Sitting behind the wheel, she executed a couple of quick leg lifts. Not too painful. I’ll be able to use my good foot to brake and accelerate. She pulled her car away from the house and made her way to the main road. Driving slowly, she inhaled the crisp air from her open window, smelling the pine and a waft of burning wood. She didn't feel alarmed, associating the smell with Christmas logs in fireplaces.
A glance in the rearview mirror revealed no other vehicles. She sighed. And here I thought they might come after me. Oh well. They know this was a job and that I'd have to go sometime.
Once in town she pulled to the side of the road, right under the Welcome to Lily Rock sign. Phone in hand, she placed a call. The captain barked into her ear. "I have a day off. Unless you're on fire, call me tomorrow!"
"Wait a minute," she told him before he could hang up. "I'm driving home. As soon as I get in the door I'll send a report." She thought of her cold apartment where she'd be alone with her thoughts. No one to share the day with, not even a soft warm puppy to cuddle.
"Okay then, fill me in quick. Tell me what you found out." His voice sounded slightly less barbed.
"Three Lily Rock residents were responsible for those emails. They were in cahoots." She didn't bother to name the culprits. "They had their reasons for making it anonymous. This is a small town, and there's a group called the Old Rockers who might have taken offense."
"Stop it!" he yelled. "None of that we're-only-a-small-town nonsense. Just the facts."
"I think a coroner's report about the dead body might be in order. But it looks and feels like an accident. So does the fire. Probably someone's motorcycle sparked and lit up the weeds nearby. It's dry up here until the first snow. Quite a blaze. You might be able to get someone for unintentional arson due to negligence, but you'd have trouble finding out which bike it was."
When the captain didn't say anything, Jets kept talking. "For the record, they found out I'm a cop."
"Did they now?" He sounded as if he'd already suspected. "Did you tell them?"
She wanted to deny that she'd given up her undercover identity. So unprofessional. But she didn't want to make up a lie either. So she affirmed his suspicions. "I told them. Had to—they'd figured it out already."
"And you got too close to the very people you were sent to observe. Rookie mistake." He didn't hold back the sound of condemnation in his voice.
Jets sighed. "Yes, sir." Even I can't argue with that.
His gruff voice broke the silence. "Are we done yet? I have a turkey to baste and another call coming through. Isn't it supposed to be a sacred holiday?"
"Are you religious, sir?" she asked.
"I believe in the religion of love, Jets. Plus I'm hanging up now. Goodbye."
She tossed her cell on the passenger seat and adjusted her knee with both hands. Once comfortable she glanced into the rearview mirror. To her surprise, Michael Bellemare's truck had pulled up behind her. He was talking into his cell. He grinned and waved. She dipped her head, hiding a smirk.
In a minute her passenger-side door opened. He leaned in and grabbed her cell off the seat. Then he sat down, slamming the door and handing the phone back to her.
"Who were you talking to on your cell?" Suspicion came with Janis's question.
He hid a grin. "The LA police force must work twenty-four seven. I was speaking to the captain. Your captain, in fact."
"So you're best friends now?"
"He's kind of a tough guy," Michael answered.
She poked his arm. "And how would you know that?"
"Oh, I called him a day ago and we chatted a long time. I wanted to ask if you were who I thought you were—you know, a cop."
"Did he tell you I am still at the academy and this assignment was his big idea?"
"Not at first, but eventually I wore him down."
Caps never said he outed me before I outed myself. I'm gonna have a word with him tomorrow. Looks like the rookie mistake is on him.
Michael turned his body to face her. If it had been earlier, she'd have expected him to move closer and finally deliver that long-awaited kiss. When nothing happened, her inner voice took over. Come on, Janis. You know he's hot.
She waited but still no zing. She felt a certain warmth and okay, a great fondness for Michael, but nothing more. Whatever she'd felt earlier was gone. When Michael didn't make a move, she broke the silence.
"So I gotta go. Heading back down the hill."
He chuckled. "Well that's the thing. You see, I know something that your captain may not have told you. He decided on the phone just now."
Hair rose on her neck. "I doubt that."
"Let's just say, it's Christmas and I want to save you a trip." He scratched behind his ear. "Plus you have a broken ankle. I think it's a bit unsafe to be driving just yet."
"What are you talking about?"
"So I swore to your captain that I wouldn't tell you first. But my fingers were crossed." He held them in the air as if to prove his point. "Congratulations, you're being assigned to Lily Rock permanently. Your captain is going to personally oversee your last semester at the academy so that you can get to work with a field training officer for the next few months. He calls it a hybrid training, like student teaching. Then you move to Lily Rock. Our first official police presence.
"The Old Rockers will agree tomorrow," Michael kept talking. "Meadow is already on board. They will talk to Arlo and Cay out of courtesy, but they won't object.
"Once I show the Old Rockers my plan to refurbish an old rental next to the library for a new constabulary, I know they’ll be all for it. And then we'll be ready to move you in. It will be basic at first. But after a while we'll build a state-of-the-art facility with glass doors and surveillance. Cells with programmable keypads. The works."
"What are you talking about?" Janis shook her head.
He stared at her. "You want this. You know you do."
Her jaw clenched. I don't like it when people tell me what I do and don't want. Kind of... But before she could object, she had to admit he was right.
The minute I ran into that burning building all my doubts about being a small-town cop were gone. When I got here I thought I’d made a mistake and that small towns would be a waste of time. Until I rushed into that building…
She looked over at Michael. It was never about my feelings toward Lily Rock. It was about their feelings for me. They picked me almost from the moment I walked into the library and Meadow offered me a place to stay.
She reached over, patting his cheek as if he were a schoolboy needing a compliment. "Okay then. I guess it's all settled. I'm moving to Lily Rock."
He looked a bit surprised. "I thought it would take more persuasion."
She grinned. "But just so you know, the two of us?" She pointed to him and then to herself. "We're not a thing. We might have been at one time."
"You mean that you no longer find me attractive?" His eyes grew wide with playful dismay. He looked more amused than upset. Then he shrugged. "I know what you mean. It's like we're meant to be close, but just friends." A faraway look came over his eyes, his face filled with longing.
But that look isn't for me.
"But I do feel like I've always known you," she told him. "And here I thought you were a one-night stand, but it looks like there's more to it than that." She patted his shoulder. "All of this kind of reminds me of that old movie with Humphrey Bogart."
His eyes lit up. "With Claude Rains! Casablanca is one of my top ten films. I'm Bogart, of course."
"Just remember I'm the cop." Her chin jutted out.
He glanced out the windshield. Her eyes followed his gaze. Snow had accumulated on the hood of her truck, flakes still drifting from above. When he turned to face her, his eyes were warm. "Let's just say what we've got here—"
"Is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," she finished his sentence.
Their eyes met. Both nodded in agreement.
"Okay then, since there's no hurry, let's turn around and go back to Meadow's. I'm having another cinnamon roll for lunch. I'm also going to pet Maguire. What are you gonna do?"
"Follow you and do the same. Once the snow melts we'll find you a place. And by the way." He pointed to the sign overhead. "Welcome to Lily Rock."