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“I have to work tomorrow, and I can’t be overly tired.”
He sighed. “Don’t you think we should talk more?”
It seemed there was nothing for it but the truth. “I really don’t. And right now, I want to be alone.”
9
JOANNA
I snuck out of the apartment before West woke up. Shame churned in my gut as I packed my gear, quietly closed the apartment door and took the stairs down to the parking garage. But I’d rather live with the shame than face my not-husband after chickening out of watching a movie with him last night.
I drove to the police station, parked, and made myself a cup of black coffee in the break room. I gulped it down en route to the in-house gym, where I discarded the cup just inside the entrance and made a mental note to pick it up later.
I ran three miles as a warm-up, then went through the familiar routine of setting up a squat bar and taking its weight onto my shoulders.
As I counted out my first set of reps, I scanned the other cops making use of the gym. A couple of older men were on the cycles. A female beat cop was doing pull-ups on a bar. Two guys from the narcotics division were sparring on the mats. How many of them were crooked? One? Two? All of them?
My legs burned as I straightened from the final squat of the set and positioned the bar back on the rack. When I joined the police, I never thought I’d have to question the loyalty of my fellow officers. I’d been terribly naive.
Determined not to dwell on such a dark subject, I turned my mind to the investigation of Sasha Sloane’s murder as I completed another two sets of squats, followed by three sets of dead lifts and another three sets of calf raises. I stretched my leg muscles to loosen any tightness, showered, and changed into slacks and a blazer.
I took my empty coffee cup back to the break room, then headed for the Homicide Department. When I reached my desk, I found Hanson engaged in a heated conversation with Detective Neal, whose darkly good-looking face was twisted with frustration.
“What’s going on?” I asked, dropping my bag and kicking it beneath the desk.
Neal scowled at me. “I want my case back.”
I arched a brow, no idea what he was talking about. “Your case?”
He rolled his eyes. “The murder at the lakefront. Female vic. Twenties. Cut throat.”
“Ah.” Now it made sense. This was more of his territorial bullshit. Too bad I wasn’t in the mood for it. “You weren’t here. We’ve done too much work at this point to hand it over without a good reason.”
A sneer curled his mouth. “Here’s your reason: It’s my area. You were only covering for me. I’m ready to take it back.”
“Uh-huh.” I sat back against my chair and crossed my arms. “What does the Captain say?”
Neal narrowed his eyes. “You’re so far up management’s ass that—”
“Shut it, Clancy,” Hanson snapped. “All I’m hearing isthat you already tried to pull this crap with Thackery, and he told you the Sloane investigation is ours.”
Neal grimaced. “He wouldn’t have if Deputy Chief Dominguez hadn’t been there. But you girls all look out for each other, don’t you?”
My nostrils flared, irritation flashing through me. Sometimes, I wished I could smack Neal across his smarmy face. He’d been disrespectful toward Dominguez ever since she’d been promoted to Deputy Chief.
In his mind, a woman of color couldn’t possibly have earned the role. It must be a token gesture to prove the police department isn’t sexist or racist.
Dominguez was a damn good cop. Better than he’d ever be.
“Neal, we have a fatal stabbing to attend.”
We all turned at the voice. Detective Sewell, Neal’s beleaguered partner, smiled at us wearily. The bags below his eyes were shadowed, and he obviously hadn’t shaved in a while.
“But the Sloane investigation—”
“Isn’t ours,” Sewell interrupted. He stepped toward Neal, the contrast between them becoming more obvious as he moved closer. Where Neal was tall and good-looking, Sewell was almost petite for a man, and had the kind of face that people forgot as soon as he left a room. “This stabbing happened only minutes ago. Get a move on.”
Neal grumbled but shot us a final glare and stalked away. Sewell mouthed an apology behind his back.
