Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie's Story (Maine Justice Book 4)

by Susan Page Davis

  He shrugged. “You’re bad for business.”

  “Tell me if Hawkins is here, and I’m out of your hair.”

  “He ain’t here.”

  Eddie nodded. “He come in here much?”

  The bartender looked around and stepped closer. “What’s it worth to you?”

  “Five.” Eddie hadn’t asked for any petty cash, but he had a couple of bills in his wallet.

  “He don’t come here much.”

  “But you know him. When was the last time?”

  “Maybe a week ago.”

  “Yeah? You sure you haven’t seen him since then?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Eddie took out the fiver and laid it on the bar, but kept his hand on it. “Is he still in town?”

  The bartender’s eyes narrowed. “I ain’t heard otherwise. Now, have a drink or get lost.”

  Eddie let go of the bill, and the bartender palmed it and turned away. A cheer went up from near the pool table. Eddie looked over and caught Tony’s eye. He nodded toward the door.

  Outside, he told Tony, “He says Hawkins hasn’t been in here for a week.”

  “What if he’s lying?”

  “He might be.” Eddie shook his head. “A week ago, we arrested Cynthia.”

  “Yeah. He’s been hiding out since then.”

  They ambled back toward the pickup. Eddie’s phone vibrated, and he eased it out of his pocket. He didn’t recognize the number.

  “Yeah?”

  “Eddie?”

  He stopped walking. “That you, Silver?”

  “Yeah. I heard Hawkins is making his move soon.”

  “You mean—”

  “You know what I mean, but you didn’t hear it from me.”

  “Gotcha. Do you think he’ll try tonight?”

  “Could be, but I’m not certain. Very sketchy.”

  “Thanks, pal,” Eddie said. “I owe you one.” He clicked to end the call and looked at Tony. “Get in the truck.” Once they had the doors closed, he said, “That was one of my informants. He says Hawkins is making his move soon, maybe tonight.”

  “We gotta tell the captain.”

  Eddie started the truck and made a U-turn.

  At the station, Harvey heard him out, authorized Paula to replace Eddie’s five-dollar bill, and went up to the chief’s office. Nate and Jimmy came in from their foray to the bar with nothing they could use.

  “That leaves Mel Tucker’s place,” Tony said.

  A few minutes later, Harvey returned, and they all went to his desk.

  “It’s no good,” he told them. “Mike refuses to lay low until this is over.”

  “What’s his plan for tonight?” Nate asked.

  “After supper, he and Sharon are going to the visiting hours at the funeral home.”

  “Who’s scheduled to go with him?” Eddie asked.

  “Cheryl Yeaton and Joe Clifford have the six-to-ten shift. Nate and Jimmy are taking the ten to two at the house.”

  Nate nodded to confirm the assignment.

  “I told Jimmy and Nate to come in late tomorrow,” Harvey said. “I know you guys are doing it on your own nickel, but I want you alert when you come back on duty.”

  “Sure, Captain,” Jimmy said.

  “Sleep late if you can, and come in at ten tomorrow.” Harvey frowned. “I don’t like having the chief go out again tonight, and he plans to do it again tomorrow night and Saturday.”

  “Why does he have to go to the funeral parlor both nights?” Tony asked.

  “To support Mrs. Leavitt, and to make his presence felt.”

  Tony looked at Eddie. “What do you say, Shakespeare?”

  Eddie nodded. “Put us on in the evening. Yeaton and Clifford can stay and watch the house, and we’ll go with the chief to the funeral home.”

  “Are you sure?” Harvey asked. “You did a stint last night.”

  Eddie nodded. “It’s for the chief.”

  Harvey frowned for a moment then nodded. “Go home now and take a nap. I don’t want you yawning when you’re guarding him. I’ll go with Nate and Jimmy to see if we can find Melanie this afternoon.”

  “We’re not supposed to take time off,” Eddie said.

  “That’s an order.”

  “Okay.”

  It was only two o’clock, and Eddie doubted he could sleep. He drove to his parents’ house, but no one was home. He remembered that his pop was working on a new wing on a bank downtown. He thought he knew which bank. He’d seen the scaffolding on the addition.

  Two trucks with the company logo on the doors sat in the bank’s parking lot. Eddie left his pickup and sauntered over to the new wing. No workers were outside, but he could hear pounding and the whir of a power tool from within.

  He went to the front door of the bank and walked into the lobby. One of the tellers was free, and he walked up to her station and smiled. “Hi. I’m detective Thibodeau. My father’s working on the new addition. I wondered if I could see him.”

  “I recognize you, Detective,” the fiftyish woman said coyly.

  “Oh, well, thanks. Is it okay if I go see my pop?”

  “We don’t really have anything to do with that.” She grinned at him. “But I think if you walk around to the back of the construction site, you can get inside. And thanks for your good work, Detective.”

  “You’re welcome.” Eddie winked at her and walked out. He’d decided it did no good to try to explain things or act embarrassed. Best to leave them happy with the local police, even if he felt like burnt toast.

  He moseyed around the new part of the building. The sounds of the workmen grew louder. At the back of the new wing, a section wasn’t closed in yet, but had thick sheets of plastic hanging over what would be a doorway. He pushed the plastic aside and went in.

  It didn’t take him long to spot his father on a ladder, mounting wallboard with a cordless screwdriver. Three other men were working on other parts of the project.

  Eddie walked over to the ladder and stood to the side, looking up about eight feet, and waited for the whirring to pause.

  “Hey, Pop.”

  His father looked down.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Just saying hi. I’m working a split today, so I had a minute.”

  His father grunted and set another screw. Eddie waited. Pop put in three more screws, descended a rung, and put in two more. Finally he came down the ladder.

  When he reached the floor, he set the screwdriver on one of the ladder steps and put his hands to his lower back and stretched.

  “You okay?” Eddie asked.

  “Yeah, yeah. Just sick of this sheetrock.”

  Eddie looked around the large, high-ceilinged room. “Looks like you’re almost done.”

  “Then we gotta tape it.”

  “Oh, right.” Eddie shrugged. “Got time for a coffee?”

  “No, the boss wouldn’t like it.”

  “Okay. Well, I’ll see you.”

  “Sure.” His father turned away, muttering.

  Eddie sighed and found his way out through the plastic sheeting. He went home and lay down but couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know if Leeanne had classes on Thursday afternoon or not. He sent a text asking for her schedule but didn’t get a reply until it was time to meet Tony.

  He pulled up at the chief’s house right behind Tony. The squad car was already there. Joe Clifford waved to them, and Eddie and Tony walked up to the house. Cheryl Yeaton was talking to Mike and Sharon just inside the door.

  “Oh, so it’s you two pulling the extra detail,” Cheryl said.

  “Yep.” Tony nodded at Mike. “Evening, Chief.”

  “Hey, Winfield. Eddie, don’t you ever sleep?” Mike asked.

  “I caught a few winks this afternoon,” Eddie said.

  “If you want to stay here, Joe and I can tag team the Brownings to the funeral home,” Cheryl said.

  Tony gritted his teeth. “Please don’t make me sit still for four hours.”


  Cheryl laughed.

  “It won’t be that long,” Mike said. “The visiting hours are from seven to nine tonight. We should be home by 9:30. Tell you what, Cheryl, you and Clifford sit on the house, and you can leave when we get home.”

  “Yeah, we’ll stay with the chief until the next unit gets here,” Eddie said.

  Cheryl scrunched up her face. “Up to you, Chief.”

  Mike scratched his chin. “No offense, but I happen to know this guy is one of our best marksmen.” He clapped Eddie on the shoulder. “If someone’s coming after me, I’d rather have the sharpshooter with me and Sharon than sitting here defending an empty house.”

  Cheryl sighed. “Guess I’d better spend some more time at the shooting range.”

  Mike grinned. “Oh, your record’s not bad, either, Cheryl. But Tony, here, that’s another story.”

  “I qualified,” Tony protested.

  “Yeah.” Mike didn’t say any more, he just smiled.

  Tony looked a little disgruntled, but Eddie had seen Tony’s score from the last qualification round, too. He’d passed, but he was in about the thirtieth percentile among the officers who did, while Eddie was near the top.

  “Okay, we’ll see you later.” Cheryl went out.

  “We’re not quite ready to go,” Mike said. “You guys make yourselves at home.”

  They didn’t take him literally, but sat uneasily in the living room. Tony talked about the Red Sox lineup for spring and whether or not he’d have to take the first aid update. Sharon and Mike came down the stairs twenty minutes later.

  “Well, hello.” Sharon smiled at them. “Eddie, this is getting to be a regular thing.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Eddie said.

  “Good of you to come, too, Tony.”

  Eddie let Tony take the lead on the first lap. He followed Mike’s car close enough that no other vehicles got between them. They had no problems parking at the funeral home. Two officers were directing traffic, and the funeral home had stationed two employees outside to assist with parking.

  Eddie went in with Mike and Sharon, keeping back while they offered condolences to Mrs. Leavitt, but always within reach of Mike if he needed anything. Tony stayed outside.

  The Brownings sat with Mrs. Leavitt and her children and introduced police officers and P.D. employees who came to pay their respects. After an hour, Eddie went out and sent Tony in. He called to check in with Cheryl. All was quiet at the house. At nine, Tony came out with the Brownings.

  The patrolman directing traffic made the oncoming cars wait so that Eddie, then Mike, then Tony could drive out smoothly and stay together. Eddie kept watch for anything out of the ordinary, but the drive seemed pretty tame. He caught himself yawning and remembered Harvey’s words. He should have rested longer, instead of going by to see Pop.

  A half mile from the Brownings’ house, a dark sedan roared out of a side street. Eddie hit the gas and watched his side mirror. It looked like the car clipped Mike’s rear bumper, but Mike stuck with him. In the mirror, he caught a mess of red lights behind them before rounding a curve.

  Chapter 27

  Tony came on the radio, calling dispatch for help.

  “You okay, Winfield?” Eddie asked.

  “Yeah, but the driver’s getting away. I’ll try to get him.”

  “Stick with the grizzly,” Eddie said.

  Charlie Doran came on, calm as ever. “What’s up, Detectives?”

  “Interloper vehicle,” Eddie replied.

  “He nicked the grizzly and slammed into me,” Tony said. I’m turning around.”

  “No, stay with your detail,” Charlie said. “I’m sending units. What’s your 20?”

  Eddie gave him the exact location of the crash. “We’re continuing to the bear’s den.” The code was silly, because obviously the people trying to get Mike knew who they were protecting and where he lived.

  “Was that collision intentional?” Charlie asked.

  Eddie said, “Probably,” but at the same time, Tony said, “Definitely.”

  “You really okay, Tony?” Eddie asked.

  “Yeah.” He sounded close to losing it, and Eddie was betting he wished he hadn’t driven the Mustang that night.

  He put on his blinker and pulled to the curb in front of the Brownings’ house. Mike’s car entered the driveway, and Eddie hopped out and hurried to his window. Mike lowered it six inches.

  “What was that?” Mike asked.

  “Hawkins’s people,” Eddie said, drawing his gun. “Put the garage door up, and I’ll check it.”

  Cheryl and Joe hurried over.

  “Everything okay?” Cheryl asked.

  “Talk to Tony,” Eddie said. “And make sure he’s not injured.”

  Tony parked at the end of the driveway, and Eddie glimpsed the two patrol officers examining his crumpled fender. He faced the garage warily, but it was clear. Mike drove in, and Tony came trotting up the driveway.

  “Charlie’s sent the two patrolmen that were going to relieve Yeaton and Clifford to chase that guy,” he reported.

  “Okay,” Mike said.

  Eddie shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

  “You stay with Mr. and Mrs. Browning, and I’ll check out the house,” Tony said.

  Eddie still didn’t like it, but he didn’t like holding Mike and Sharon in the garage any longer than necessary, either.

  “Okay.”

  Mike told Sharon to stay in the car. He got out and looked at his dented rear bumper. It wasn’t too bad. Shaking his head, he put down the overhead door and then gave Tony the house key and the security alarm code. Eddie stood in the open man door while Tony entered the house. Lights came on as he went through the rooms and then upstairs.

  “Not the way I hoped to end the evening,” Mike said.

  “Sorry, Chief.”

  “It’s not your fault, Eddie. And Winfield’s car is going to cost the department some cred with the insurance company.”

  After about five minutes, Tony came out.

  “All clear.”

  Mike went to Sharon’s side of the car and helped her out.

  “Thanks, boys,” she said. “Would you like to come in for coffee?”

  “No thanks, we’re good,” Eddie said. “Let me just escort you in.”

  He followed Mike and Sharon into their kitchen. Mike reset the alarm then went right to the wall phone and called the com center.

  “This is Chief Browning. What’s going on?”

  Sharon and Eddie waited while he listened.

  “Got it. Keep me posted.” He hung up. “Sounds like they lost the suspect. They should have let Winfield go after him.”

  “Your safety’s more important, Chief.”

  Mike sighed. “Well, we’re in for the night now. Send Yeaton and Clifford home. One of you guys wait outside until the relief unit gets back here, okay?”

  “I think we should all stay,” Eddie said.

  “Nah, they won’t come back here now. They’ll disappear for another week or two.”

  Eddie didn’t like it. Mike was probably right, but if anything did happen, he’d never forgive himself. “I really think we should stay. No disrespect.”

  Mike frowned. “At least send Yeaton and Clifford home.”

  “I think my husband is right,” Sharon said. “We don’t need four of you here now. What we need is someone finding the man who’s responsible for all this.”

  Eddie blew out a big breath. “Okay. Good night, Mrs. Browning.”

  “Good night, Eddie, and thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome.” He went outside. Tony was down at the curb, looking at his fender and swearing. Cheryl and Joe waited in the driveway.

  “The chief says for you two to split. Winfield and I will stay until the relief unit gets here.”

  “You sure?” Cheryl asked.

  “No, but the chief is.”

  “Okay,” Joe said. “Take it easy, Eddie.”

  They headed for their squad
car, and Eddie ambled over to Tony.

  “We’re staying until the relief arrives. You see anything out here?”

  “Uh, no.” Tony looked a bit guilty, and Eddie figured he’d been focused on the car, not the house.

  “Let me walk around back,” Eddie said.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “Keep your eyes open.”

  “I will.” Tony leaned on the Mustang’s hood and folded his arms, staring at Mike’s house.

  The relief would be there any minute, and they had put Hawkins, or whoever was in the sedan, on the run, but Eddie felt uneasy as he walked back up the driveway. He let himself through the gate into the back yard. The snow was all messed up, and he couldn’t tell if anyone had been there that day or not, even with his flashlight. He walked along the back of the house to where the fence ran out toward the street. He completed the circuit at the sidewalk and strolled back to Tony’s car.

  “I didn’t see anything. We should keep making the rounds, though.”

  “Okay,” Tony said.

  Eddie shone his flashlight on the smashed fender. “Call the insurance agent first thing.”

  “Don’t worry, I will.”

  Eddie walked over to his truck. His ears were getting cold. He was tempted to sit in the cab, but Mike and Sharon were both in the house. He and Tony had better both stay outside, where they could see and hear things clearly.

  He thought about calling Leeanne. It would be too late by the time he got home, and he could make Tony watch while he did it. He stuffed the thought in his mental reject bin immediately. This detail was too important. He rummaged for his gloves and knit hat and put them on. That was a little better, but the wind off the bay had picked up.

  The kitchen went dark, and a light came on upstairs. Eddie send Tony to circle the house again. He came back a couple of minutes later.

  “Everything’s quiet.”

  “Okay.” Eddie paced in the driveway, then walked around the garage and peered for a minute along the length of the house’s back wall. The relief should be here. With the breeze blowing and tree limbs cracking, it was hard to hear softer sounds. He walked to the front.

  After five minutes, he reached to his shoulder mic to check with Charlie on the relief’s ETA. As he pushed the call button, a soft light came on behind the living room drapes, probably a table lamp. Eddie squinted at it.