The Rookie's Assignment

by Valerie Hansen

  “Why?”

  It was the half scared, half incredulous look on Keira’s face that made him laugh aloud and raise one hand as if taking a vow. “I wasn’t getting out of line, I promise. I just wondered if you wanted to help me go over the digital file I downloaded from the funeral. We haven’t had time to do it before and I hate to bring my laptop to the office and work there.”

  “Why?” she asked again, this time with humor twinkling in her eyes. “Don’t you like sharing desk space with me?”

  “Truthfully, I’d rather sit out in the car than try to keep that little cubbyhole of yours straightened up. I don’t know how you do it.”

  “Poorly,” Keira said. She shut off the engine. “Okay. Dad won’t call out the troops if I don’t stay too long.”

  As Nick led the way toward the condo, he started to reach to cup her elbow, then stopped himself. This was strictly a business meeting, nothing more, and the farther he stayed from Keira, the better. Her brother would be coming home soon, which was definitely for the best. The last thing he wanted to do was inadvertently sully her reputation. If he knew anything about life in a small town, it was that gossip traveled at supersonic speed.

  “Want to leave the door open till Douglas gets here?” Nick asked.

  “That won’t be necessary. It’s cold out and we’re planning to behave ourselves.” She hesitated barely a heartbeat. “We are, aren’t we?”

  “Scout’s honor,” Nick said, holding up his hand as if taking another oath. “I just want to be certain I can ID everybody I photographed at the cemetery. I think I know most of the principal characters but there are a few I can’t place.”

  “Gotcha. I’m ready.” She was stripping off her jacket and adjusting the hem of the soft, blue sweater over her jeans.

  Does she have any idea how pretty she is? Nick wondered. Her brother had been right when he’d suggested that Keira’s innocent air would help her in her job. No criminal in his right mind would expect her to be a formidable cop.

  As she turned to sling her jacket over the arm of a chair he remarked, “Okay. I give up. Where do you stash your off-duty gun?”

  “In an ankle holster,” she said, grinning. “Believe me, there is no room for it at my waist.”

  Nick could feel his face warming tellingly. Next thing he knew, he’d be wishing their friendship could progress to become something more. That was ridiculous, of course. Keira was too nice, too trusting. He wasn’t going to do anything beyond the necessities of his work that might shake her confidence in her fellow man. Not if he could possibly help it.

  Instead of commenting, he led the way to the small kitchen table where he’d been reviewing the digital photos and pulled out a chair for her. The only way they could both look at the computer screen at the same time was by sitting side by side so he turned the laptop a little to the left and joined her, elbow to elbow.

  “We’ll begin as the mourners were entering the church. I got a few candid distance shots then. The rest were taken outside, after the service, with the zoom lens.”

  “Thank you for being so considerate.”

  “You’re welcome.” He pointed. “Look at this one in particular. See how upset the younger Hennessy guy was?” Nick enlarged the shot to full screen. “See what I mean?”

  “Yes, I do. I suppose that means there’s no way we should suspect poor Cooper. He said he and Olivia were dating, so of course he’d be upset.”

  “I don’t know. What if there was a lovers’ quarrel that turned physical? It happens. People have been saying the same thing about Charles but he swore he and Olivia were not romantically involved and were getting along well.”

  “And no one thought to question Cooper because we hadn’t believed he and Olivia were dating. I see what you’re getting at. We’ll have to do that.”

  “Do you think he could have been the object of the love letter Olivia left behind? It was addressed to her ‘Sweetheart.’”

  “I wonder. None of us even thought of Cooper in that regard. At least I didn’t. Dad never mentioned him, either.” She huffed. “Burke will hit the ceiling if we bring his son in for questioning. It’s sure to make him think we’re trying to shift suspicion from our family to his.”

  “That’s only a problem if it’s done for the wrong reasons,” Nick said flatly.

  Keira grew pensive, leaned forward to prop her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands. “I suppose so. Does that mean that if I ask you a personal question for the right reasons you won’t take offense?”

  “It might. I’d have to hear the question first.”

  “Yeah. That’s what I was afraid of. Let’s finish the pictures,” Keira said with a noisy sigh. “I’ll ask you on my way out. Then, if you decide to slam the door in my face, I’ll be in the right place for it.”

  Nick could only guess what she was alluding to. Several things occurred to him, not the least of which was his record in Boston, and he dearly hoped she wasn’t going to come right out and make him lie for the sake of eventual truth. He was basically an honest man and it galled him to have to prevaricate, even for the sake of the common good.

  He began to page slowly through the numbered photos, making notes of names Keira provided as they went. Other than the Fitzgeralds, whom he already knew, he learned who belonged to the extended Connolly family and who was part of Mickey Fitzgerald’s fire department.

  “How about this woman?” Nick asked, pausing the computer to focus on a slim, obviously overwrought blonde seated in the front row next to the flower-draped casket.

  “That’s Meghan Henry, Olivia’s cousin. I told you she was living here now.” He heard Keira sigh before she added, “Poor thing.”

  “Were they close?”

  “I don’t think so. Not really. I heard they met in Ireland when they were girls and Olivia contacted Meghan when she came to the U.S.”

  “Did anyone question her?”

  “Not officially. She wasn’t around when Olivia died.”

  “Doesn’t matter. She may know something that will help. I’ll want to interview her ASAP.”

  “Okay. I can get in touch with her and set up an appointment if you want.”

  They both froze when they heard a car door slam. “Sounds like your brother is home.”

  “Yes. I wonder how long it will take him to check to see why I’m still…”

  A loud, abrupt rapping on the door interrupted her.

  “About a second and a half,” Nick said, then called out, “Come on in. It’s open.”

  Judging by the stern expression on the captain’s face, he’d expected something more intimate than the scene that greeted him. His face turned lobster-crimson. “Sorry to bother you. I just wondered if something was wrong when I saw Keira’s car.”

  “You thought you’d need to defend my honor,” she teased. “Thanks for looking out for me. I’m fine. We’re just working. Nick took some photos at the memorial service and I’m helping him put names with the faces.”

  “Okay. My mistake.” He arched his brows and stared pointedly at his sister. “You planning to stay long? Because if you are, you’d better tell Dad before he actually does call out the troops.”

  “I think we’re almost done,” Keira said. “Why don’t you phone him for me so you can assure him Nick is behaving himself?”

  “Chicken?”

  “Sure am,” she replied easily. “I’d rather you listened to his lecture than I did. Tell him I’ll start home in half an hour or so. I promise.”

  Giving them both a casual salute, Douglas backed out and shut the door.

  “I know you aren’t afraid of your father. I saw the way you stood up to him back at the house.”

  “You’re right. I’m not. But Dad tends to run his family a lot like he runs the police department. He’ll be halfway through a lecture before he realizes he’s talking to one of his kids instead of an out-of-line underling. He doesn’t mean to be so hard on us. It’s just his way.”

 
“Must have been difficult for your mother,” Nick suggested.

  “Not really. She accepted his ways because she knew he loved her dearly.”

  The same way other members of your family accept each other, failings, quirks and all, Nick mused. That kind of unqualified approval was foreign to him. The only time in recent memory he’d heard it put into words was in Pastor Larch’s sermon during the memorial service. Nick remembered every detail, particularly the part about the accessibility of God’s love and forgiveness to anyone who sought it.

  At that time Nick had wondered how such a concept could be put into practice. Now that he’d spent an evening among the Fitzgeralds, however, he was beginning to develop a glimmer of understanding.

  These folks didn’t seem to judge each other the way his parents had judged him. It wasn’t merely a matter of getting good grades in school and staying out of trouble. It was much more, as if every breath Nick took had to be closely examined and critiqued.

  To be fair, he knew he’d often been harder on himself than any outside influence had been, yet he also realized that he had never felt the kind of belonging he’d sensed that evening.

  If he hadn’t been sent to Fitzgerald Bay to investigate the police department, if he’d simply transferred, he wondered if he’d have eventually found a way to fit in the way his partner did.

  Imagining such a thing made him yearn for a chance to go back and change the past. To come to Fitzgerald Bay as the helpful officer he was pretending to be and never have to worry about someone revealing his true nature, his actual job.

  Realizing the ridiculousness of such thoughts, Nick shook them off. He was what he was. And he was good at it. That was enough. It would have to be.

  The touch of Keira’s hand on his forearm startled him out of his reverie.

  There was kindness and concern in her expression when she asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Fine. Just tired, I guess.” He clicked rapidly through the final few shots. “That’s the lot of them. Thanks for your help.”

  “You’re welcome.” She pushed back from the table and got to her feet. “I should be going, anyway. Want me to pick you up in the morning or will you ride in with Douglas again?”

  “Might as well go with him.” Nick escorted her toward the door. “What was the personal question you were going to ask me after we finished the photos?”

  “What? Oh, I forget. It couldn’t have been important.” Snagging her jacket as she passed the chair where she’d laid it, she quickly slipped it on while Nick assisted.

  “You don’t have to be afraid to talk to me,” he said softly, hoping there was enough tenderness in his voice to calm her, to encourage her to trust him.

  “I’m not afraid,” Keira insisted. “If I can take on my father, nobody else will ever scare me.”

  “Okay. Have it your way.” He reached past her to open the door and in doing so felt the warmth of her breath tickle his cheek.

  A shiver ran through him from head to toe. His pulse sped. Notions of what it might be like to lean a few inches closer and brush his lips across hers flashed into his mind as if he were suddenly opening his eyes to behold a brilliant summer sunrise.

  Nick straightened, relying on well-practiced formality to rescue him. “Shall I walk you to your car?”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Keira said, making no move toward the street.

  “You’re sure?”

  Why didn’t she go? Did she know how hard it was for him to keep from hugging her, from kissing her? The innocence in her expression told him she didn’t have a clue.

  Finally, after long seconds, she took one step. “Well, good night, then. See you Monday morning.”

  Nick watched, unable and unwilling to take his eyes off her as she made her way to her car and climbed in. He didn’t close the apartment door until she was well on her way.

  Then he shut it quietly and leaned his back against it, thinking, wondering, lost in the emotions he kept denying. This was bad. Real bad. And it promised to get a lot worse unless he controlled himself better.

  So far, Keira had no idea he was beginning to care for her, and that was the way it was going to stay. Period. He didn’t dare step over the line and act on his feelings or they’d both be sorry.

  Worse, it would come to hurt her terribly. Once she found out he was an undercover agent, she was bound to think any romantic overtures had been made to gain her confidence rather than because the attraction between them was genuine.

  Nick closed his eyes, pictured her innocent expression and felt a pang of regret hit him like a punch in the stomach. He did care. He was already too far gone to help himself but that didn’t mean he couldn’t shelter Keira.

  It would mean more than simply watching her back in the field and making sure she stayed safe and well.

  It would mean defending her heart from an even worse pain, the kind that grew from disappointment in a loved one and sometimes lasted a lifetime.

  It would mean protecting her from himself.

  THIRTEEN

  Keira had spotted Meghan Henry at church Sunday morning and had asked if she might interview her at home the following day. Although Meghan had not seemed eager, she had nevertheless agreed.

  “I’m glad the weather is halfway decent,” Keira told Nick that Monday morning as they approached. “Meghan’s cottage is down by the beach and the wind off the ocean can be nasty, especially in the winter.”

  “At least spring isn’t far off.” His eyebrows arched. “Wow. She found a really nice house. It’s New England style, right?”

  “Yes.” Parking, Keira joined him for the walk up the gracefully curving path to the front door. “It’s the kind of place I’d like to own someday. Not too big, not too small, with a homey character and lots of room for flowerbeds.”

  “I can see you living in a house like this. It suits you.”

  “Thanks.” Keira knocked.

  A slim blonde woman answered the door.

  “Hello, again,” Keira said with a hint of a smile to help put the other woman at ease. “Thank you for seeing us. As you know, I’m Officer Fitzgerald. This is Lieutenant Delfino.”

  “All right. Come in.”

  As Meghan stepped back, Keira sensed that she wasn’t happy to have company. Word around town was that the newcomer was even less outgoing than her late cousin, Olivia, had been, although there was a definite family resemblance.

  “Can I offer you tea? Coffee?” Meghan asked.

  “Thank you, no.” Nick removed his hat, seated himself on the sofa and opened his small notebook. “This will only take a few minutes. We understand you work from home. Is that correct?”

  “Yes. I’m a freelance journalist among other things.”

  She perched on the edge of a side chair as Keira made herself comfortable at the end of the sofa opposite Nick. They had already agreed that he would take the lead in the interview, then open it to his partner when he thought the time was right. It was hard for Keira to sit still and be patient when so many unanswered questions kept popping into her head.

  Pen poised, Nick asked, “What brings you to Fitzgerald Bay, Ms. Henry?”

  The other woman’s eyes widened. “You must be joking.”

  “Let me rephrase that,” Nick said calmly. “Of course we’re sorry for your loss. What I meant was, why did you decide to relocate at this particular time? After all, your cousin is gone.”

  “But not forgotten,” Meghan said as her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “Never forgotten. Her mother is dead. I may be the only close relative Olivia has left who cares that she was murdered. I intend to stay right here and make sure her killer is brought to justice.”

  “I understand some benevolent townspeople helped you pay for the memorial service and interment. How did that come about, if I may ask?”

  It took all the self-control Keira possessed to keep from jumping into the conversation at that point. Nick knew perfectly well who had paid for everything. So why w
as he asking again?

  “Pastor Larch arranged it when I explained that I’d have to secure a personal loan in order to bury poor Olivia. I never asked where the funds came from. Should I have?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  Nick continued to ask questions for which they already had answers, calming Keira’s fears. She supposed it was common practice to try to trip up the only known relative of the deceased; it just seemed a bit silly.

  “So, you and Olivia met as children,” Nick continued.

  “Yes. Several times. In Ireland.” The young woman kept her fingers twined tightly together and seemed to be struggling to hold still as Nick continued to question her. Moreover, the more Nick talked, the edgier Meghan acted.

  Finally she stood and said, “I really must be getting back to work. Thank you for stopping by instead of making me come to the station. I hope you find clues to Olivia’s murder and catch her killer. We all need to know what really happened.”

  “That, we do,” Nick said, leading the way to the door with Keira. He turned and offered his hand to Meghan. “We’ll keep in touch, ma’am. I don’t have any business cards but if you think of anything else, anything at all, please contact the police department directly. They’ll put me in touch with you.”

  “You’re not related to the Fitzgeralds, are you?” she asked, staring past him at Keira and pointedly refusing to shake his hand.

  “No. I’m on loan from Boston. Why?”

  “Because I’d like to see justice done,” Meghan said, “and I wonder if that’s even possible in this town.”

  “I promise you I’ll personally do all I can to find answers,” Nick vowed.

  Meghan finally took his hand, shaking it briefly, as she said, “Then I wish you the best.”

  They were in the patrol vehicle and headed down the road before Keira expressed the opinion she’d been holding back. “She seemed awfully nervous. I think she might know more than she’s admitting. Either that or she’s scared because of what happened to her cousin.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” Nick said.

  “You really think so?” Keira couldn’t have been more pleased if he’d recommended her for instant promotion.