“Keep looking at me like that and you’re going to be late.”
I snapped my head up and caught Josh watching me in the mirror. “As if you don’t know how fond I am of your ass.” I resumed getting dressed before I pulled him to me for one last kiss.
“Be easy on the gas pedal if you drive my car. It’s rear wheel drive so the power comes from the ass end. If you stomp the gas pedal you’ll spin the tires; it’s especially bad on wet or slick roads,” I told Josh.
“I won’t hurt your precious car.” He rolled his eyes. I was surprised he didn’t make a crack about the power coming from his ass end too.
“I wasn’t worried about the car getting hurt.” He could pretend that we didn’t have a similar conversation the night before all he wanted, but I could tell by the soft look in his hazel eyes that he remembered just fine. “See you tonight.” It wasn’t a question; it was a promise. He wasn’t the only one who had a hard time sleeping alone after spending so many nights together.
“Big Daddy! Big Daddy!” Savage never failed to bring a smile to my face.
“Dirty Bird,” I teased as I walked by.
“Dirty Bird,” he repeated.
I waited downstairs, and away from the temptation of Josh, for Adrian to pick me up. When he arrived, his smile was so big that I needed sunglasses to shield my eyes from the sun glaring off his white teeth. “Shut up,” I warned as I got into his car.
“I didn’t say a damn thing,” he replied. “But if I was going to say something, it would be that you look remarkably chipper for a man whose boyfriend called the police instead of him.”
“Good thing you’re not saying anything,” I said wryly.
“Crazy week for you, partner. First your former fuck buddy gets killed in our county, then the drug bust, and now your boyfriend is getting harassed. What’s the likelihood that it’s all coincidental?”
“Well, I think two of the three are related,” I told Adrian, but then I stopped to think it over. “Do you think Turner’s appearance in our county had something to do with the drugs?”
“I think it’s something we really need to consider,” he replied.
Captain Reardon was waiting for us when we arrived at the station. “Gabe, I need to see you in my office.”
I exchanged a brief look with Adrian before I followed the captain to his office. “Yes, sir?” I asked once I was sitting across from him.
“Are you aware that all incoming and outgoing email is monitored?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, but I wasn’t sure where he was going with his question. I knew that I hadn’t broken any police department policies regarding email conduct-well, not that I was aware of anyway.
“What you might not know is that during the monitoring process emails containing certain words or phrases are flagged and directed to our IT department for further scrutiny,” Captain Reardon said. I raised my brows, still unsure of what was going on. “Apparently, an incoming email to you was flagged and forwarded for review.” He picked up a piece of paper and slid it to me. “Congratulations on having the first flagged email since the process was implemented a decade ago, Detective Wyatt.”
“Um, thank you,” I replied hesitantly. I looked down at the printed email and couldn’t believe what I read.
Gabe,
I know you didn’t want to get involved in my situation, but I wasn’t sure who I could trust anymore. I did take your advice and contacted the Cincinnati Police Department about the threats against me and things went from bad to worse.
Please call me. 555.0045
Nate
I looked at the date on the email and saw that it was dated a few days before he was killed. Hewascoming to look for me. “Fuck,” I said in disbelief. “Why are we just now getting it? What phrase in that email slowed things down rather than sped them up?”
“As I said before, this was the first time an email showed up in the review inbox and it was overlooked. There’s been illnesses and… you know, it doesn’t matter. I’m not making any excuses because it’s entirely possible that Mr. Turner’s death could’ve been prevented. Internal Affairs will be launching an investigation into the situation, which will include you since you were the intended recipient.”
“I understand, sir. I have nothing to hide,” I told him.
“I believe you, Gabe. Regardless, you will have union representation during any interview,” he firmly said. Then he did something so uncharacteristic of him. He broke eye contact and fidgeted with the buttons on his sleeves while mumbling something beneath his breath that sounded a lot like, “pompous old goat,” but I couldn’t be sure.
“Sir?”
Captain cleared his throat. “Internal Affairs will also be keeping a close eye on the detectives with the sheriff’s department too since they’re investigating Nate’s homicide.” Ahhh, the “pompous old goat” comment was directed at his father-in-law.
