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Saturday
It was eleven a.m. before Finn dragged himself into the station the next morning. The media was already there en masse, but the captain was happily answering all their questions, so Finn managed to sneak past the crowd without their notice.
As he strolled into the shared detectives’ office, he was surprised to see Detective Perry Dawes at his desk. A pair of crutches leaned on the wall behind him.
“Didn’t you have a couple more weeks of leave?” Finn asked.
Dawes looked up from his email. “One more day at home, my wife and daughters were gonna make me take up knitting. Do you know what it’s like to be surrounded by women?”
“I have a fair idea.”
“I was going berserk. Besides, I hear you’ve been hogging the good cases and getting all the glory.”
“Not all the glory.” Sara Melendez walked through the door. “I got some, too.” Sliding her purse into a drawer, she clanged it shut and winced at the noise. Her head probably throbbed as much as his did this morning.
Miki came in, carrying several sheets of paper in her hands and several rolled-up maps tucked under one arm. Heading for Finn’s desk, she dumped her load there. “Here are all the addresses I could come up with for old farm buildings in Kittitas and Grant counties. And you’ll want these maps. And the captain says that you need to join a press briefing in the roll call room”—she dramatically checked her watch—“ten minutes ago.” The aide turned toward Sara Melendez’s desk. “You too, Melendez.” She left.
“Oh, the glory of it all,” Sara complained, rubbing her forehead.
Dawes pointed at the heap of materials Miki had left on Finn’s desk. “Bring all that stuff over here.”
“Really?” Finn gladly gathered up all the papers and transported them across the room.
“I may not be able to chase perps right now,” Dawes said, “But I can detect from behind my computer. Maybe I can turn up a few old victims and resolve some cold cases, take the load off you, Finn. Then I can score some points, too, wrap up Sutter and Vollmar.”
Melendez crossed her arms. “What about me?”
They both ignored her as Special Agent Alice Foster entered. Halfway to Finn’s desk, she stopped and fisted her hands on her hips, a wry smile on her lips. “I can’t believe you solved it without me, Finn.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t wait for you to get back from Spokane.”
“Here’s the unlocked cell phone.” Pulling it from her jacket pocket, she clapped it down on his desk. “Not that you need it now. And by the way, Cooper Trigg will be transported tomorrow to Grant County for prosecution for the stolen credit cards. You might want to ask the Irelands if they want to add vandalism, too, for keying Darcy’s car.”
“Thank you.”
She folded her arms, echoing Melendez’s posture. “I’m glad it wasn’t human trafficking. Well, sort of. Now I have no reason to stick around. Congratulations, Detective.” She faced Melendez. “And congrats to you, too, Sara, on nailing your arsonists.”
“Thanks for your help.” Finn extended his unbandaged left hand to Foster. “Your assistance expedited the case. Had we been one day later, Mia Valdez would be dead.”
“Matthew Finn,” she said, taking his hand. “I hope our paths cross again someday.” Then she winked at him. “You could always make that happen.”
“Uh.” He couldn’t think of an appropriate response.
“That’s what I thought,” Agent Foster said. “Have fun with Grace and the gorillas.”
