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GORDON LET HIMSELF into the apartment. Angie would be in the diner for another hour at least, so he grabbed a beer from the fridge. He set it on the counter, then ditched his uniform in favor of jeans and a tee. He tossed his vest onto the foot of the bed, enjoying the cool air hitting his torso. So he’d remember to drop it off at the cleaners, he carried the uniform down the back stairs to his SUV. As he draped it over the passenger seat, he spotted the Pine Hills envelope he’d forgotten about, and brought it upstairs.
In the kitchen, Gordon bypassed a glass and took the beer bottle to the couch. Unwinding with a beer alone in the apartment wasn’t the same as unwinding alone with a beer at Finnegan’s, but knowing Angie would be joining him soon helped initiate the transition from cop to civilian.
As if you’re ever not a cop.
He set his bottle down—on a coaster—and tore the envelope open. A single sheet of paper, on City of Pine Hills letterhead, from the Office of the Mayor.
Another mayor on his case?
He skimmed the letter, expecting the usual invitation to participate—for a price—in some kind of training, but stopped and went to the beginning and read it again. What the hell? Where had this come from?
Angie swept through the door. “Things are under control downstairs, so I’m free until closing—or if they call and say they need me.”
He didn’t look up, merely grunted his acknowledgment, and reread the letter.
Angie flopped down next to him and reached for the page. “What’s so interesting?”
He released his grip, let her read it. “Is this for real?” Her eyes popped wide.
“Looks legit to me.”
“They want to fly you to Pine Hills—wherever that is—and interview you for a job as police chief? Did you apply and forget to mention it to me?”
“Came in today. Out of the blue.”
Angie went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of white wine. “Are you even considering it?”
“What would you say if I said I was?”
She huffed. “You know I hate it when you answer a question with a question.”
“Angie, I just opened this letter a couple minutes ago, so you’re finding out at almost the same time I am. I haven’t begun to digest it. My knee-jerk reaction is of course not, but it deserves consideration, don’t you think? When Megan asked you to join her in the event business, you didn’t accept or reject the proposal out of hand.” He tilted her chin upward. “No matter what, it’ll be a joint decision.”
She took a lingering sip of her wine. “First Megan and Justin. Now this.”
“Speaking of Megan and Justin. Has Megan said what she’s going to do?”
Angie shook her head. “No. She hasn’t even talked to me—not in an angry I’m not talking to you way—just we haven’t spoken since the Volmer-Cremati wedding.” She set her glass on a magazine on the coffee table. “Any news on that case?”
“It’s leaning toward homicide.” Gordon related what Solomon had told him, then smiled. “You didn’t see her taking a bunch of pills, did you?”
“Me? I hardly got out of the kitchen.”
“Anybody on your staff?” He hastened to add that these were routine questions and he didn’t suspect anyone. “Now that we know how she died, we have to ask.”
“Everyone in the kitchen was talking about it, of course, and I’d like to think if someone saw her gulping pills, they’d have said so.”
“Solomon’s in charge, so he’ll be following up. I was just curious.”
“As always.” She carried her wine to the kitchen. “You hungry?”
“Yep. Need help with dinner?”
She laughed. “The best help you can give me is to stay out of the kitchen. You can set the table.”
That night, as they climbed into bed, Angie asked the inevitable question, the one he’d been waiting for. “Have you been considering leaving Mapleton?”
The question had been rolling around his brain since he’d opened the letter. The constant friction with McKenna. The budget that never stretched far enough to outfit his staff with current equipment. Then, there were times like this afternoon, seeing the citizenry—his people—and knowing he was helping keep them safe. His friends on the force. Knowing he was shaping officers like Redstone and Perez into doing good, into feeling the citizenry were their people, too.
“I don’t know yet.” He stroked Angie’s hair. “If the conditions were favorable, I might consider it. That’s might and consider. There would be a lot of pros and cons to take into account. Remember. The letter wasn’t a job offer. Their chief of police is up for retirement, and they’re starting to look for his replacement. It was an invitation to interview. There might not be a decision to make if they don’t like me.”
“Not like you?” She tickled him, changing the mood. “Impossible.”
He laughed, and blew on her neck, right behind her ear. Oh, yeah, a definite mood-changer.
~
LATER, LYING WITH ANGIE’S back spooned to his chest, he braved continuing the conversation. “If someone offered you a job running a fancy restaurant, but you’d have to leave Mapleton, would you consider it?”
“Consider it? I guess so,” she said. “I agree with your point. This isn’t a decision we can make now. Are you thinking of taking the Pine Hills guy up on his offer? Going out for an interview?”
“Only if you’d consider moving. Otherwise, I’ll send a polite Thanks, but no thanks letter in response.”
She sighed, long and deep. “Nothing’s forever, is it? Like you said, you need a solid list of pros and cons. What can it hurt?”
Gordon could think of at least one thing—Mayor McKenna finding out and deciding Gordon wasn’t a hundred percent dedicated to his job and using it as an excuse to fire him. Did he already know? Had the mayor of Pine Hills already been in communication with McKenna?
Too much to think about.
He squeezed a little closer to Angie, let her scent and her rhythmic breathing turn off the convoluted thoughts in his brain, soothing him. Tomorrow, he’d see if Laurie could do some discreet checking with Magda, the mayor’s admin. If anyone knew what went on in the mayor’s office, Magda would. In Gordon’s universe, Laurie kept the wheels turning. He hoped Magda kept the ones in the mayor’s office from squeaking.
Angie stirred, mumbled something he couldn’t understand.
Was she talking in her sleep? He’d never known her to do that. “What?” he whispered.
Angie flipped over so she faced him. “I’ll tell Ozzie and Donna to handle things for a couple of days. Tell Pine Hills you’re coming.”