He shifted again, preparing to return to his office. “Just don’t let the personal side get you sloppy. You know what you’re doing.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
He nodded once, then turned away. “Get your reports in by the end of shift. We’ll talk about the Hale Lodge Holiday Gala coverage later.”
Dismissed, I went back to my desk. I sat down slowly, taking a sip of my coffee before realizing it was cold.
Warning and commendation, delivered in the same breath. Distance and approval, balanced carefully against each other.
I stared at the open report screen and thought, unwillingly, of Lydia again. Mud on her coat. Laughing with joy and rosy cheeks. Standing in the center of her family in town like she had every right to be there.
As much as I wanted to get to know her better, I knew there was a line that had to be observed as a police officer when it came to relationships and ongoing investigations. While I didn’t feel like I had broken that line, my boss felt I was close to doing so. He was right to remind me of my duties. I would not put Lydia in a position where her integrity could be questioned because of me. I would not blur lines that had been drawn for a reason. Caring didn’t require proximity. It required attention, patience, and the discipline to wait.
For the first time in a long time, I felt somewhat conflicted. I wanted to explore the opportunity of a relationship with Lydia while also not wanting to be removed from the Wickham file.
The best way I could do both was to find a way to prove if Wickham was a thief. I logged back into the system, reopened the schedule, and pulled up the upcoming assignments I had skimmed earlier but not actually read.
The Hale Gala sat there like a fixed point.
I clicked into the file and let it load fully this time, scrolling slowly instead of scanning. I looked at the date, the times various events were taking place, coordination notes between the department and the lodge’s private security team. Everything looked orderly, layered, and redundant in the way large events needed to be to avoid chaos.
Full duty assignment. My name was attached to oversight, not just presence.
I read that line twice, not because it surprised me, but because it mattered. It meant long hours. It meant visibility. It meant responsibility that went beyond crowd control and crossed into decision-making if something went wrong.
It also meant I could set up where the officers under my direction were, concentrating their attention in certain areas.
I scrolled again.
There was a full list of caterers, decor crews, and any vendors brought in for the event. Staff lists that expanded and contracted as the gala timeline unfolded. Names blurred together at first, until one didn’t.
Gavin Wickham.
The name sat there without emphasis. Just another entry in a list that assumed cooperation and good faith. He was listed as event coordination support and vendor liaison. It was limited access, but enough to move through transitional spaces where money, equipment, and attention passed hands quickly.
I felt the internal shift settle into place, the one that came when a puzzle piece finally aligned.
Everything about Wickham’s presence was technically appropriate. That was the problem. He understood systems well enough to hide inside them.
I leaned back slightly and read the gala file again, this time not as an officer following procedure, but pretending to be a thief cataloging opportunity. Where would the crowd be thickest? When would attention drift toward speeches and music? Which access points would be monitored closely and which would rely on assumption rather than verification, thus giving a blind spot for a thief to slip something through?
Large events created blind spots. They also could create witnesses. This would be a chance to outmaneuver Wickham, but there was a problem.
He already knew I was investigating him.
I would have to ensure that he didn’t see me, while still organizing the police support to the security team. This would create a lot of difficulty. I also was restrained by the number of police I was in charge of. There were only three other officers going to be at the event. The Maple Ridge police department wasn’t large and didn’t have a high number of people to lend to large events. Not only that, but I needed to keep in mind that while I suspected Wickham and wanted to concentrate most of my attention on him, I had to remember to keep security in case someone else became problematic at the gala.
I shot off a quick email to the head of security, asking for a layout of the lodge, how many people would be on his team, what support he was looking for and options on how we could liaise on the project.
A text came into my phone and I had a look. It was the plumber, stating he had an opening and could look at the damaged pipes today if I were available. I texted back that I would make time, setting up the appointment for directlyafter my shift.
In the locker room, I changed methodically. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, flattening everything into the same dull tone. As I buttoned my coat, Lydia’s face surfaced in my mind without warning.
Not her smile from the parade. The one from the shelter when she was perfectly imperfect with mud on her cheek, laughing because she had lost control and didn’t regret it.
I set the thought aside deliberately.
I shut down the computer and picked up my keys, the station quiet behind me now. Outside, my breath fogged briefly as I paused on the steps, looking down the street toward the direction of the inn without fully intending to.
