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Sebastian
I close the door of the interrogation room behind me as I exit. I’ve spent the past four hours trying to get a thirty-two-year-old woman to confess to killing her husband.
I already have all the evidence I believe we need to put her away for the rest of her life, but a confession will seal the deal.
Brant and I tapped out to let a pair of female investigators take a run at the suspect. They’re both highly skilled, and I have no doubt that by the end of the night, the district attorney’s office will be filing a first-degree murder charge against the demure blonde-haired woman who shoved a knife into her husband’s neck while he was fast asleep.
“You heading home?” Brant asks from behind his desk.
“Not yet.” I drop into my office chair. I never leave when a suspect is on the brink of a confession. This is my case, and I’ll follow through with the necessary paperwork tonight. I don’t want there to be any delay once this file is handed over to the district attorney for prosecution.
“I did it.”
I look over at Brant. “Did what?”
“Popped the question.” He smiles. “Guess what she said?”
“I hope to hell it was yes.” I raise my chin. “That grin on your face is giving everything away here, Brant.”
His smile only widens. “She cried, Sebastian. Remy cried when I got down on one knee. I couldn’t have scripted the night better.”
“I’m happy for you,” I say genuinely. “Don’t fuck it up between now and the walk down the aisle.”
“That’s happening in the next few weeks.”
I look down at my desk and the mountain of paperwork I need to get through tonight. Brant has just as much waiting for him, but the guy is lost back in the moment when his girlfriend said yes.
I should have figured it out hours ago. He wasn’t invested in the job today. His mind was somewhere else. Now, I know where.
“What’s the rush?” I pick up a pen. “Don’t most women need months to plan their wedding day?”
His gaze travels around the squad room. It’s late afternoon and a hub of activity at the moment. That doesn’t bode well for the commissioner’s promise to lower murder rates in Manhattan.
“Can I tell you something?” Brant leans over his desk. “I’ll need you to keep it between the two of us for now. I’m not going to the lieutenant with this until I know for sure.”
I already know the next words out of his mouth.
I’ve heard the same preface to a confession from a partner before.
He’s on the hunt for a new job. One that doesn’t require him to look at dead bodies on a regular basis.
“You have my word I’ll keep it quiet,” I assure him.
“I’m looking at joining the force in Chicago.”
“Chicago?” That surprises me. I was expecting him to tell me that he was transferring to robbery or narcotics. I didn’t foresee a move to another state. “Why Chicago?”
“Remy misses her folks.” He surveys the room again. “You know what they say about a happy wife makes a happy life.”
It’s a sacrifice not many men in this room would be willing to make.
“The lieutenant has pull in Chicago.” I point at her open office door. “She came up the ranks there before she moved here. Talk to her. She’ll be pissed when she finds out you’re headed there and you didn’t ask for her help.”
His gaze follows my hand. “You’re not setting me up, are you?”
I shake my head. “Christine’s door is always open for a reason, Brant. Get in there and tell her what’s on your mind. You owe it to her.”
He pushes back from his desk. “The wedding’s here in New York, so I expect you to show.”
“If you let me know when and where I’ll be there.” I flip through the stack of papers in front of me.
“You’ll bring someone, right?”
I look up. “No plus ones for me.”
“Remy will insist.” He straightens his suit jacket. “There has to be one woman you’re willing to sit next to through the ceremony and dinner.”
Matilda.
I could sit next to her for hours, days if need be. I didn’t want to leave her this morning, but duty called.
“I’ll give it some thought,” I reply. “Go talk to the lieutenant about Chicago and then burn through that paperwork on your desk. You’re still pulling your load until you walk out this squad room for the last time.”
***
“You’re fucking kidding me, Julian.” I lean back into the worn leather of his sofa. “I came here to decompress and now this?”
“What the hell is your problem?” My closest friend raises a brow. “I just asked you to be my best man. This isn’t the reaction I was hoping for.”
I listened to Brant talk about his pending wedding and potential move to Chicago less than two hours ago. It means I need to break in yet another new partner. I don’t know if I have it in me.
I was on my way home from work when Julian called and asked me to stop by his apartment. I expected Maya to be here, but she’s having dinner with Matilda.
I was about to tell Julian that I’d trade places with Maya in a heartbeat and then he threw the best man pitch my way.
He’s been engaged to Maya for more than a year. I half-expected the two of them to elope at some point given how busy they both are. Maya’s devoted herself full-time to real estate and Julian heads up his family’s hotel chain.
“What about Griffin?” I ask because I know Julian must have considered our mutual close friend, Griffin Kent, as a contender to stand next to him when he takes his vows.
“You haven’t talked to him?” Julian eyes me from where he’s sitting in an armchair.
I shake my head. “Not recently. The last time was two weeks ago.”
Griffin’s engaged too. It’s a running joke that I’m the guy no one wants. My best friends are clueless to the fact that I’m not about to ask a woman to make the unique sacrifices that are expected when you’re married to a member of the NYPD.
“His caseload has been brutal.” Julian scrubs the back of his neck with his hand. “I thought he’d find some time between court dates to squeeze in a quick call to you.”
Griffin’s a divorce attorney. His job was his life too until he met his fiancée, Piper Ellis.
“You two are obviously keeping secrets from me.” I cast him a look. “Am I not part of the club anymore?”
He laughs. “Griffin’s got a favor to ask you too.”
“A favor?” I blink. “What favor?”
“A once in a lifetime favor.” He glances down at his watch. “All I can say is you’re the best man we know.”
“For fuck’s sake.” I laugh. “You’re not saying that he’s going to ask me to be his best man too, are you? What the hell is this? What if I say no to you both?”
“You won’t.” Julian tugs his cell from his pants pocket. “You’ll say yes to us both.”
“You’re right.” I move to stand. “I hope I get a discount on multiple tuxedo rentals.”
He eyes the screen of his phone. “Maya wants us to join her and Tilly for dinner at Axel Tribeca? Are you hungry?”
I ate pizza at the station before I left work, but I’m not about to turn down an invitation to see my roommate outside of our apartment. “Count me in.”
