for children was an old wound, one he’d forced himself to ignore for years. But he supposed it was natural for her to wonder. “I wish I did. You know, sometimes things just don’t turn out the way you planned. But there aren’t any kids.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  He could see that she was sincere, but he wasn’t sure if she meant she was sorry that he had no children, or that he hurt because of that. He hadn’t intended to reveal so much. This was getting more depressing every minute. “How about you?” he asked, striving for a lighter tone. “Do you like kids?”

  “Oh, sure.” She sat back with a
relieved smile. “I come from a big family.”

  “Six kids,” he nodded.

  “How do you know that?”

  She was obviously startled, and Harvey knew he had unintentionally tipped his hand. He never did that when interrogating people, but this beautiful girl and her sensitive questions had thrown him off balance. He eyed her cautiously. “Didn’t you say something earlier about brothers and sisters?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Oh. Well, hey, I’m a cop.” It was Eddie’s standard excuse for when people thought he had crossed the line, but somehow it felt a little flat.

  “You mean you’re like Sherlock Holmes, and you can tell things about people just by looking at them?” Her direct gaze unsettled him even further.

  “Not exactly.” He grabbed for his water glass.

  “You did a background check on me, didn’t you?”

  Harvey sat very still. He could feel his face reddening. What could he say to undo this? He sneaked a glance at her, and her stare was boring into him. Great. Ten years after my divorce, I finally get my nerve up to ask for a date, and this happens.

  His only hope was to come clean. Avoiding her accusing eyes, he said, “I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve asked a woman out, and I was a little nervous. I thought it would help if I knew something about you. I could ask you to go to the theater with me because I knew you liked drama, or we could go to a ball game because you played softball. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. We’re not supposed to use the equipment at work for personal reasons, but—”

  “What else do you know?” She sounded like she was strangling, and Harvey felt doomed.

  “Uh, well, you were a straight A student, you pay your bills on time, and your company values you highly…”

  Was she laughing? Her eyebrows were up and she was shaking a little.

  “Unbelievable.”

  He waited.

  She looked around and signaled to the waitress.

  “We’d like some more coffee.” There was authority in her voice now. When the waitress turned away, Jennifer looked straight at him, and he made himself meet her gaze. Very slowly, she said, “You’d better start talking. There’s a lot I need to know about you, if you want to even the score.”

  *****

  Jennifer had never suspected something so bizarre, but perhaps to Harvey it was second nature. Here was a man who could access all kinds of private records because he had official clout for the police department, and he had used that to find out what her hobbies were and how many brothers and sisters she had. Her outrage gave way to amusement.

  She took a deep breath and tried to put confidence in her voice. “So tell me about yourself, Detective Larson.”

  “You mean you’re not mad?” He still looked guilty. “I’m surprised you haven’t stormed out of here yet.”

  “Yes, I’m mad,” she said, but her tone belied it. “I wish I’d thought of it. I’m a good enough hacker that I’ll bet I could have gotten at your credit record and your college transcript, too, if I’d tried hard enough.”

  “The Meeting of the Computer Nerds,” he said. “This could be hazardous.”

  Jennifer weighed her options. She really liked him, she couldn’t deny that. “Okay, let’s call a truce. No more electronic spying, all right?”

  He nodded, looking down at his hands on the tablecloth.

  “Make eye contact,” she said crisply.

  His eyes snapped up to hers, wide and a little startled. The irises were cornflower blue. That couldn’t be natural. Would a cop wear tinted lenses?

  He definitely was uneasy now, facing her across the small table, and she felt sorry for him, getting caught like that. It was out of character for her to treat anyone so severely, and she knew that she didn’t really want to be too harsh with him. She had been on edge since the day she’d first seen him, the day after Nick Dunham disappeared, but it was important to remain calm now. True, she liked him enormously, but she wasn’t sure yet that she ought to. The confidence in her own voice surprised her. She usually found it hard to talk to new people.

  She smiled. “Talk.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Do you always run background checks on women you meet?”

  “Never. You’re the first. Except for suspects, of course.”

  His look was so artless she believed him.

  “Are you wearing contacts?”

  “Uh, no. But I have driving glasses.” He squinted at her as though unable to believe she had asked that. “What else?”

  “Tons of things. How old are you? Why did you become a cop? Do you like it? Do you like me? Do you think I’m too computer-nerdy? Do you like pizza? What do you do on weekends?” She stopped for breath. “And am I talking too fast?”

  He sat with his chin resting on his hands, his elbows on the table, watching her. “I listen fast.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “What should I answer first?”

  Jennifer felt suddenly very adolescent. “Age, please.”

  “Forty-one.”

  She sipped her coffee and thought about that. The gulf between them seemed to have widened.

  “Is that okay,” he said at last, “or did I flunk the test?”

  She didn’t know what to say, but she knew she had lost control of the conversation.

  “Because I’d really like to pass it, and I think I already blew the essay.” He looked earnestly into her eyes, and her heart did a sudden flip.

  It was a moment before she could trust her voice. “You pass.”

  He smiled, and the crow’s feet deepened. The look held for a few seconds, and Jennifer sat still, willing her heart to slow down.

  A soft whir came suddenly, and he apologetically reached in his jacket pocket and brought out a cell phone. “I’m sorry. I’m in the middle of an investigation, and I asked my partner to call me.”

  “It’s all right.” She sat back and watched him. He averted his eyes and turned slightly toward the window.

  “Yeah, Ed. She’s not? No, you’d better go over there. Make Mrs. Breton understand that if she doesn’t cooperate she’s an accessory. Yeah, meet me back at the school in thirty minutes.”

  His ring was gone, she noticed. The skin on his fourth finger was pale where a wedding band had been, not so long ago.

  He put the phone away, frowning, but when he looked at her, his expression softened. “I’ve got to be back by 1:30, but I really want to continue this. Can I see you again? Will you have dinner with me?”

  Don’t look eager, she told herself. Aloud she said, “Tonight?”

  “Yes, tonight.”

  Jennifer hesitated. There were still one or two points that bothered her. And what would her parents say about her dating someone so old? But she wanted to see him again. She looked all around, but there weren’t any cue cards.

  “Can I think about it?”

  “Okay, but I really need to head back. It’s ten after one.”

  They got up, and after he paid the check they went out into the brilliant sunlight. It was warmer than when they went in, and everything seemed too bright. They walked across the parking lot in silence. She clicked her remote to unlock her car, and when they came to it he opened the door for her.

  “Thanks. I enjoyed lunch.” She looked up at him. He wasn’t all that tall. Her brother Jeff would tower over him. But she liked the way he looked, the way it felt to be with him.

  He stood facing her, watching her closely, as if her next words would seal his fate forever. She wasn’t sure she liked this new feeling of power.

  “So, what do you think?” he asked.

  “How tall are you?”

  He broke the stare then and laughed. “Five-eleven.”

  She nodded, thinking rapidly about the consequences of accepting another date with him. A detective sixteen years older than she was, who had been married and divorced and widowed, sort of. A man who made his living looking at murder victims, no doubt, and had e
ndured his own private agony. She wasn’t sure she could deal with all that.

  “I’m five-four.”

  “I know.”

  “Oh, right.” She smiled. He had wanted her to like him. That was amazing, given her own insecurities. He cared about how she perceived him, and he wanted to continue the relationship. If he was willing to take a chance, why couldn’t she? She caught her breath, and made the decision. “Okay, I guess, but not tonight. It’s too soon.”

  His blue eyes widened, as if he hardly believed it. “Tomorrow?”

  “If you swear you won’t do any more checking between now and then.”

  “I promise.” He looked down at the pavement, but she thought he was smiling. “And I do apologize.”

  She nodded. “It’s all right. In fact, it’s a little flattering. Sneaky, but flattering.”

  He shrugged sheepishly. Looking at her, he sobered. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Do you know where I live? Oh, stupid question.”

  He just smiled.

  *****

  Harvey hurried back to the high school. Arnie Fowler and one of the uniformed officers, Nate Miller, met him in the foyer.

  “We think we’ve got a break,” Arnie said in a low voice, as they walked toward the guidance office. “One of the girls on the list asked for her mother, so I let her call home. She’s definitely feeling guilty about something, and I think when the mom gets here she might tell us something.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Pete’s with her, and Jimmy’s talking to one of the boys.”

  Harvey nodded. “Eddie called in. Tonya Breton’s mother told him her daughter phoned her from the Maine Mall. Said she skipped school because she couldn’t face her friends or us. She’s supposedly headed to her mother’s office. I sent Eddie over there.”

  He opened the door to the room they were using. Jimmy Cook sat opposite a thin boy who wore a slightly defiant expression, but twisted his class ring nervously.

  Harvey raised his eyebrows, but Jimmy shook his head slightly, his lips tightly compressed. “All right, Jim, when you’re done here—”

  The sound of an explosion jarred the school.

  Chapter 6

  The four officers stared at each other.