Page 17 of Through the Fire
“Justice. Buddy.” Hugh crouched down next to the hound. “You need to stop trying so hard. Desperation is never attractive.”
The dogs both cocked their heads at him as if they could understand, and Kit laughed.
Straightening, Hugh loaded Lexi and then waved for Kit to do the same with Justice. They watched for a few moments to make sure the dogs wouldn’t have any issues with sharing the space, but they were fine. Lexi sat by the door, staring out the window, and Justice flopped down next to her, rolling his eyes up at her worshipfully.
“I don’t think he took my advice,” Hugh said as he headed for the driver’s seat.
With another snort of laughter, Kit rounded the car and climbed in on the other side. “He just needs to learn these life lessons for himself, I think.”
Even as her laughter faded, her smile remained. Their banter, as silly as it was, lit a spark of hope that she could find that same sense of camaraderie she’d had at her last department. Her move to a desolate, postapocalyptic deathscape might have been a good idea after all.
Glancing out the window, she took in the first responders clustered around the human remains inside the burned shell of what used to be a house, and she grimaced. Or maybe not.
Chapter 6
As Hugh pulled away, Kit’s hands twitched, and she clasped them together in her lap. She was too much of a control freak to be a good passenger and would much rather be driving, but she was going to have to suck it up until her probationary training period was over and she could start making the decisions again. She couldn’t wait.
“Get the chief to set you up with all of your equipment.” Hugh turned east onto the main road running through town. “If you’re going on calls, you’ll need gear as well as a vehicle. It’s not safe for you to be on your own without a radio, and you’ll need an ID.”
“I will.” The thought of having a radio again made relief spread through her until the rest of Hugh’s words registered. “I’m going to be on my own?” Since she’d only worked at one other department, she’d only gone through the probationary training process once, but she didn’t remember being let loose by herself for at least a month. She wasn’t sure if Hugh’s plan to let her fly solo on her first day was a good sign or a bad one.
As if he could hear her reservations, Hugh gave her a sideways smirk. “Nothing dangerous. You’ll be taking witness statements.”
“What will you be doing while I’m knocking on the neighbors’ doors?” she asked, a little wary of this plan.
He offered her a look of innocence that only made her suspicions deepen. “Other stuff related to the case. The state investigators are going to be helping, but we’re still shorthanded for a major case like this. If we split up, we’ll cover more ground.”
Although Kit couldn’t argue with that logic, she had a feeling that Hugh had an ulterior motive, one that involved keeping her at the periphery of this investigation. The amount of suspicion her new partners had for her seemed extreme, even for an insular, small-town force. She wondered why as Hugh pulled into the small lot by the station.
Instead of getting out, he looked at her expectantly. “I let the chief know I was dropping you off. He’ll be here in just a bit to get you set up with equipment and a car.”
“Why the chief?” Kit opened the door but didn’t get out. “Isn’t there a sergeant or lieutenant on duty?”
His mouth tightened like it did when his leg was bothering him, even though he hadn’t moved it. “Not right now.”
“Is that a winter thing or a small town thing?” At her old department, Kit had hardly ever even gotten glimpses of the chief. It seemed strange to have him so involved in such minor stuff.
“Neither.” Hugh’s frown deepened, and he stared through the windshield, looking more furious than she’d seen him so far. “It’s what happens when your lieutenant turns out to be a back-stabbing criminal.”
“Oh.” She blinked, unsure how to respond. This job was not at all what she’d expected. “Sorry to hear that. Um…thanks for the ride.” Feeling awkward, she hopped out of the car and got Justice out of the back seat. He was reluctant to leave Lexi, but obeyed when Kit ordered him out. “I’ll let you know if I have any luck finding a witness.”
As she closed the back door, Hugh rolled down the front passenger window and studied her for a moment, his unhappy expression fading with the change of subject. “You have your personal gun?”
“Yes.” She felt the reassuring weight of her Glock where it rested in its holster in the small of her back, under her coat. Until she was in uniform, she preferred to have her weapon concealed, rather than on her hip, since people tended to get a bit antsy at what would appear to be a civilian open-carrying.
“Good,” he said casually. “Be careful. Some people around here tend to be…nervous when strangers knock on their doors, and pretty much everyone owns at least one gun.” With that unnerving advice, he rolled up the window.
Kit stared at the back of the squad car as it did a three-point turn and then took off the way they’d just come.
“Seriously?” she grumbled under her breath. Justice cocked his head at the sound of her voice. “All my witnesses are armed and paranoid? What kind of hellhole is this?”
When Justice didn’t answer, Kit sighed and headed into the station, reminding herself that at least she’d be getting a radio.
“Have to look on the bright side of things,” she said.
Justice thumped his tail against her legs, making her smile. She wished she had even half of her dog’s optimism. For Justice, every side was sunny.
