Page 39 of Laying it Bare on the Run

Sarge was out in the lobby talking with an officer I didn’t recognize. When he noticed our entrance, he shook the guy’s hand and then came over to us. “Let’s go talk in my office. You came at a good time. We shouldn’t be interrupted.”

Harper and I followed Greg down the hall. His office was the first room on the right. He closed the door behind us and gestured for us to take the seats in front of his desk.

Harper lowered herself into one of the leather box seats.

When I sat down in the other chair, she scooted hers over so that the two were touching.

I reached over and took her hand in mine, resting it on her thigh.

“You have nothing to be nervous about, Harper.” Greg smiled at her. “You look as if you think you’re the one being interrogated. I just want some details to help me put some sort of investigation together here. This is not something we’d normally look into but the events of yesterday made it easier for me to devote some time to this situation.” His blue eyes met her gaze. “I need you to be as detailed as possible with everything you know about this Waik guy. But please refrain from giving me information you just suspect. I need what you saw and what you heard.” He pulled a legal pad over in front of him and clicked open a pen. “And please talk slowly, as I have a hard enough time reading my handwriting when I’m not writing quickly.”

While Harper detailed her dealings with Waik, I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles, hoping to give her a small sense of calm.

When she finished about ten minutes later, Greg tapped his pen on the pad. “You witnessed your brother’s murder?”

Harper took in a shuddering breath. “I couldn’t come forward to the police. I’d been fooled by a dirty cop before and worried that since I was probably the only testimony against him, I would be killed before he even made it to trial or worse, sold to someone in another country as a sex slave. I couldn’t risk it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell the authorities. I just ran.” Some tears slipped down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, Harper. It’s not that you’re ignoring his criminal activity. You were worried for your safety.” I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed her palm.

Greg shook his head. “We don’t like when witnesses don’t come forward but I completely understand your unease. However, if we would be able to bring him up on multiple charges, would you be willing to take the stand then? Your testimony would be vital to help prove he murdered your brother. The cops still don’t have any leads on that investigation. I inquired but I didn’t mention anything about knowing your whereabouts.”

“Thank you for that.” Harper started to tremble, the hand that I held vibrating with her nerves. “If I could have an almost one hundred percent guarantee that it wouldn’t cost me my life or freedom, then yes I would take the stand. To get my brother justice.”

Not caring I was in my boss’ office; I pulled Harper into my lap. Then I cupped her face with my hands. “I’d be right there with you every step of the way, Harper. You’re not alone in this.”

“We’d put together a strong case before we went after him. Slime like him slip through the cracks too easily. We would have a shit ton of evidence and witnesses before we did anything. And you’d be under twenty four hour protection just as a precaution.” Greg ran a hand over his bald head. “Can you think of anything else, Harper?”

“No. My other stuff is just suspicion that I know will come to light, but no that’s it.”

Sarge nodded. “If you think of anything else, let me know immediately. This isn’t much to go on but it’s a start.”

“Thank you, Greg. And thank you for giving me time off.” Lifting Harper off of my lap, I stood and extended my hand. “I know this goes against our norm here but if we . . .whenwe stop this guy we’ll be doing a great deal of good.”

Reaching across his desk, he shook mine. “I don’t like the fact we had a dirty cop working for us. Even though he was only here a few days, the stench of his corrupt behavior lingers and it pisses me off. And if we can bring down his boss too, I’m all in. Keep in touch.” He smirked at me. “Although you really don’t have a problem doing that, do you, Rush?”

I shook my head. “You’re such a bastard.”

Harper’s mouth gaped open and Greg and I burst into laughter.

“He has a list of shit to call me too. It’s okay. I’m not getting fired.” I led Harper out of his office.

Out in the hall, we ran into Ben and Mike.

Mike clapped me on the shoulder. “You taking advantage of some vacation time?” His eyes swept over Harper and he waggled his eyebrows.

A blush rose up her cheeks so I punched him in the shoulder. “We were thinking of meeting up with you assholes tonight for some beers but not if you’re going to be a douche.”

“Sorry, well not really. You know I don’t have a filter.” Mike shrugged.

“And you probably don’t have anyone warming your bed then.” Harper retorted.

Mike chuckled. “Yeah, I might have embarrassed her but she knows how to dish it out too. I like her, Rush. You guys have to come out tonight.”

“We’ll think about it.”

“I know we’ll need some drinks. Your lucky ass gets to kick back on the couch while we’re out saving the town.” Mike grinned.

“Actually, I couldn’t wait to get to work today. I needed to get away.” Ben sighed. “The fiancé was flipping out this morning because she broke her phone and thought she had lost all of her pictures. I mean who the hell manages to run over their phone withtheircar? Anyway, she was damn near hysterical. It took me a half an hour just to calm her down enough to listen to me and then I had to actually prove to her that she didn’t lose them. She wouldn’t just take my word for it. I had to show her before I could go to work.” He ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. It was messier than usual; a testament to the morning the poor guy had endured.

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