AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Liar,” whispered Slade Rafferty, another lead investigator with the MCU.
Ignoring him, Thorn continued, “I was simply going over past cases in my head where what you’re explaining worked well for me. Sometimes, I didn’t realize I was doing it or knew what to call it, but as I was listening to you, it registered with me.”
Mollified, the chief nodded. “And that’s the kind of attentive listening the rest of you should be doing. Well done, Wilder. When the meeting’s over, I have a case I’d like you to take on that just came in.”
Thorn nodded and said nothing. He knew he would catch shit from Rafferty and some of the others for what had been blatant ass-kissing, but better that than getting his ass chewed out for not paying attention, or worse yet, fantasizing about the voluptuous Jessica Murdoch. He chided himself for doing so. He hadn’t joined the military and then studied criminal science to daydream about a woman he’d most likely never see again. He’d served and then become a cop to serve and protect; he’d risen through the ranks to become a skilled homicide investigator to get justice for the victims and closure for those they left behind.
He had a reputation for being meticulous, intuitive, and dedicated to his work. Thorn carried the weight of all of those previous cases on his shoulders. He was able to be single-minded and acutely focused as he had no real personal life to speak of. He’d never lived as a monk, but since his run-in with Jessica Murdoch, no other woman interested him. He maintained a professional façade, but behind the cool and calm demeanor, there was a man who burned for justice and for a woman he could never have.
The chief finished his presentation, and those at the meeting milled around talking to superior officers and to each other. Thorn held back, observing. It was something he was good at and something that often helped him either look at a case with fresh eyes or see something he hadn’t seen before.
Rafferty brought him a mug of coffee and joined him, leaning back against the credenza. “Sometimes I think I know who you are and what you’re up to and other times I realize I haven’t a clue.”
Thorn chuckled. “You are laboring under the assumption that I have a plan. I don’t. The fact is, I was bored, and I wasn’t paying attention. I figured the easiest thing to do was simply to flatter the man. If he’s really having to explain this to people, he’s got some insurmountable problems.”
“I think the problem is he thinks this is all new information for us. He’s stuck in police procedures from twenty years ago. Sure, some of them still hold true, but it would be better if he was bringing in folks from the Bureau or the Rangers—people who have access to and knowledge of cutting edge stuff.”
“Yeah, the governor and legislature would never approve that. Our crime statistics don’t warrant that. They’d rather put their money in things to enhance tourism, which has a better return on investment.”
“Any idea what case the chief is talking about, or why he picked you?”
“I haven’t heard a thing about any new case. As for why he picked me, I suspect because he’d already noticed I was here and knows my name.”
Rafferty laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re one hell of an investigator, but you’re probably right—you were handy.”
“He could be trying to make it up to me for cutting my vacation short with that murder in Kennebunkport.”
“I think you now hold the record for solving a case the fastest. I heard there were a lot of suspects.”
Thorn nodded. “A fair number. It was a big event, and she wasn’t well liked. I have to admit if it hadn’t been for a former Baltimore murder detective securing the scene and then she and her friends helping us decipher what the numbers on the thumb drive meant, it would have taken a lot longer.”
“I need to go finish a report. Take care. Maybe we should go for burgers and brews one night.”
“Sounds good.”
Thorn watched Rafferty’s departing back, thinking about how little he knew about him. He knew the guy had good instincts and was a skilled investigator, but beyond that he knew very little. As the other members of the unit filed out, the chief beckoned him forward.
“Chief?”
“Wilder, thanks for sticking around.”
“You said you had a case you wanted me to take on?”
The chief nodded. “Yes. Your work on the Parkinson murder was outstanding. She wasn’t a resident, and we’ve been hailed as having done a great job by both her state’s police commissioner as well as the Bureau. I don’t have to tell you the governor was pleased.”
“That’s great, but it’s also a closed case. The killer made a deal and confessed, so all that’s left to do is for the lawyers to work out the details. I’m ready to take on a new case.”
“You guys are like racehorses ready to come out of the gate…”
“I like to think of us as more like eventing horses. Racehorses run from the gate to the finish line and don’t worry about anything but getting there first. Eventers come out of the gate, but they have to navigate a far trickier course than a flat oval. There are hazards, hills, and water that all have to be navigated.”
“I didn’t know you were a horseman.”
“I’m not. I just like the Olympics and the equestrian sports I find particularly interesting as that’s the one area that men and women compete on the same level and against one another.”
“I didn’t know that. But getting back to the case. There’s been a murder in Badger’s Drift. The police have secured the area, but I need you up there fast.”
“That’s not a problem, I keep a go bag here in my locker and it’s only about two hundred miles from here.”
