“He’s drunk, that’s all. You heard his reasons.” I meet Derek’s skeptical gaze. “What’s the harm in letting him go home instead of wasting taxpayers’ money to lock him up?”
“You’re too damn soft.” Derek shakes his head. “If it was up to you, we’d never arrest anyone.”
“That’s not true.” I wrinkle my brow. “I arrest people all the time. Hell, we arrested a bunch of people this evening. What’s gotten into you? Don’t you have any holiday spirit?”
“Holiday spirit,” Derek echoes scathingly. “It’s not my job to have holiday spirit. It’s my job to enforce the laws of our city.”
“Come on, man,” I sigh. “It’s New Year’s Eve. I say we give him a break.”
Derek’s mouth thins but he says nothing.
I put my hand on the drunk guy’s shoulder. “Do I have your word you’ll go straight home? No more boozing it up tonight?”
“Yes. Yes. I’ll go straight home,” he says breathlessly.
“Okay, then we’ll let you off with a verbal warning tonight. But listen up. If we see you back out here drinking, you’re going to jail.”
“I understand.” The guy gives a grateful smile, showing crooked yellow teeth. “Thank you, officers. Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Now have a good rest of your evening. And good luck to you and your wife.”
“You too, sir.” Marcus stumbles off, pulling his coat collar up around his ears.
I watch him go, feeling good about giving him a break. Not an emotion shared by my partner, if his sourpuss expression is anything to go by. My wolf prickles with irritation at how uncharitable Derek is, but I force it down. I made the right call. Besides, I’m the senior officer, so Derek will just have to suck it up.
“Mark my words, this will end up biting you in the ass,” Derek grumbles as we head back to the patrol car.
“I disagree.” I open the vehicle door and meet Derek’s surly gaze over the roof of our car. “We showed compassion to someone tonight. That’s a good thing. That means one less person in the system. Marcus gets to wake up with his wife on New Year’s Day instead of in a jail cell. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Something dark passes through Derek’s eyes, but he just shrugs and gets into the car.
****
The next afternoon I’m called into Lieutenant Morris’s office. I’ve expressed interest in being assigned to a task force for abused children and I assume that’s why he’s summoned me. But when I enter his office, my usually congenial boss doesn’t look up or greet me with his typical warm smile.
“Close the door, Collins.”
His gruff tone makes my stomach drop. I close the door and stand at attention, my wolf suddenly alert. “Sir, you wanted to speak to me?”
He sets his pen down carefully and looks up. His gaze is hard and his jaw tight. “Want to tell me about last night?”
I frown. “Last night, sir?”
“Marcus Dougherty. Does that name ring a bell?”
I have to think for a moment because it doesn’t. Then I remember the inebriated male human I’d given a warning to the evening before. I grimace. “Oh, right. Did Derek come to you about that?” I sigh. “Sir, I’m not sure why Derek is so bothered by that incident. Mr. Dougherty was just drunk. I saw no harm in letting him go home to sleep it off. His wife is sick and—”
“Marcus Dougherty robbed a liquor store at midnight last night,” he growls, standing up, his face red. “He shot and killed the owner, David Kim. Kim died on the scene.”
Shock rolls through me and the blood rushes through my ears. I put my hand out to steady myself on the chair in front of his desk. “What?” I whisper.
“Kim’s daughter found him when she went over to the store to help close up for the night.” Morris’s voice is flat. Emotionless. But anger burns in his eyes.
“I don’t understand.” I rub the back of my neck, trying to make sense of what I’m hearing. I’m in complete shock at what he’s saying to me. “He promised he’d go home to his sick wife…”
“What a surprise,” he says coldly. “A criminal lied.”
I wince at the raw hostility in his voice. Lieutenant Morris has never looked at me with such disdain before. I feel sick as I hold his angry, accusing stare. “Sir, there was nothing in Marcus Dougherty’s behavior to suggest he’d be violent.”
