Page 75 of Rules of Engagement

"Yes! Thank you. How do I find..."

"You don't," said O'Malley. He stood up and produced a card from his pocket. On it was printed a single number. "Call this number and leave a message if you need to reach me and I'll call you."

I tucked it into my jeans. "Thanks."

"I hope your fiancé recovers soon and may I say, it was a pleasure meeting you," he said as he stuck out his hand. I shook it, surprised to find it so warm. Donny opened the door and stood back, nodding to me as I left. I hurried along the corridor, since there was no good sense in lingering.

"Where were you?" asked Jord when I returned. Lily sat on one side of him and Daniel sat on the other side, occupying my former seat but he stood up and I dropped into it.

"I bumped into a friend of Solomon's in the corridor," I told them. "A man called Duncan O'Malley. He's some..."

"Duncan O'Malley?" Daniel grabbed his gun. Jord shot up straight and handed Poppy to Lily quickly before he reached for his weapon. "Where?" asked Daniel.

I pointed. "The storage closet next to the restroom." Both of them took off at a run.

Maddox jogged over to me. "What happened?" he asked.

"I got approached by Duncan O'Malley, an old..."

"O'Malley!" Maddox grabbed his gun. "Weapon out!" he told the police guard who immediately reached for his gun as Maddox ran past. Delgado darted into Solomon's room and took up his position, facing the door. Fletcher and Flaherty flanked me.

"What is going on?" asked Mom. "Why is everyone getting their guns out and why did Daniel and Jord just charge off with Maddox?"

"Is this grown-up Laser Quest?" asked Sam. "Can I have a gun too?"

"And me!" said his sister, Chloe. They pretended to zap each other with their fingers.

"Time to go home," said Traci, grabbing their hands and looking around for her oldest child. "Patrick!"

Maddox, Daniel and Jord strolled back, holstering their weapons. "Every room in that hallway is locked," said Daniel.

"No sign of Duncan O'Malley," added Jord.

"What got you all so worried about him?" I asked. "I was trying to tell you he's a friend, of sorts. He only came to offer his help."

"He's the state's biggest crime lord and he was once based in Montgomery. The only reason he's never been arrested is because no one can pin on anything on him," said Daniel. "Plus, he's supposed to be dead. If he's alive, then there's a bunch of other crimes in which I could name him as the prime suspect!"

"Oh, that," I replied weakly.

"It's just O'Malley," called Fletcher over his shoulder. Delgado and Flaherty both relaxed.

"You all know him?" I asked. They exchanged looks, then shook their heads. When Daniel and Jord both turned away, and Daniel waved to the officer to stand down, both of my colleagues nodded to me. Maddox watched with narrowed, worried eyes.

“Catching O’Malley is promotion worthy,” said Daniel. “Shame he wasn’t there.”

“I’m sorry, I must have been mistaken,” I said.

"If I'd known we were on high alert because of O'Malley, I wouldn't have worried just then," said Fletcher while Daniel and Jord were distracted.

"It doesn't worry you that a known criminal was here?"

"No, because he doesn't pose any threat to Solomon. Or to you," Fletcher added.

"I think we should go home," said Mom. She began to scoop up empty serving dishes to deposit in a plastic crate she pulled out from under the table. "It sounds like everyone is a little on edge."

"Thank you for doing this, Mom," I said, jumping up and hugging her. "It was really nice of you to feed everyone."

"Just doing my little bit to help the people who are helping Solomon. Also, I thought we were celebrating and I'm sorry we're not. Do you want to come home with us? Anastasia will be there too. She's been so helpful but she's also been here all day."

---