Page 16 of Shield
He seemed okay with the standard cop sidestep. I wasn’t about to divulge any information to someone who might let something slip. We liked being a step ahead of the criminals, if at all possible. Not that the people in the snapshot were criminals, but one learned really quick not to ignore any possibility. Sometimes the most innocent-looking people were the most dangerous.
“Most are employees. A few have moved on,” he explained, his shoulders up around his ears. He was getting tense.
“Any family members?” Mack asked as I worked up my best hangover smile.
“Not in that picture,” Lazlo replied stiffly. “I know that Joe takes it down sometimes and has it on his desk, but maybe he’s just reliving the memory or… look, if someone is in trouble…”
“No one is in trouble.” I stood slowly. “We’re just looking into all possibilities. Could you possibly get us a list of the people in this photo? Names, addresses, that sort of thing. It would save us a lot of time compared to doing it back at the precinct.”
“Okay sure.” He seemed displeased to do as requested, but ten minutes later, we had a list of the people who were in that missing photo. “Heloise might know more about who’s in the photo; she’s been here longer than me.”
“On it,” Mack said and wandered away to find the poor woman from the closet.
I met Mack back outside, the sun making me squint, so I put my sunglasses back on and waited to see if he had anything to add.
“Nothing more to add to what Lazlo told us,” he said. “She gave us the same names he did, in between crying.”
I wanted to feel sympathy, but we really needed names.
“So, out of the ten people in the old photo, only one is working today? A nurse, Belinda Waters.”
“Yep, I asked her to come find us after finishing with her patient.”
She arrived as if we’d conjured her, a small woman who looked close to retirement. She didn’t have much to add. She remembered the photo, knew it was something Joe kept on his board, didn’t recall anything special happening the day it was taken, and that was it.
We’d talked with her for about five minutes before she was called off to assist a stand-in physician from the medical center two blocks over.
“Shall we spend the rest of the afternoon visiting these hikers?”
“Elena said to be home by six.”
I assured him we would be done by then.
We weren’t. He got bitched at, but got fed. I got to go home and spend the night with a dead orchid and a microwave meal.
Who was the winner in that scenario?
ChapterSeven
Oliver
The next morning,I made breakfast mechanically, my thoughts not on the scrambled eggs or the toast, but somehow, after yet another restless night, I was replaying the attack, and the blood, and the hateful threats to Joe, plus a whole load of other things that left me feeling antsy. In among all that were green eyes and a tired smile and stubble, and hell, only Daisy and Scarlett chatting about their plans for the weekend with Jamie stopped my thoughts from spiraling, their voices a comforting buzz in the background.
“Daddy, you’re burning the eggs!” Daisy’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I snapped back to the present and stared at the pan, where the once yellow eggs had taken on a decidedly brown tinge.
“Ah, shoot,” I muttered, taking the pan off the heat and scraping the contents into the garbage. “Sorry, Daisy. Guess I got a bit distracted.”
Daisy climbed onto a stool at the kitchen counter, her feet swinging.
“It’s okay. Can I have cereal instead?” she asked, her bright smile enough to brush away all the dark parts.
I tried to avoid too much sugary cereal for them, but hell, I’d burned the damn eggs, so cereal was a good option.
“Of course, munchkin,” I replied, ruffling her blonde hair as I reached for the cereal box with its colorful cartoon character on the front.
I poured her a bowl, guided her as she added milk, the tip of her tongue poking out in concentration, and watched her dive in with enthusiasm.
