Officer Daddy

by Jacqueline Diamond

  The door tinkled open, admitting a young couple. From the back of the store, Violet hurried out to wait on them.

  Time to go. “We’ll have to notify the hospital administration,” Leo told Nora as he held the door for her.

  She didn’t budge. “I’d rather call Dr. Rayburn myself.”

  “You should leave that to the police.”

  She lifted her hand from his arm. “I have to handle this my own way, Leo.”

  Nothing he could do to stop her. It was a free country. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Yes.”

  He restrained a very unprofessional urge to kiss her sweet, upturned face, and to run his hand over her stomach, in which his tiny son or daughter nested snugly. But he was in uniform, and they were in public.

  Instead, he went out to the cruiser, where Patty was tapping her fingers impatiently on the dashboard. “Got his address,” she said as Leo slid in, and off they went.

  A STUNNING ARRANGEMENT OF purple irises and pink tulips in a white vase soothed Nora, even though she couldn’t smell them through the glass case. She simply had to take them home.

  The price listed on the tag was well worth it. And since being around flowers seemed to ease her stomach, she could justify the indulgence for medical reasons.

  Okay, that was stretching it. But so what?

  “I can’t charge you full price for this, Dr. Kendall,” Violet said as Nora placed the bouquet on the counter. At the table, a young couple was busy paging through books of wedding arrangements.

  “I insist on it,” Nora told her. “How’re you feeling? Any dizziness or pains?”

  The girl accepted her money and rang up the sale. “I’m fine. I can’t believe Ted would rip us off. He seemed so nice.”

  Nora couldn’t believe it, either. “Did he actually steal from you?”

  Violet shrugged. “My mom says her bank doesn’t report any unusual activity. But trying to pressure me to give up my baby so he could make a commission—that’s awful!”

  Nora thought about her patients. True, they’d had a happy outcome by finding babies to adopt, but that didn’t excuse someone’s stealing their information. “How’s your mother taking it?”

  With a wry grin, Violet handed her the change. “All that stuff about grandchildren is starting to get to her. I heard her and Mr. Tran talking in Vietnamese about how precious babies are. He has something like five kids and ten grandkids, and my mom, well, she just has me.”

  “You think she might change her mind?” It would be wonderful if Rose helped her daughter raise the baby.

  “Never can tell.” There was a definite twinkle in Violet’s eyes.

  What a relief from the tension Nora had seen in her previously. And how ironic that Ted’s machinations might have brought about this reconciliation.

  Served him right that he wasn’t going to earn a commission.

  Nora shepherded her bouquet to her car, wedging it carefully onto the floor to avoid damaging the gorgeous blooms. In her condo, she cleared away a couple of books and set it on the coffee table, where she could enjoy it from all angles.

  Then she put in a call she wasn’t eager to make.

  Mark Rayburn, who stayed available by cell even on the weekends, listened soberly to her account of her patients’ unauthorized referrals to an adoption attorney and the suspicions about Ted Chong and his gambling problem. Apparently the officers hadn’t had a chance to contact him yet, she gathered, and passed along Leo’s recommendation about arranging a forensic audit.

  “I can’t believe May would be involved,” Nora told him as she finished. “But someone apparently accessed their information, and I thought you should know.”

  “I’m glad you called,” Mark said. “We take patient confidentiality and the security of our computer system very seriously. While these two couples are your private patients, they’ve also been seen at the hospital, haven’t they?”

  “That’s right.” Like other doctors at the medical office building, Nora had hospital privileges and used labs and a pharmacy owned by Safe Harbor Medical Center. Plus her computerized records were accessible to the hospital staff in case of emergency.

  “I’ll be happy to cooperate with the police when they call,” he said. “And we will conduct that audit. As for May, I’ll talk to her on Monday. I hope this is all a coincidence, but we’ll have to see.”

  “I can’t imagine an attorney stooping to stealing information,” Nora said. “I mean, he could be disbarred.”

  “He might simply pay referral fees and turn a blind eye to where the information comes from,” the administrator said. “He’s probably cultivated sources all over town. I heard that local private adoptions took a hit thanks to all that publicity about surrendered babies. It inspired a lot of birth mothers to relinquish custody through the hospital.” Some of the surrendered infants had been adopted by staff members, while most had been placed in loving homes through the county’s social services agency.

  Mark also promised to pass the information about Ted’s behavior to his wife. Dr. Forrest would make sure the counseling center changed its passwords and barred the young man from the premises, he assured her.

  The administrator didn’t seem overly concerned about Nora’s admission that she’d carelessly revealed her patients’ first names to Leo. “This isn’t a murder case. I doubt the police will expend the effort to call women all over town trying to figure out if someone made them happy against their will.”

  As she said goodbye, Nora hoped he was right. But Leo had a promotion at stake, and he’d never made any bones about what mattered to him.

  Later that evening, when the doorbell rang and she saw Leo’s face through the peephole, Nora’s chest constricted. Had he come to give her bad news?

  And if he had, what was she going to do about it?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nora had grown up feeling uncomfortable around men, tongue-tied and unprepared to handle their assumptions about how sexy and confident she was. Even after she married, she’d always feared that she was coming up short in Reese’s eyes. When he announced that he’d found his soul mate—what an irony, in view of the scene she’d witnessed between him and Persia—it had seemed to confirm Nora’s insecurities.

  That made it even harder to explain why she didn’t have those feelings around Leo. Never had, and didn’t now. She just opened the door and they walked into each other’s arms. Never mind the tensions between them. Forget about trust issues. They drew together like a pair of ice-skaters swooping into a spin, entwining without the least awkwardness.

  “Missed you,” he said as he kicked the door shut behind him.

  “It’s been practically a week.” She didn’t count their conversations today. Those had been impersonal.

  His arms fit naturally around her as he drew her onto the couch and his lap. She burrowed into him, touching his jaw, tasting his mouth, nuzzling his hair.

  “How’s my baby?” he murmured into her hair.

  “Much better. Morning sickness passed hours ago.” Then, seeing his gaze fix on her abdomen, she realized what he meant. “Oh, this baby.”

  “Both babies,” he said, laughing.

  “Well, I answered for the first one already. As for Muffin, he’s still too small for me to feel him or her wiggling.”

  Leo settled back, holding her in place. “What kind of name is Muffin?”

  “Temporary,” Nora assured him.

  “Our baby deserves a real name.” Leo rubbed her shoulder lightly. “I’m thinking Leona if it’s a girl and Leo Junior if it’s a boy.”

  “Noreen and Norbert,” she countered. “Much more professional sounding.”

  “Too old-fashioned.”

  “Actually, I like the name Parker,” Nora said. “For a girl or a boy.”

  “A unisex name? No way! What’s your mother’s name?”

  “Chastity.” She wouldn’t wish that on a baby.

  Apparently, neither would he. “How about yo
ur father’s?”

  That reminded her that her dad still hadn’t called or sent a birthday card. One year he hadn’t remembered until the Fourth of July. She tried not to feel hurt. After all, she understood that he got preoccupied with work. “Dwight. What about yours?”

  “It was Arthur, but we weren’t close.” Leo’s tone darkened.

  While she wasn’t sure she’d want to name a baby after either of their fathers, the residual anger in his tone troubled her. “When did he die?”

  “Eight years ago. He had a stroke my senior year in college.” Leo’s jaw twitched, and for a moment she expected him to change the subject. Instead, he said, “He never approved of me.”

  “Because you weren’t as good a student as your brother?” She’d picked up that much from him.

  “I doubt I could have pleased him no matter how hard I tried, so of course I didn’t try at all,” Leo conceded. “He was impatient and irritable with the whole family but especially me. He only showed his affable side in public. He loved the attention—presiding as mayor, presenting cases in court or speaking at some event. It was like he wanted us to be either perfect or invisible.”

  “How awful.” Nora couldn’t imagine having a father like that. Then, to her surprise, she realized she could imagine being married to someone like him. “I got a taste of that with Reese. He wanted this idealized woman who’d reflect well on him. Any variation, like gaining ten pounds or aging a few years, and he was off to greener pastures.”

  Leo chuckled. “Looks like he got what he deserved with—what’s her name?—India?”

  “Persia.”

  “Knew it was on that continent somewhere.” His mood sobered again. “I get that feeling at work these days.”

  “What feeling?”

  “That I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t,” he said.

  She tightened her arms around him, enjoying the end-of-day masculine scent infusing his shirt. “Because you’ve been trying so hard to make detective and you got smacked down about the Hightowers?”

  She felt his nod against the top of her head. “Today, I kept second-guessing myself. But…well, can’t talk about it, I’m afraid.”

  Her concerns flooded back. Darn, just when she was feeling comfortable. “Did you reach Ted? I heard he lives with his mother.”

  “Can’t comment.” Leo studied the arrangement on the coffee table, which he’d nearly brushed with his foot. “Those are beautiful flowers. For your birthday?”

  “No.”

  “Secret admirer?” Despite the light tone, she caught a hint of…could that be jealousy?

  “I bought them for myself at Rose’s Posies. You didn’t notice them in the case?”

  “The only case I noticed was the one we’re investigating.” Leo relaxed beneath her.

  “Which you can’t talk about.”

  “Right.” Leo slid her gently onto the couch beside him. “Sorry, but my legs are falling asleep. And in case you’re wondering, Theodore is out.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “As a baby name.”

  She laughed. “Got it. No unethical computer geeks, no unisex names—any other restrictions?”

  Leo’s palm traced the slight curve of her stomach. “If it’s a boy, something strong and old-fashioned. Doesn’t have to be macho. Intelligent is good.”

  “How about Socrates?”

  He grinned. “Not that old-fashioned.”

  “How about Einstein?”

  “Not that intelligent.”

  She tickled him, he tickled her back, and they play-wrestled until they remembered her delicate condition. Then they watched an action movie on TV and slept with their arms around each other.

  On Sunday, Leo left early, since he had patrol duty. Lingering over a cup of tea, Nora thought how lucky she was.

  She’d fallen in love with an honorable, caring man, and she was having his baby. They could go on like this indefinitely, maybe forever. What was wrong with that? Okay, it wasn’t everything she wanted, but it was more than half.

  Shouldn’t three-quarters of a dream be enough?

  ON MONDAY, AN UNDERCURRENT of anticipation ran through the police department. From Patty, who’d heard it from Mike, Leo learned that the captain planned to make a final recommendation to the chief within the next day or so. From snatches of conversation, he also learned that the department’s public information officer had decided not to return from maternity leave.

  He doubted anyone would consider him for the position, and he’d decline it anyway. Dealing with the press and public might in some instances be a steppingstone to upper management, but Leo knew his own temperament. No sense taking a job he wasn’t cut out for.

  “Me, either,” Patty told him that afternoon after Leo had shared his thoughts on the matter as they staked out an intersection on Coast Highway, where speeders had been running red lights. Even the tickets issued from overhead cameras hadn’t put a dent in the dangerous behavior. “Can you see me making nice with an egomaniac like Councilman Hightower?”

  “Trent would be good at it.” Obviously.

  “Yeah, let’s hope they stick the square peg in the square hole. Or stick him in some kind of hole.”

  That would leave the detective position up for grabs between him and Patty. Leo considered her the clear frontrunner. This latest report wouldn’t hurt, either.

  On Saturday, they’d found Ted at home, ready to spill everything. He’d freely told them about referring young women to the attorney for a commission, which was legal, but he’d also uneasily admitted trying to put pressure on Violet. Although he claimed it was for her own good, he was obviously embarrassed.

  He’d been gambling online and borrowing money from shady sources, and he was scared. All the same, he’d seemed offended at the very notion that he would steal money from Mrs. Nguyen. He hadn’t considered swiping a password as stealing. Amazing how naive a geek could be about the serious spread of cybercrime.

  As far as who had leaked the information about Nora’s patients, he’d claimed ignorance. Ted was so open about everything else that Leo honestly didn’t think he knew what they were talking about. The mother, who Ted revealed had been giving him money, hadn’t been home. The detective who followed up would have to talk to her and the administrator.

  “One way or another, I guess we won’t be partners anymore,” Patty observed.

  “Too bad. I hope we can still hang after work. As much as our schedules allow.” Detectives worked more regular hours. They received better pay, too.

  “Hey, you ever consider taking in a roommate?” she asked. “My landlord wants my apartment for his son and my lease is up, so I have to move. I mean, you’ve got two bedrooms.”

  Leo braced as an SUV appeared about to speed right through the light, but the driver hit the brakes. “Is that a bedroom? I thought it was a storage unit.”

  “Okay, I guess you’d rather have Blondie move in, anyway. Or are you moving in with her?”

  “Nobody’s moving in with anybody,” he grumbled. While Nora hadn’t actually mentioned the M-word, she’d sent a loud-and-clear message. Or was it possible she might be open to renegotiating?

  “Holy cow!” Patty shouted. Right in front of them, a pickup flew through a red light, barreling toward a Mini Cooper half its size.

  At the last possible instant, the tiny car dodged out of the way. The pickup driver veered and skimmed past, not even bothering to stop.

  They hit the siren and peeled out. A block later, to Leo’s relief, the truck pulled over. He hated endangering lives with a vehicle chase.

  The driver proved stumble-drunk, with a string of DUIs on his record. Booking him and filling out the paperwork took up the rest of their shift.

  Leo was about to change into street clothes when he got a call to see the captain. Although he’d considered himself prepared to receive the news either way, his stomach tensed. It was like being called into the principal’s office, he thought as he marched upstairs. He�
�d had that happen a few times. Okay, more than a few.

  As he walked through the detective bureau, interested gazes needled his back. Just like the kids in high school. Yeah, he must be regressing.

  The door to Captain Reed’s office stood open. Inside, he saw no sign of the sergeant or the chief. Leo’s heart sank. Definitely not a welcome-to-the-good-old-boys-club.

  “You wanted to see me, sir?”

  “Have a seat.” The captain gestured at a chair. “Close the door, would you?”

  Leo complied. On the captain’s computer screen, he spotted a copy of Patty’s report about Ted Chong. What was up with that?

  “You and Officer Hartman appear to have nipped a crime wave in the bud,” Reed said drily.

  “A real desperado,” Leo deadpanned.

  “You both put a lot of work into that report.”

  “Thanks.”

  Reed closed the image. “What concerns me is what you didn’t pursue.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Had they forgotten to dot some i’s or cross some t’s?

  “These patients at the hospital whose information may have been stolen. The report only lists first names.”

  “That’s all Dr. Kendall told me,” Leo said.

  “That would be your friend, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So you didn’t bother to ask her for any further details?”

  Where was the captain heading with this? “She cited patient confidentiality.”

  Reed’s foot tapped the floor. He was building to something. And here it came. “So, since your partner was writing the report and getting the credit, you didn’t bother to press the issue.”

  Leo hung on to his temper. “Once the doctor invoked confidentiality, I considered it improper to pressure her. Who got the credit had nothing to do with it.”

  “You’re sure about that?”

  In Leo’s judgment, the captain was completely out of line. But arguing wasn’t going to accomplish anything. “Give the promotion to Patty. She’ll make a fine detective.”