Page 4 of No Artful Refusal
Chapter 2
Chicago PD DetectivesCade Laurier and Laverne Hoffman walked out of Chief Rensler’s office in silence.They didn’t speak to each other or anyone else until they reached the parking lot.
“I tried to warn you,” Cade muttered as he unlocked his car.
Hoffman shook her head.“Can’t make me regret saving a life.”She slid into the passenger seat.“We didn’t break any laws.”
Cade wasn’t sure he agreed.The chief had raked them over the coals for “inviting” Devyn Norris to assist with two high-profile cases in recent months.As if he’d called her up and asked her to come along.
The first time, Devyn had shown up as a friend of the victim at what appeared to be a home invasion.And Devyn had involved herself in a cold case situation that turned into the apprehension of a serial killer.
Not his fault the media sniffed out her involvement there.This was the age of transparency, wasn’t it?
“In his mind, we used an outside consultant without prior approval,” he said, pulling out of the parking lot.
“Life.Saved.”
Rather than continuing to beat his head against the brick wall Hoffman had built, he changed tactics.“Would you call her in again?”
“Devyn?Hell, yes.In a heartbeat.”She shifted in the seat.“We should get lunch.”
“I’m gonna keep talking about this,” he warned.
She shrugged.“Then lunch is required.And you’re paying.”
He headed for their favorite pizza place near the office.He had no idea how Hoffman stayed so thin, considering the way she devoured deep dish pizza and a cola.Not diet.Not for Laverne.Apparently, her body thrived on every available calorie.
He felt a pang of envy.Cade wasn’t exactly a slouch, but staying fit required effort on his part.Fortunately for him, he’d recently remembered that time in the gym with weights and the treadmill was healthier than working cases around the clock until his head ached and his eyes burned.
“Why do you believe in her?”Cade asked, not bothering to use Devyn’s name.
Hoffman smiled.“You should probably blame my grandma,” she said.“She used to tell me stories about her grandmother and her grandmother’s sisters having the sight.”
“Seriously?”
“Come on.You’ve got to know there’s more to life than just what we can see.”
Thoughts like that made him uncomfortable.There were times when he still heard his girlfriend’s voice in the apartment.Impossible, but true.“Do I?What I can see is plenty terrifying.”Regular people and crimes were more than enough for him.
“Were you raised in church?”Hoffman challenged.
“Well, yeah,” he admitted.
“Do you still go?”
Cade shook his head.Since the deaths of his girlfriend and the baby she’d been carrying, Cade was on the outs with faith in general.
Sympathy filled Hoffman’s gaze.“I get it.All I’m saying is the women in my family are big on church.And sometimes, especially in generations past, the women in my family felt like they had an extra blessing.An extra gift.Those women knew things.We don’t see it as a conflict.”
“And you think Devyn has this extra blessing.”
Her dark eyebrows arched high.“After everything she’s helped with, I can’t believe you’re going to sit there and eat pizza and tell me you don’t.”
He tapped the edge of his plate.“What’s the pizza got to do with it?”
“Pizza this good should be reserved for true believers,” she said.
