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“Thanks, Cora,” he said, nodding to Nico as he entered and holding up a finger to indicate he wouldn’t be long. Nico busied himself browsing titles on the bookshelf along the far wall—procedural textbooks and operations manuals mostly, plus what appeared to be some historical hardcovers about the town.
“Honey, I know it’s frustrating,” Chief West said. “But you were the one who told her to come and visit.”
A screech came from the other end. Nico worked hard to hide his amusement.
“Oh—okay. Okay—yes. You’re right. It was only meant to be for a couple of days. But honey—” Another bout of shrieking. “Don’t you think you should be the one to talk to her? She’s your mother—” West sighed. “No—no. Of course, I don’t want that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay, I’ll handle it. Listen, honey, can we talk about this later? I’ve got a visitor. Alright. Love you.”
When he heard the heavy clunk of the receiver, Nico turned. Chief West was younger than Nico would have anticipated—early thirties, he guessed—with brown eyes and dirty blond hair which his hand came up to habitually stroke out of his face. Were it not for the navy uniform to break things up, the man would have painted a bland picture. Nico also noted the tinge of morbid curiosity. Understandable.
Instead of introducing himself like Nico expected, he asked, “Are you married?”
Nico shook his head. “Nope.”
“Good. Don’t.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Worse. Take a seat.”
Getting comfortable in his own chair before opening what Nico assumed was his personnel file, he said, “So, Detective Nico Dominici of Boston PD.”
“That’s right.”
“You’re a long way from home, Detective.”
“Yeah, that was kind of the point,” Nico said.
“Mm-hmm.” His eyes dropped to the file again.
Nico had trouble pinpointing the guy’s demeanor. It wasn’t exactly friendly, yet not quite in the ballpark of unfriendly either.
“I see here you graduated the academy in Boston at age twenty-two,” he continued. “Did five years as an officer, six in vice, then made detective a little over two years ago.”
His tone and the way he looked up made it seem like a question, but Nico stayed quiet. He’d already been through his résumé with the mayor when he was up for the job and had no doubts the chief had already done a thorough perusal himself, which meant this little inquisition was either about to become a dick-measuring contest or a probe for information. Either way, he had no plans to reminisce about his past.
West kept going, reading over his stats and references. “Impressive arrest numbers. And your superiors speak very highly of you, though it seems you’ve also been known to challenge authority on occasion.” He flicked his eyes to Nico in disapproval, then flipped the file closed. “So, what are you doing here?”
“Excuse me?”
Feigning innocence, he shrugged. “Call me crazy, but it just strikes me as odd that a hotshot detective at the height of his career would suddenly request a transfer to a tiny island town in the middle of nowhere.”
Nico raised his chin a fraction. “Personal reasons, sir.” Softening ever so slightly, he added, “Being in the city just didn’t feel right anymore.”
“I see.” A brief pause. “You understand that you’re here on a trial basis, and are required to be stationed here for a minimum of six months before being considered permanently for the position?”
“Yes, sir. I read the contract.”
Nico inwardly kicked himself for being a smart ass with that last. He had no intention of staying here permanently, but there were no rewards for making enemies, especially in a place with a population barely surpassing two thousand people.
West gave a long exhale. “Alright look, if you don’t mind, I’d like to cut through the bullshit and be straight with you.”
“Sure,” Nico said, unable to help the defensive folding of his arms.
“Your being here doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Wow.” Nico raised his eyebrows. “And here I was thinking small-town hospitality was dead.”
“The truth is, you were appointed this position with very little input from me or my department. Town Council believes someone with your experience will be good for the community. Apparently,” he added, sarcasm coating his tone, “politics trumps authority around here. Which poses a problem, wouldn’t you say?”
