The Priority Unit (Maine Justice Book 1)

by Davis, Susan Page

  Mike sighed. “We may never find that shrimp. He’s got a brother up in Newport. Arnie’s asked the department up there to shake the family tree. But discounting Nason, what else could it be?”

  Harvey shut off the razor and blew the dust out.

  “I don’t know. Bobby’s the only significant collar I know of who’s been released lately.”

  “Something else, then. Something before the first car bomb. What did you do that week?”

  “I’d have to check my reports. We had the school case, I know.”

  “Isn’t that when they found Dunham’s car in the river?”

  “Yeah. I went back to the computer place, but nothing came of it. Jennifer and I had our first date that weekend.” He shrugged. That was no help, but for some reason lately he’d been measuring time in relation to Jennifer.

  “Write me a list,” Mike said. “Put it on my desk in the morning. Everywhere you went, everything you did, on duty and off, for a week before that first bomb.”

  “Come on, Mike. My memory’s not that good.”

  “It may be worth your life,” Mike said. “Tell me you don’t have something to live for now.”

  Chapter 15

  Everyone at Coastal Technology expected Jennifer to work harder than usual. Mr. Owen was encouraging, but a little pushier than usual. The other partners were on edge. They all wanted her back on the special program, but they wanted the database security perfected first.

  She was constructing a complicated protocol in the personnel section of the database when her desk phone rang. She sighed and grabbed the receiver.

  “Jennifer, I’m glad I got you. Are you busy?”

  “Yes, actually I am, Mom.”

  “Well, are you coming home this weekend?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Your father has to go to Portland tomorrow on business. I thought I might ride along.”

  “Great. But I have to work.”

  “Oh, we’ll go down after lunch, and he can do his business in the afternoon. Then we can meet you at your place, or would you rather have us come to your office? We’ll take you out to dinner.”

  Jennifer thought there was an unspoken motive. “Would you like to meet Harvey?”

  “We’d love to! What a wonderful thought!”

  “I’ll see if he can join us. Let’s meet at the office at five, okay?”

  She skipped lunch and went through the afternoon on coffee. Over and over she tested the system, made a minor adjustment, and tested it again. At five o’clock, she was thankful to close her computer files. Her head ached a little, and she didn’t really feel like spending the evening doing more computer work, but she would see Harvey. That perked her up a little. She went to the break room and bought a bottle of juice from the vending machine.

  As she tipped it back to help her swallow two aspirin, Jane entered the room.

  “Jennifer! Are you heading out?”

  “Yes, I have an appointment.” Jennifer checked her watch. It wasn’t far to Middle Street, and she estimated five minutes would get her to the police station, unless traffic was a problem.

  “A date? On a Monday?”

  “Not exactly.” Jennifer took another swallow of juice and tossed the bottle in the recycling bin. “Are you seeing Brent tonight?”

  Jane sighed. “No. He wants to go sailing this weekend, but I don’t know.”

  “I thought you two were cozy.”

  Jane shrugged. “I was really hoping that detective would call me. I gave him my home number.”

  Jennifer wasn’t surprised. Jane had mentioned Eddie several times, and she had decided from the first not to reveal that she knew the handsome detective. Jane would never leave her alone if she knew Jennifer was dating his best friend.

  “Maybe he has a girlfriend.”

  Jane’s red lips were pouty. “No, I don’t think so. He looked really single to me.”

  Jennifer laughed. “What does a really single man look like?”

  Jane shrugged. “I’ve just about given up on him. But there’s someone else who’s been paying attention to me lately.”

  “Really? Terrific. I hope it works out for you. I’ve got to run.” Jennifer felt just a bit guilty as she walked rapidly toward the door, but she wasn’t about to get into a drawn-out discussion of men. She hoped Jane wouldn’t hurry after her and see her looking under her car in the parking lot. That would necessitate some sort of explanation, and she couldn’t deal with more Jane right now.

  *****

  The Priority Unit’s office was usually empty at night. The men quit at five o’clock, unless they needed to continue an operation into the night. Downstairs, the regular units had shifts around the clock. Harvey went down and leaned on the front desk, shooting the breeze with the night sergeant, Brad Lyons, until Jennifer came in the front door carrying her leather portfolio. He took it from her and carried it upstairs.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she said.

  “Are you tired? Maybe we should do this another time.”

  “No, that’s okay, I’ll just get right at it, if you don’t mind.”

  She looked around when they entered the unit’s office but made no comment. Harvey made another mental comparison with her working conditions at Coastal and figured she pitied him. He took her to his computer and let her sit in his chair. She brought up several programs in succession and checked things he never even knew were there.

  “I think it will work,” she said at last, “and it won’t interfere with any other program on your network. But it will probably take me an hour or so.” She took a disk from her portfolio. “The program hierarchies are on this. I need to interface them with what you’ve got.”

  “Okay, can I get you anything?”

  “Nope. Just peace and quiet.” She took off her sweater and hung it over the back of the chair. “I almost forgot. My mother called this morning. My father has business in town tomorrow, and they’d like to take us to dinner. Can you go?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I’d like to meet them.”

  “Great. They’ll be at my office at five. Should we come over here?”

  “Sounds okay.”

  He sat down in Eddie’s chair and watched her work.

  Her hair was wound tightly on the back of her head, held there somehow with pins he couldn’t see. She wore a simple, royal blue dress with short sleeves and tucks at the neck. It was her color. No other woman should be allowed to wear it.

  After about ten minutes, she swiveled around and looked at him. “Are you staring at me?”

  “Guilty.”

  “Do you have to?” She seemed a little embarrassed. “It’s hard for me to concentrate with somebody watching me.”

  “Right.” He stood up. “Why don’t I order some food in? You’ve got to be hungry.”

  “Well, I could look forward to an enormous Chinese dinner after.”

  “You got it. I’ll just go downstairs for a while and let you work in peace.”

  He wandered down and leaned on the front desk again. Brad Lyons said, “Well, Harvey, who’s the beautiful blonde who came in a while back?”

  “Name’s Jennifer. She’s doing some computer work.”

  “Really?” Brad cocked his head.

  “Yes, it’s for the department.”

  “So there’s nothing personal there?”

  “If you mean, can you go up and hit on her, forget it.” Brad was divorced three times and had a reputation for being perpetually on the prowl.

  Harvey stuck his head into the communications room. The com room was busy, day and night. The three dispatchers wore headphones and constantly answered calls. No one to talk to there. He went back upstairs.

  Jennifer looked up.

  “How you doing?” he asked.

  “About half done, I think. I didn’t mean to drive you away.”

  “It’s okay. I hate it when Eddie looks over my shoulder.”

  She smiled. “How’s Eddie doing?”

 
“Well, he’s a little confused right now. He doesn’t understand why I’m so interested in God all of a sudden. He thinks you’ve bewitched me or something. Say, he asked me again about a double date. I don’t know if you’re really interested.”

  “Why not? It would be fun.”

  “Okay. Maybe we can set it up for this weekend.”

  Jennifer scrolled down on the computer screen. “Great. Just let me know. Now I need a few names you want flagged, so I can test it. You can add to them anytime, sort of like bookmarks.”

  “Okay, how about Bobby Nason?”

  “Is that his real name?”

  “Robert.”

  “So we’ll enter both, because he might show up as either. Who else?”

  “Paul Gordon. We arrested him a few days ago for embezzling. And put in your missing coworker, Nick Dunham.”

  “Okay. You can flag other items, too, not just names. Like types of crimes, if you think that would be helpful.”

  “That would be very helpful. Can you add car bomb?”

  She closed her eyes. “Sure.”

  He put his hand on her shoulder and stooped down close to her. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay. It would make me very happy if my program helped you catch him.” She entered the item and completed a few more keystrokes. “That’s enough for now. You can add the rest some other time.”

  He watched carefully, and the process seemed very simple. “How do you know how to do all this?”

  She shrugged. “It’s like the security programs I write. I’ve been doing so much of that lately, I haven’t had time to develop anything new. It’s almost all they let me do anymore.”

  “Well, they should have you revamp the security on their personnel records. They’re tough, but they’re accessible.” He winked at her.

  She laughed. “That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.”

  He swallowed. “Really?”

  “Yes. Someone’s apparently been cracking into the company’s databases. But don’t let that worry you. You’ve reformed, remember?” She smiled.

  Harvey said carefully, “That’s your big, secret assignment? Keeping people like me out of your personnel records?”

  “No, they took me off the special project to upgrade the security programs. I’ll probably be back on that other job tomorrow. Unless someone goes after Coastal’s records again.”

  Harvey’s brain was whirling. Should he tell her he had accessed the company’s files a second time, after his interview with Tom Henderson?

  Jennifer smiled apologetically. “I need a few more minutes. Do you have something you can work on?”

  “Sure.”

  He sat down at Eddie’s computer and opened a new text file, thinking he might as well work on the report Mike had requested. He typed, “Friday, May 7: Car bomb. Lunch with Jennifer at Catassi’s just prior to the bombing; morning at high school.” What did he do the day before? Everything before Jennifer was a blur. He pulled out his notebook and flipped back through it, but this one didn’t go back far enough.

  He went over to his desk. Jennifer’s fingers were flying.

  “Excuse me,” he said. She flashed him a smile, and his heart flip-flopped. People my age don’t feel this way. He opened the bottom desk drawer, took out the previous notebook he had used, and went back to Eddie’s desk.

  When he had compiled all he could remember from May first to the seventh with the aid of his notes, he printed it out and laid it on Mike’s desk.

  “I’m finished,” Jennifer said. “Everything seems to be working.”

  He went over to look. “Great.” He bent down to look at the screen, his hand on the back of her chair. “I’ll test it for real tomorrow, when we get the state updates.”

  “You might need to flag a name that you know is in the update. Otherwise, it won’t give you any alert unless one of these three names we’ve put in appears.”

  “Got it. I’ll call you and let you know if it works. Are we ready to go eat?”

  “Yes. I’m really hungry, and really tired.”

  “I won’t keep you out late, then. Let’s go get some food, then I’ll take you home.” He was tired, too, but wished he could just sit down with her for a while and talk, and look at her without feeling guilty.

  He grabbed her hand in the stairwell and gave it a squeeze. She held on, and he was smiling when they passed Brad Lyons at the desk.

  He checked his Explorer, and they drove in it to Wing Fu’s. She kept her word and ate more than he’d ever seen her eat. He checked under the vehicle again, and they went back to the station. He checked her car. This was getting old. Harvey followed her home. It was dark now, about nine o’clock, and he took his flashlight and the bag with the rose-colored Bible out of the Explorer. She was waiting by the steps.

  “I know you’re exhausted,” he said, “but I have something for you. Can I step in for a minute?”

  “Sure.” She opened the door, and they went in and sat on the couch.

  He took the Bible from the bag and handed it to her. She took it out of the box carefully and felt the leather, then put it up to her face and smelled it. She smiled. “New car smell.”

  “Do you like the color? Because they have other colors. I think they dye the leather.”

  “I like this. Thanks a lot.”

  “You take your phone with you wherever you go, right?” he asked.

  She nodded and pulled it from a pocket.

  “And you’ve got my number.”

  “On speed dial.”

  He grinned. “Call me anytime something seems not quite right, okay?”

  “I will. Thank you, Harvey.”

  There were so many other things he wanted to say. The spiritual quest was tangled up in his growing love for her, and her safety had become critical to him. He wasn’t sure how he could express all of what he felt, or if she was ready to hear it.

  “Now you need to sleep,” he told her.

  They both went over to the door. He turned around and looked at her. Always a difficult moment. Should he, or shouldn’t he? Once you kissed a woman, you couldn’t take it back. Well, he told himself, there is a great deal to be said for anticipation.

  “Sleep tight.”

  She nodded. “You, too.”

  He made himself open the door. He’d never agonized before over the perfect moment to kiss a girl. With Carrie, that hadn’t been a problem. She’d taken charge on the first date.

  But Jennifer was different. Very different. And he was meeting her parents tomorrow. Better to face her father with in impeccable record. He smiled and went out.

  He made one last check under the SUV with his flashlight, climbed in, put his glasses on, and drove home. Sitting in the living room, he took his Bible out of the box and read for a long time. He started at the beginning of the book of John, and read the text and the notes at the bottom. He kept on through the first six chapters, then pulled out his notebook and went over the sermon notes again. So much to think about. He put his feet up on the coffee table and looked at the ceiling. Aloud, he said, “God, if you’re real, show me what this all means.”

  He fell asleep in the chair and woke up about midnight with a stiff neck. He staggered into the bedroom, took off most of his clothes, and lay down on his spot on the floor. I need a bed, he thought, I really need a bed.

  Chapter 16

  Jennifer got up early on Tuesday and read through the third chapter of Genesis. She recognized the story of the fall of man from Paradise Lost and read avidly. It took her a long time. There were more footnotes than text. Some of them were interesting, and some were confusing. There were so many references to other places in the Bible that she couldn’t read them all. But one note particularly caught her interest. It said that in the New Testament it was clearly stated that the woman was deceived in the Garden of Eden, but the man wasn’t, citing the verse I Timothy 2:14. It took her some time to find it, but, sure enough, it said, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman,
being deceived, was in the transgression.”

  She went over to the bookcase where she kept literature books, pulled out an anthology of British literature, and opened to Milton. She found the spot, and read,

  She gave him of that fair enticing fruit

  With liberal hand. He scrupled not to eat

  Against his better knowledge, not deceived,

  But fondly overcome with female charm.

  Would Harvey give up paradise for her? It was a romantic idea, but a frightening one. He was a police officer, and she knew he revered the law. How would he feel about God’s laws? She hoped that if she did something horrible, he would walk away, not stay there and take the punishment with her. She put the literature book back on the shelf and went to work.

  *****

  Harvey read some more from the book of John while he ate breakfast. Eddie arrived at 7:40.

  “Are you driving today?” Eddie asked.

  “You’d better. I won’t be riding home with you tonight. Jennifer’s parents are coming, and we’re going out to dinner with them.”

  “Meeting the parents! I knew this was serious.”

  Harvey didn’t deny it. He took his Bible along and read while Eddie drove.

  Mike handed them a surveillance job on a case of his own for the morning. They sat in Eddie’s truck outside an apartment building, across the parking lot from the suspect’s door, where they had a good view but weren’t conspicuous. It was boring, but surveillance always was.

  “Do you care if I read, Eddie?”

  “No, go ahead. I’ll watch.”

  Harvey opened to John chapter 9.

  “What’s it about?” Eddie asked.

  “Jesus heals a blind man,” Harvey said, reading the heading.

  “Read it out loud.”

  He did. It was mostly about how upset the religious leaders were when Jesus healed the man.

  When he reached the end of the chapter, Eddie said, “That’s some story. Sounds like an investigation.”

  “Yup. The guy made them mad, and they hauled him in for interrogation.”

  “They even picked up his parents for questioning,” said Eddie. “I liked it where they told them to buzz off and let the kid speak for himself.”