Chapter Two

 

Reed Stevens dropped onto the cracked vinyl chair across the desk from Captain Roberts. Last night’s raid had been a good one, and Reed was still running high on adrenaline. Things had gotten a little dicey towards the end, but good police work, combined with a daring maneuver, saved the day.

“So, Cap. What did you want to see me about?”

The Captain leaned back in his chair and silently studied Reed until he felt like he was back in the principal’s office, charged with breaking the plaster bust of Dr. Ellis, the school district superintendent.

“Is something wrong, Cap?”

“Why don’t you tell me, Stevens? Why don’t you tell me what the hell you were thinking when you charged into that hotel room, gun first, putting your partner and everyone else on that team in extreme danger?”

Reed jerked to attention. Where the hell had the Captain heard his version of events? “It wasn’t like that, Cap. I had a split second to make a decision. The snitch ratted us out, and Anderson was in that room alone with those guys. God knows what might have happened if I hadn’t gone in.”

“That’s not the report I got. I have an officer willing to testify that you jeopardized the entire operation, that you blazed in with the intention of killing every man in that room, and that if it hadn’t been for Anderson’s quick thinking, he’d have ended up shot.” The Captain swung his body forward until his feet hit the ground with a thump and leaned his elbows on the desk. He pinned Reed in place with a steely glare, as though daring him to contradict the accusation.

But contradict it, he would. Every man on that team knew the only reason Anderson was still alive was because Reed had risked his life to save his partner. “Have you talked to Jeremy about what happened? It was his neck on the line, so I’d think he’d be a reliable witness.” As hard as he tried, Reed was unable to keep a touch of a sneer from his voice.

The Captain frowned. “Not yet. He hasn’t come in this morning. But I’ll ask him as soon as he checks in.”

Reed breathed a sigh of relief. At least now he knew it wasn’t his partner who’d betrayed him. And once Jeremy backed up his story, all this would go away.

“One thing you need to know, Stevens. It doesn’t matter what Anderson says, I’m pulling you off narcotics for a while. Putting you on vice.”

Reed surged to his feet. “You can’t do that!”

The Captain’s eyebrows rose to sharp peaks. “I can, and I have. The paperwork has already gone in. Look, you’re a good officer but you’ve gotten too cocky, too willing to take unnecessary risks. You’re going to get yourself killed, or get one of the other guys killed. It’s just temporary, until you’ve had a chance to de-stress a bit, but it is official.”

Reed clenched and unclenched his fists, trying desperately to get control of his anger. He was only weeks away from a promotion, and this would kill his chances. If he ever found out who’d ratted on him....

***

“Allied Electronics,” Cassie purred in her best receptionist voice as she answered the phone. Belinda the Barracuda had yanked her from her regular job as an administrative assistant and put her on the front desk to fill in for the absent receptionist. Cassie hated answering the phones, and Belinda knew it.

This was her punishment for being late to work. Again.

“Is this Cassie Mills?” The voice on the other end sounded suspiciously like Hazel Martin.

“Yes, it is. How can I help you?” God, if it was Hazel calling her at work, she’d die of embarrassment.

“This is Hazel. I was at that party you gave last week. I got your number from your Aunt Grace. We play bridge together on Thursday nights.”

Okay, it was time to die. She hadn’t told anyone in her family about her part-time job. Her mother would have a hissy fit, and her father would have a heart attack. Aunt Grace was probably laughing her ass off.

Struggling to keep her voice even, she said, “What can I do for you?” God, she hoped Hazel hadn’t hurt herself with the Purple Plume and decided to sue her.

“I want to schedule one of those parties. The whole bridge club wants to come, and several women from my Friday night bingo group. Should be fun.”

About as much fun as a root canal. If the entire bridge club showed up, that meant Aunt Grace would be there. There was absolutely no way Cassie could handle that. Maybe after she’d done another dozen parties, but not now.

“When were you thinking about scheduling? Next month?” Next year would be even better.

“Oh, no. I want to do it as soon as possible. Like next Thursday night? We figured since we already got together on Thursdays, that would be easiest.”

This was Friday. That would only give her six days to reconcile herself to facing Aunt Grace over a French Tickler. She wasn’t sure six years would be long enough. But if she was going to stay in this business for the long haul, she might as well get used to seeing familiar faces in the group. Mesquite wasn’t a big city, at least not big enough to avoid running across people she knew.

“Cassie? Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here. I was just checking my calendar. Next Thursday will be fine. What time?”

“Our bridge group normally meets at seven, so let’s do it then. You might want to bring extra forms. The ladies were sure impressed with my new toy, and they all want one.”

Great. Somehow Cassie had a feeling this party could easily get out of hand. Nothing like a bunch of sex-starved septuagenarians to liven things up. “Okay, I’ll bring extra order forms. Give me your address and I’ll be there Thursday at six-thirty to set up.”

When she hung up the phone, Cassie dropped her head into her hands and begged God to give Aunt Grace a cold so she couldn’t make it to the party. Then she was ashamed of herself. At sixty-two, Grace was the most liberated woman Cassie knew. Her mom had gotten all the prude genes in the family.

Cassie pulled her PDA out of her purse, entered the party information, and set a reminder. Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, which was enough to depress her all over again. She was still dateless. And if she had to go much longer without sex, she was going to be short one Purple Plume from her new product case.