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FIRST THINGS FIRST. Gordon called Angie, told her what Mayor Butler had said, made sure the dates were still okay.
“I’m clear,” she said. “Can I help with travel arrangements?”
“Look for a late afternoon flight out on Thursday, then either a late return on Sunday or early on Monday.”
“That’ll work. You want me to take care of it?” she asked. “I have frequent flyer points from my credit card I can use to offset part of the cost of my ticket.”
“Sounds good. I’m being reimbursed, so don’t worry about mine. Put it on the household card. Factor in travel time. According to the mayor, it’s two hours from Portland to Pine Hills, and that’s the nearest airport.”
“Will do. What should I bring to wear?”
Gordon tried not to laugh. Leave it to Angie to worry about her clothes. It occurred to him he ought to make sure he had a clean suit for the interview. “Maybe one nice skirt and top, or your LBD.” He’d learned that acronym since he’d been married.
“Black? It’s August,” she interrupted. “Never mind, I’ll decide. You want me to pack for you?”
“I can manage.” He glanced toward his doorway, making sure nobody was approaching. “You make sure you pack that red nightgown.”
She giggled. “Done.”
After he hung up, he made a mental note to pack the silk boxers Angie had given him as a wedding gift.
He wasn’t sure what version of his CV Mayor Butler had found online, so he reread his latest version. When he was satisfied everything was in order, he sent the file.
Gordon had just finished eating his lunch in the breakroom when Solomon sashayed in, dropped a Finnegan’s takeout bag on a table, and headed for the restroom. The shortage of bathroom opportunities was one thing Gordon did not miss about patrol duty.
When Solomon emerged, Gordon invited him to have lunch in his office. “You can bring me up to speed, and I have a matter to discuss as well.”
Solomon filled his coffee mug, inspected the box of pastries, patted his stomach, and shook his head. “Can’t afford a new uniform. Tell Angie to stop being so generous. Tests my willpower all day long.”
“I can, but I doubt it’ll do any good.”
They strolled to Gordon’s office, pausing at Laurie’s desk. “I’m back. You can take your lunch now.”
She nodded, clicked at her keyboard, and pulled her purse from her bottom desk drawer. “See you in an hour.”
Solomon stepped into Gordon’s office, set his bag on the desk. He opened it, removed a Styrofoam container, the aroma announcing it contained pizza. Solomon set a small pile of napkins beside the container. “You first. I just got here, so I haven’t had a chance to check my voicemail or email.”
Gordon closed the door, then crossed to his desk. “This is between you and me for now,” he said, his voice lowered.
Solomon’s eyes widened. “What happened? You’re not sick, are you? Angie? Is she all right? Wait. She’s pregnant. Congratulations.”
Gordon crossed his hands in a time out signal. “None of the above.”
Solomon settled in with his slice. “Then what?”
Gordon showed Solomon the letter from Pine Hills. The officer’s eyes widened even rounder. “You’re planning to leave Mapleton?”
With a headshake, Gordon said, “No. It’s strictly an interview, and a chance for me to step away, see what’s going on in another department. Data gathering only. I’m letting you know because I’m assigning you to cover my Chief Stuff while I’m gone. Since I know how much you enjoy—” Gordon made air quotes— “standing in for me, I wanted to give you a heads up.”
“How long?” Solomon asked.
“Depending on flights, worst-case scenario is Thursday afternoon until Monday midday.”
“Worst case? Are you implying I don’t prefer sitting here with your spreadsheets and manpower reports over patrol routes with no bathrooms?”
“I know you don’t,” Gordon said. “But for a couple days, you’ll have access to a bathroom any time you want.”
Solomon took another bite of his pizza, chewed thoughtfully. Sipped his coffee. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Chief, but why you? Is the mayor trying to find a nice way to get rid of you?”
Gordon related what Magda had said. “The mayor doesn’t know about this, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. It’s an interview, not a job offer. It’s not a decision Angie and I are going to make lightly.”
“So how did they find you?”
“According to Mayor Butler, through a head-hunting company.” As soon as he’d uttered the words, Gordon stopped to let his brain catch up. A head-hunting company could be located anywhere in the country. So, his brilliant idea to have Magda search for communications from Pine Hills was possibly for naught. Could that explain why McKenna seemed happy to deal with Solomon? Was he deciding if he wanted to offer the job to him?
Gordon shifted forward. “Have you picked up anything from the mayor about a changing of the guard?”
Solomon set down the edge crust of his slice. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Okay, not a word. I’ll deal with telling Laurie, but as far as anyone else needs to know, it’s just a couple of vacation days to make it a long weekend. Now, check your messages and see if there’s anything new on either the Volmer or the Budweitz cases.”
“Soon.” Solomon reached into his bag and pulled out a second container. He popped it open and displayed the contents—a generous portion of apple cobbler. “Want to share?”
“Pizza and cobbler?” Gordon smirked. “And you’re complaining about Angie sharing day-olds? Maybe you need to rethink your eating habits.”
Solomon snapped the container closed and replaced it in the bag. “You sound like Mary Ellen.”
He made a show of flouncing out of the office. Gordon waited until he’d gone and reclosed the door before laughing.
What if Pine Hills looked like a better opportunity than Mapleton? Should he suggest Solomon’s name to the mayor and town council? Would Ed even want the job? Was McKenna looking for someone to be his puppet? What would that mean for the citizens of Mapleton?