Page 4 of Capture My Heart

“We want to keep it that way. At least for now,” Alex said. “We figured it would be to his advantage if the other officers didn’t know he is BCA.”

The men stared at Agent Brown—Trey included. This was news to him. “You want me undercover, Sir?”

“Not exactly. We understand several of the officers frequent the gym in your building. We figured it might be better if they didn’t realize you were observing them, pumping them for information.”

“That makes sense.” The other officer rubbed his jaw. “We could invite him to the weekly softball game, too. Most of the guys join.”

Jim nodded. “Good idea. This is Detective CJ Whittier. He’s running point on this being he was the first one to suspect corruption.”

They exchanged handshakes.

“I need to run. I have another meeting.” Alex turned to Trey. “Touch base with Becca, my assistant. She’ll get you to your desk and anything you need.”

Once he left the room, the other three men got to work. After a run-through of the events ending with the murder of a man in custody, Jim pulled out an interview list.

“Besides the suspects in the department, you might want to interview the two men rumored to hire corrupt officers. Gunter Lindstrom and Davis Sampson.” Jim’s voice dropped to a growl on the last name. The tick in CJ’s jaw was visible from across the room.

“I’m guessing there’s history.” Trey took the list and scanned the names.

“You could say that.” CJ and Jim shared a look but didn’t elaborate. “If you’re as good as Agent Brown thinks you are, you’ll have it all pieced together by lunch.”

So, his boss was talking him up. He just hoped he didn’t let him down. Trey slipped the list into the folder and tipped his head. “Thanks for the info. I’ll get started on this right away.”

Trey took stock of the other two men. A little older than he, physically fit, and from what he could tell, smart. He liked Detective Swenson and got a good feeling about Detective Whittier. He reached up and rubbed his shoulder.

He’d liked his partner in Duluth, as well. Right up until the bastard shot him.

Thank God this day was almost over. I swear this will be my last extra shift this month.

Amy pulled the case folder from her locker with cold, numb fingers. The file slipped to the floor. Her view of the typed pages that held the details of the worst days of her life glazed as she stared at them.

A faint buzz of Ryan Daniels and Bob Peterson bullshitting as they entered the break room snagged her attention. Ryan scooped up the folder. “Are you doing cold case work now?”

Bob leaned in as Ryan flipped through the case.

“No, brushing up on cases. You know, studying for the detective’s exam.” She had been hiding her obsession with this case for four years. The last thing she needed was these two goons to realize she carried that file around everywhere with her.

“Wait, I remember this case,” Bob said. “Didn’t your brother go down for peddling drugs on that one? Or no, wait. It’s the other one.”

Pity. Bob’s face swam with it.

God, how she hated the pity. Amy fought an eye twitch.

Peterson wasn’t wrong. Both cases were entwined. There was so much more to this case than a simple drug bust. “Yeah. Listen guys, I’d love to rehash old cases with you, but I have an interview to conduct.”

“On this case?” Ryan scanned the pages.

Amy snatched it from his hands.

“Not that it matters to you, but yes. I’ve been looking into the case. The interview notes are spotty. The delivery driver that killed… the officer, is out of rehab, and I want to see if he can add to his original statement.”

God, she hoped they didn’t hear the hitch in her voice. She couldn’t take the pity she’d see in their eyes.

Bob jangled his keys in his pocket as he leaned back on his heels. “Good luck. Odds of a junkie's memory getting any better after all this time isn’t likely.”

“I’ll take my chances.” She touched the St. Michael’s medallion through her uniform.

Peterson shrugged. “I’m out. Gotta take my daughter to her doctor’s appointment.”