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Stacy stepped into the hallway outside of the Cleveland Police Department briefing room. It was the same room where commanders and shift supervisors addressed officers before a shift change. She felt like she’d been thrust in the middle of something that would lead to change.
Against the wall was a table. Stacy leaned over it, pressing her hands flat against its scarred and chipped wooden surface, and caught her breath.
A month had passed since the incidents at Fairview Park, and Stacy had never felt so unsure of herself before. The Complaints and Internal Investigations department had sent a representative from the Inspection Unit, the Internal Affairs Unit, and the Office of Professional Standards Unit to grill Stacy for over two hours about her involvement. They questioned her about promising Brandon Deerfield reduced charges without authorization and her failure to let all of her colleagues and superiors know that the photos used as evidence to track down Brian Dowdy had come from her brother, Chance, who had been missing and was the subject of an investigation himself.
After the questioning, Stacy bolted out of the room. In many ways, she didn’t recognize herself, and she certainly wondered whose mouth was moving as she spoke to the panel from CII. At times, Stacy felt like she was watching herself answer questions from a different vantage point. It resembled the out-of-body experiences Stacy laughed at on cheesy television shows, which depicted those experiences as rationales for bad behavior.
The thought was enough to make a chill run up her spine.
A light hand touched her arm. “How did everything go?”
Stacy snapped her head to the right and let out a quick breath. “Oh, Gavin,” she said.
He took a step back and held up one hand in surrender as the other hand gripped his leather briefcase. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was on my way to the courthouse, and I thought I’d stop by.”
She’d contacted Gavin about the date and time of her hearing last week. Since her improper conduct had connections to him and his office, she felt it was the right step to take. Stacy assumed Gavin would be too busy to check on her himself.
Stacy’s hand moved its way to her hair, where she raked her fingers through it. “It was as bad as I could imagine,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve sat before a panel like that and taken questions about issues like my ethics and if I understood what the words in the policeman’s oath meant.”
Stacy let out a sigh, feeling defeated. Gavin put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He was wearing a navy sportscoat, with tan slacks and a burgundy tie and white shirt. The tie drew out his eyes’ deep blue hues, and his features looked flawless and handsome. He gave Stacy his trademark grin to reassure her.
“As I said on the phone last week, tell them the truth, but don’t reveal too much, and it will be fine.”
Stacy closed her eyes and shook her head. “I haven’t even asked about what happened at the prosecutor’s office.” Her face wrinkled with worry at the thought. "Gavin, if what I did got you fired...."
He shrugged off the comment. “It didn’t. Since I’m still a newbie, I’ll have a babysitter watching over me for the next ninety days, making sure that I behave.” His flippant tone made Stacy slightly uneasy.
“Plus, given what’s come to light about Brandon Deerfield and his connections to Kendall Jackson and Brian Dowdy, the Deerfield family dropped their lawsuit against our office, the police department, and the City of Cleveland.”
Stacy felt a huge relief wash over her. “That’s good, Gavin.”
“One of my old law school professors once said that ninety percent of problems go away if they’re ignored. A month has gone by since Brian Dowdy was arrested, and that’s what’s happened with everything else.”
Gavin winked. His statement drew a slight chuckle from Stacy. “I like that statement, although I don’t want to put it to the test too often.”
Gavin dropped his hand and checked his watch. “I need to go. I’m due in court for an arraignment hearing in an hour.” He leaned close to Stacy and then pulled away. She could feel the heat of his breath on her skin, and a part of her wished he could lean in and kiss her.
“Thank you again for all of the help.”
“Don’t mention it.” He looked up and around the hallway, then back at the doors to the briefing room before looking back at Stacy. “That’s what being a part of a team is all about. Coffee later?”
She smiled and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Gavin gave her a half-wave and then disappeared down the hallway. Stacy felt a warmth of goodness come over her. It always seemed to happen when Gavin was around. From her peripheral vision, she saw another officer exiting the briefing room and entering the hallway. The sight was enough of a snapback to refocus Stacy on the grave situation she was involved in.
Stacy bounded down the hallway to get away from the room. As she entered the lobby of headquarters to head upstairs, Marty waved a hand at her.
Stacy turned to face the doors when she saw Colton DeVito come through the glass. The cold chill of April had given way to the warmth of early May, and Stacy felt a warm, scented breeze blow in behind the man she’d helped rescue.
As he approached, Stacy studied him. He was still rail-thin, and his head had been shaved. He had some deep cuts that had scarred on his face, but they looked like they were healing. His right arm was in a sling, and the blue collared shirt he wore bulged out from his body, a sign that he was wearing a rib protector to guard his broken ribs. His left hand was heavily bandaged, and he walked with a slight limp.
“Hey, Colton, how are you doing?” She kept her voice light and positive, although seeing him standing in front of her brought back a flood of memories that made her stomach lurch.
He stopped in front of her and looked down, his face flushed. “I’m good.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I just finished my last session of physical therapy.” He looked down at his hands and then over at his arm. “Now, all I need to do is heal.”
Stacy smiled and crossed her arms. “Good. I’m so glad to hear that.”
Colton shifted his weight between his feet as he avoided eye contact with Stacy. “I’ve needed to come over and say thanks for a long time now.” He lifted his eyes slowly from the floor and held Stacy’s gaze.
"When I was in that room, nailed to that wall...." A lump seemed to have formed in his throat, and Stacy could see that he was blinking back tears. "I'd lost all hope. I thought about Jesse and what happened to him." His eyes flared with fire. "I had no idea that Brian was in love with Jesse, Lieutenant. If I did...." He paused for a beat. "I've done some awful things that I'm not proud of. Still, I just wanted Brian to kill me. He killed Mom and Dad, and...."
Stacy touched his arm with her hand. Some tears ran down from the pool that had gathered in his eyes.
“But you never gave up on me. I owe you everything.”
Stacy pressed her lips together tightly. “I’m just glad you’re going to be okay and that we got Brian and Maria before they could hurt anyone else.”
He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his bandaged hand. “When that Browns player got killed in September, I remember Mom telling me that his killer would be caught, and it would happen because you were the detective assigned to the case. I knew that if I got into real trouble in my life, Mom would come to you.”
“And she did.” Now Stacy felt her face flush. “Well, it was a bit more complicated than that.” Stacy swallowed back a lump that lodged in her throat. “I’m going to miss Monica.”
Stacy glared at Colton for a moment. “Brian Dowdy was a miserable prick, but he loved Jesse. And I think Jesse loved him. Brian says that you disapproved of the relationship.” Stacy paused. “It didn’t require your approval, but it certainly gave you no right to target Jesse because of it.”
“I know. I thought about Jesse a lot when I was tied to that wall in that shed.” Colton blinked. “Yeah. That’s why I’m leaving.”
Stacy made a face. “Leaving Cleveland?”
“Yeah,” he said, his features softening. “With Mom and Dad gone, there’s really nothing for me here anymore. Being here is just too hard and hurts too much. The D.A. in Houston is going to retry me for Jesse’s murder.”
Stacy folded her arms. “So, I guess this is goodbye.”
“It is.” With that, Colton leaned in and hugged Stacy. She could feel his heart beating hard and fast against her chest.
Colton broke the embrace and smiled weakly. “I’m ready to be punished for what I did to Jesse.” He looked away for a moment. “If I hadn’t hurt him, none of this other shit would’ve happened.”
Stacy pursed her lips. “Goodbye, Colton DeVito.”
He flashed a frown and turned and went out the doors. Stacy let out a long breath, her emotions in complete tumult. These feelings would not stop wrenching her heart.
Stacy reached into her pocket and took out her cell phone. She had one more phone call to make and one more person to see.