Crossroads (A Spense & Dev Story) - Episode 7
© H.C. Bentley 2019. All Rights Reserved.
At home later that evening, in the cooling Mississippi air, Nick sat on his back porch swing and sipped his beer as he thought over the interaction at the gas station earlier in the day. There was something about the way Jo had visibly jerked at the description of the suspect, just a split second before she’d caught herself and pulled her professionalism back on like one would a warm sweater. She hadn’t been able to bring the color back into her pale face as quickly, though.
There was something there. And, since she’d only been in Laurelton a short time, it had to be something that happened in Macon.
Nick gave the swing a little push with his foot and let his mind drift.
He couldn’t help but wonder why a detective-one with a stellar record if he understood things right-would leave a big city station in Georgia to come work in a small town at a post with less than thirty people. She had no family in the area, which he knew since she’d told him so over lunch. In fact, there was no one she had a personal connection to in Laurelton. So why the hell pick up your entire life to move here?
A fresh start, she’d said when he’d mentioned it. Something new, a slower pace. But there had been a hesitation to her voice, a slight edge that had warned him this topic was off limits. Which, of course, only made him want to dig deeper.
He couldn’t go to the captain. Well, he could but he knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere, since the captain toed the twin lines of privacy and policy.
Asking Jo directly was out of the question, as she’d firmly drawn her own line he knew he wasn’t allowed to cross.
Draping his arm along the back of the swing, Nick tapped with his index finger as he sipped and considered his choices.
Her file wasn’t an option, as it wasn’t available to him. And, even if it was, it was another line he’d be hesitant to cross. There were some things you just didn’t do when it came to your fellow officers. Not to mention internal affairs, all two officers of that department, would have a field day with the situation.
His finger stopped its random tapping as an idea occurred to him. He may not be able to access confidential files, but certain things were matters of public record. Released to the media, even. And there, Nick thought, was where he’d find his answers.
Hiking up a hip, Nick used his free hand to tug his phone from the pocket of his shorts. Pulling up the internet, he tapped in Jo’s name, along with a couple of other pertinent search words, and waited the few seconds it took for the results to be listed. And within the first few links, a headline caught his eye.
Local Detective Killed In Own Home By Suspected Serial Killer
Clicking on the link, Nick began to read the article and, before he even reached the end, knew exactly why Jo had come to Laurelton.
“Damn it.” Tossing his phone onto the seat, Nick pushed himself up from the swing to pace.
No wonder she’d closed herself off to any discussion on her previous assignment. She’d lost her partner in a very violent manner and, maybe worse, the person responsible had slipped through her fingers. He could understand her wanting to be reassigned, but to move to another state? The decision told Nick that while the fresh start reasoning held true, she was also hiding. Hiding from her failure and maybe even from the suspect still at large.
Reaching the end of the porch, Nick pivoted to head back in the direction from which he’d started. Taking a long pull from the half-empty bottle, he considered how he’d handle this new information. It had to be handled, he decided, as it had an impact on how Jo would handle this current case. Hell, she’d had a shock at the mere description of their perp. If it wasn’t handled, and handled the right way, Jo could potentially be taken off the case, reassigned, or even benched until she could go through psych evals again. And while he’d initially found himself hesitant to take on a partner, Nick found himself thinking he’d like to keep her around for a while. There was something there, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It worried him a little that whatever it was, it wasn’t entirely professional.
Shaking his head, Nick reached over to snatch his phone from the swing. He drank again as he listened to the number he’d called ring once, then again before being answered.
“Hello?”
“Ike, it’s Nick. Sorry to call you at home.”
“Nick? Everything okay?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” The pacing picked up again. “Are you busy? I need to talk to you about something.”
“No, I’ve got time. What’s up?”
“I don’t know how to start this so I’ll just come out and ask. Did you know about Jo’s last partner?”
“Yes. I take it she told you?”
“No.”
“So, how did you find out?”
“Long story short?” Nick hesitated, not wanting to tattle to the boss about Jo’s reaction at the gas station. “I knew there was something there she wasn’t telling me, so I Googled her and found the news articles.”
“Christ, I don’t know whether to be impressed or disappointed.” Nick could all but see Ike shaking his head. “That’s her business to tell.”
“And you don’t think I, as her new partner, need to know?”
“It wasn’t my place to say anything, Nick.” A sigh, followed by the scraping sound of a hand running over a day’s worth of beard, came across the line. “I talked to her commander before I decided to hire her. She, the commander, and I had a long talk about the whole situation. Jo’s been through the psych evals, the counseling, all of it. She’s cleared for duty. Does it mean she’s over the hell she’s been through? No. And she probably never will be.”
Nick let the silence hang as he waited for his captain to speak again.
“Okay, should I have given you a heads-up that she’d had some issues in her previous command, without giving full details? Yes. In trying not to violate her privacy, I potentially put both you and her at risk. For that I apologize.” Another sigh. “What brought all this on, Nick?”
“Off the record?”
“Fine. Off the record.”
Nick filled him in on what had happened at the gas station and her reaction when he pressed for more details.
“Do you think it’s going to be an issue?” Ike asked when Nick finished. “Is it going to affect things in the field?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. I just know she didn’t have a normal reaction to the mere description of a suspect. What if we come across a guy who looks like the serial she left in Georgia? Who knows how she’ll react.” Nick gave a frustrated groan. “I feel like I’m ratting out my partner to IA.”
“No. You’re expressing concern to your commanding officer.” The was a brief pause on the other end of the line. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’re going to continue to keep this off the record and just between us. If the higher ups hear about it, there’s going to be problems. But I need you to keep an eye on her, Nick, and let me know if anything else happens.”
“Figured as much.” Running a hand through his hair, Nick closed his eyes as he spoke. “I don’t like this, Ike. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“I know, but there isn’t much we can do about it tonight. Try to put this aside for now and get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The click in his ear told Nick the conversation was over and he wouldn’t get anywhere else with the situation tonight. Frustrated, he snagged his now-empty beer bottle and did the best he could to follow his captain’s orders. But he knew it was going to be a long night.