The Rookie's Assignment

by Valerie Hansen

  “Have you prayed about it?”

  That question took Keira aback. “I guess not. Not really.” She smiled sheepishly. “That would probably be a good idea, huh?”

  “It’s where I’d start if I wanted to know who to trust. Or who to love.”

  “Whoa. Who said anything about…” She interrupted herself when she saw Nick coming back. The look she shot at Irene reflected her unspoken thoughts.

  “Nobody.” Irene displayed a satisfied grin that crinkled the corners of her eyes. “I was just thinkin’ out loud.” She picked up another bowl and leaned to look past Keira. “Here you go, Nick. Put these carrots anywhere. I like to arrange them on the platter with the roast when I have room but I had to cook too much meat tonight.”

  “Never too much for me,” he said pleasantly.

  Keira was pleased to note that his shoulders seemed a little more relaxed and his smile was reaching his eyes. That was a good sign. So was the fact that her family was basically treating him well, although she could tell there was still an undercurrent of mistrust.

  When the time finally came that she was allowed to explain about the fingerprint identification, she was certain Nick would understand. After all, he’d suspected Charles of a terrible crime and no one had held a grudge. At least not visibly. Once Nick was cleared of being in cahoots with the Boston criminal, they’d sit down and have a good laugh over the whole misinterpretation. She hoped.

  And in the meantime, she planned to take Irene’s sage advice and pray about her growing feelings. Yes, Nick was going to leave Fitzgerald Bay as soon as possible. And yes, he was apparently happy living in Boston. But that city wasn’t so far away. Certainly not far enough to keep them from seeing each other regularly if that was how their relationship worked out.

  Incredulous, Keira bit her lip and shook her head. Here she was, barely acquainted with the poor guy, and she was already imagining them as a couple. How foolish. Yet a very pleasing thought, as well, she added with a tinge of chagrin.

  The family was taking their usual seats around the oblong mahogany table as she reentered the dining room, followed by Irene bearing a gravy boat and a basket of steaming rolls.

  Keira noted that her usual chair and one next to it had been left empty. That was a relief. She’d feared her father or her brothers might sandwich Nick between them and keep her from running interference. Happily, that was not the case.

  Nick placed his burdens on the table, then pulled out a chair for her.

  Good manners, she thought. Another plus. Now, if she could only keep her family from inundating the man with probing questions, they might all have a chance to enjoy a pleasant evening.

  As Nick joined her, Keira folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head with the others. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nick hesitate, then copy her motions. He was obviously trying to fit in. Too bad he was simply aping them. Oh, well. Perhaps in time he’d change his mind about church. It wasn’t likely, she knew, but anything was possible. Especially when God was working in someone’s life.

  Smiling, she echoed the “Amen” around the table, then reached for the heavy meat platter.

  Nick leaned over to help her lift it. Conversation was ongoing and amiable as parents began preparing plates for their youngsters.

  The sound of shattering glass startled everyone. The entire crowd froze. Stared at each other. Little ones sensed the adult reaction and whimpered in fright.

  Nick didn’t hesitate. He swept Keira out of her chair and shoved her under the table.

  By the time she asked, “What was that?” her judgment had already eliminated the notion that they’d been shot at. “It sounded like a window breaking.”

  “Yeah, it did.”

  “Then let me go. There’s no reason for us to hide under here.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Nick said gruffly, refusing to release her.

  Men were shouting. Aiden’s voice rose above the others. “Women and children get down. Charles and Mickey, you’re in charge in here while we investigate. Ryan, with me to the front. Owen and Douglas, take the kitchen and check out the back.”

  Underneath the table, Keira continued to struggle to free herself but Nick refused to release her.

  “No. You’re staying put,” he insisted. “I’d let you go and follow the others in a heartbeat if I thought I could be sure this isn’t a repeat of the incident at the beach.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Nick. Some idiot probably chucked a rock through the window on a dare, that’s all.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “Well, at least let me see to the other women. I can stand guard over them and the kids while you go do your thing outside.”

  “Promise that’s all you’ll do?”

  “Yes, yes,” Keira vowed. She was growing more irate by the second but she could see Nick’s point. And it did make sense to leave someone with the unarmed family members. Someone like her.

  Crawling out from beneath the skirt of the linen tablecloth, Keira spotted Charles first. “Is everybody okay?”

  “Yes.” The doctor had his own children as well as Fiona’s son, Sean, wrapped in a bear hug while Merry clung to Tyler and tried to comfort him. “Not a scratch. You two?”

  “We’re fine,” Nick said. “I’m going to leave Keira with your group. Just keep her here. I’ll go see if I can help outside.”

  “Okay. Go. I’ll look after her,” Charles said.

  It galled Keira—a police officer—to hear herself spoken of in such terms but she wasn’t going to argue. The only important thing right now was calming the frightened kids and keeping everybody away from the windows until Nick and the others gave the all clear.

  Once that came, she intended to express her displeasure at being relegated to the rear echelon of this battle. Until then, however, she’d protect the innocents just as she’d been told.

  It had always amazed her that her father and brothers took their guns with them everywhere. She knew it was department policy to carry, even when off duty; she just hadn’t been in a situation where that degree of armament was deemed necessary—until today.

  Irene joined the Fitzgerald clan’s stragglers in the dining room after several of them had exited through her kitchen at a dead run. She fisted her hands on ample hips. “Well, I never. I fix Aiden’s favorite meal and he runs off. What in the world is going on?”

  Hurrying to Irene’s side, Keira made sure she was safe before she explained. “We’d just started to eat when somebody broke a window.”

  “Are you all okay?”

  “We’re fine,” Keira said. “I’m sure Dad and the others won’t be gone long. Whoever did it is probably miles away by now.”

  As she spoke, Charles and her uncle Mickey were systematically lowering the blinds so no one standing in the street or driving past could see what was going on in the well- lit room.

  “I surely hope so,” Irene said. “Do you want me to take the food back to the kitchen and keep it warm?”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  Keira waited until the last blind had been lowered before skirting the table and examining the shattered glass on the floor. A rock the size of half a brick had landed inside, just shy of the window sash, meaning it was probably thrown from some distance away, maybe even as far as the street.

  What a sad reflection on Fitzgerald Bay to have both the current mayor, her grandfather, and the police and fire chiefs attacked like this. Well, at least her dad couldn’t possibly blame this incident on Nick. No one passing by would have known there was anyone other than her family having dinner there.

  The stone was smooth, as if it had come from the shore where waves tumbled rocks together and polished off the rough edges. She nudged it with the toe of her shoe to roll it over, not expecting the other side to look any different.

  Her breath caught. What was that black color? It almost looked like… It was! Someone had scrawled one word on the surface with the broad t
ip of a marking pen.

  It said, LIAR.

  Keira’s stomach clenched. This was not a random case of vandalism. Someone outside had purposely targeted the Fitzgeralds. The question was, who had written the cryptic message and which of them was meant to be the recipient?

  There were certainly enough choices. Her dad and Uncle Mickey held positions that often resulted in their being unjustly blamed for events beyond their control. And thanks to Burke Hennessy, some deluded folks still insisted on suspecting Charles of Olivia’s murder. Plus there was the upcoming mayoral race involving her father.

  Don’t forget Nick, Keira’s thoughts insisted before she summarily dismissed them. Whatever the reason for the one-word accusation, she was positive it couldn’t have been aimed at Nick.

  She huffed and shook her head as she realized why she was so certain. All the people who might suspect her partner of wrongdoing had been gathered around the dining table. Therefore, unless her father and brothers turned up a suspect in the yard, the incident had to be due to outside forces.

  Trying to sound more cheery than she felt, she announced, “Okay, everybody. The blinds are closed and there’s no more danger. Let’s go back to the table and finish this delicious meal.”

  Charles agreed. “Good idea. Our private posse is covering the yard so I’m sure there won’t be any more trouble.” He lifted his children and sat them on their booster seats, then took his place between them. “Let’s eat. I’m starved.”

  “I’ll just get the dustpan and sweep up that mess,” Irene said.

  “Not until I bag that rock for evidence,” Keira said.

  Keira’s glance caught that of her one remaining brother and she saw him nod. He’d seen the clue, too. She was sorry for that because chances were he’d already decided the allegation pointed to him. Unfortunately, she had to agree it was a strong possibility. Which meant there was a fair chance that the Hennessys or their cohorts were responsible. If that were the case, they’d better find a way to prove it without a doubt before saying anything or Burke would start claiming he was being unfairly persecuted.

  In small-town affairs there was simply no way to avoid such unjust assumptions. Keira knew that. Nevertheless, what she wanted to do was stand on a soapbox in the town square and proclaim her family’s honesty and integrity until the Hennessys of the world crawled back under the rock they’d come from.

  Was that a proper Christian attitude? she asked herself.

  Nope. But it was a totally human one.

  By the time Nick had gotten outside, the others had dispersed. He’d drawn his gun, pointed it at the night sky and started to work his way around the perimeter of the house.

  Nothing. And no one.

  He considered calling out, then decided against it. If the Fitzgeralds were as good at their jobs as Keira claimed, they’d make sure of who or what they were shooting at rather than plug him first and then ask questions.

  Reaching a corner flanked by a bush with bare branches he readied himself, then whipped around in a firing stance and came face-to-face with Douglas.

  Their mutual reactions to the shock of being confronted without firing spoke well of them both.

  Nick lowered his weapon and exhaled noisily. “Find anything?”

  “No. Nothing. I want to suspect it was a kid who broke the window and then took off.” He holstered his sidearm.

  “Well, if that’s the case, at least it was a rock and not a bullet.”

  “Right. Dad and the others have been all the way around the rest of the house. Let’s go back inside.”

  As Nick put away his gun and fell into step beside his landlord, the other man clapped him on the back. “You’re going to think our town is as bad as Boston if this stuff doesn’t stop. Any idea who might be stirring up trouble?”

  “Me? How would I know?”

  “Just wondering. I imagine you made your share of enemies back in Boston, right?”

  “I suppose.”

  “And they might have followed you here?”

  Nick shook his head. “That’s not likely. I didn’t announce where I was going or why. As far as most of the people in my old department are concerned, I’m just taking a few weeks off.”

  “Any reason for that kind of secrecy?” the captain asked.

  “Not really. Why?”

  “Curiosity.”

  Although Nick accepted the terse explanation, it troubled him. There was no way the chief could have learned about his IA work but he supposed they might have tried to look deeper into his background and discovered a few dead ends. He hadn’t had much time to cover his tracks when he’d been given this assignment, so there were likely to be some questionable entries in the file he’d dummied up for himself.

  As soon as dinner was over and he was alone, he’d try to reach his former chief again and find out more. Until then, all he could do was continue to play his part and hope for the best.

  What was the best? That was easy. The best thing, as far as Nick was concerned, would be finding out that the FBPD was clean. Beyond that, solving the murder would be nice but it wasn’t critical at this point in time. Once he was able to exonerate the officers who had collected the evidence and questioned townspeople, he’d know the evidence could be trusted and therefore the killer should be easier to pinpoint.

  But one thing at a time, he told himself. Right now he had to return to the dinner table and continue to act as if he believed Charles was truly innocent rather than being shielded by his family.

  On a gut level that was already a fact. Next, he’d have to prove it. That was likely to be harder than it had seemed at first glance.

  A lot harder.

  TWELVE

  No one had paid much attention to the writing on the rock other than to agree that it should be processed as evidence. In their line of work, idle threats were, unfortunately, all too common.

  Keira could tell Nick was getting more restless as the evening dragged on. She figured that if he hadn’t had to rely upon someone else to drive him home, he would have excused himself already.

  By 9:00 p.m. the children had all dozed off, some in friendly laps, some in the overstuffed furniture of a nearby parlor as the adults sat around and chatted. The twins had conked out first. Tyler was the only one still fighting sleep and he was getting really cranky.

  “Why don’t you take Merry and Tyler home while I give Nick a lift?” Keira suggested to her brother.

  “If you’re sure you don’t mind.” Douglas was clearly relieved. “I didn’t think about getting home when I offered to bring him tonight. I suppose I could make two trips like I did earlier but it is late and…”

  “There’s no need to go to all that trouble and cut short your time with Merry. I can drive Nick. If that’s all right with him.”

  “Absolutely.” Nick sent a wry grin toward the fussy boy.

  “You should see him when he’s really overtired.” Merry picked up the child’s jacket and started to thread his arms into the sleeves.

  Aiden interrupted, his voice gruff and louder than normal. “Ryan’s going out, anyway. He can drive Nick home.”

  “No way, Dad,” Keira shot back. “This poor man has already sat through hours of reminiscences about people he doesn’t know and all your political rhetoric besides. He deserves a chance to unwind and I know he won’t get a break if he rides with Ryan.”

  She could tell that their war of wills was amusing Nick. Normally, she deferred to Aiden as the family patriarch but she wasn’t afraid to challenge him if necessary. Like now.

  As she glanced around at her siblings, she noted that they seemed to be waiting to see who would blink first, her or their father.

  It was Aiden. He blew out a noisy sigh. “Have it your way. You will, anyway. Just see that you come right back or I’ll put out an APB on you.”

  She leaned to kiss the older man on his cheek, then led the way to the hall where she handed Nick his jacket before getting one for herself. “Ready?”


  “Oh, yeah.”

  “You were ready hours ago, weren’t you? I guess the Fitzgeralds can be kind of intimidating when too many of us are in one place.”

  She donned her own wrap and headed for her police SUV. “Try to remember that this is our idea of what’s right and normal, even if it does seem odd to you. Our family sticks together. We may have our differences from time to time, like any group does, but we love each other a lot.”

  “I could see that,” Nick said.

  “Was it really so bad?”

  “Well…” he drawled, “except for the time you took me into the kitchen to meet the housekeeper and those few minutes when I was in the yard looking for the vandal who threw that rock, I felt kind of like a bug stuck under a magnifying glass.”

  “Oh, dear. I am sorry.”

  “It’s okay. They are an interesting bunch.”

  “And you haven’t met them all yet,” she replied as she drove down Main toward the shore. “But you will. I expect just about everyone to show up for the Valentine’s Day Chocolate Extravaganza. It’s the first one Victoria has ever held at the inn.”

  “Hey, if the food is half as good as what Irene fixed tonight I’ll be happy as a clam. I’ve never had a better meal of Yankee pot roast.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell her. She really tries to please.”

  “I got the impression she’d do just about anything for your dad.”

  “For all of us,” Keira said, casting a sidelong glance his way. “You’re starting to sound like Aunt Vanessa. Believe me, Dad only had eyes for my mother.”

  “But she’s gone now. Maybe you wouldn’t have to worry about him being lonely if he gave Irene a chance.”

  “No way. He and my mother had something special that only comes along once in a lifetime. When she got so sick, he was devastated.”

  “I’m sorry,” Nick said, and Keira could tell he truly meant it.

  Her vision misted for a moment as she replied, “We all are.”

  “Do you want to come in?” Nick asked when she stopped in front of the condo.