I found a blanket and covered her up. She stirred a little and peeled open a sleepy eye. "Are you leaving?”
I nodded.
She took my hand. "Stay."
It was a tempting offer. "Like I said, you’re trouble."
"You like trouble.”
Denise was the right kind of trouble. "Get some rest," I said and kissed her forehead. "I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I left and headed back to theAvventura. The sheriff had a policy against inter-office romance, and we’d been keeping it professional. But it sure was tempting to say the hell with policy.
I probably shouldn’t have, but I took the bike up to Pineapple Bay one night and decided to do a little surveillance on Officer Matt Howell. I figured whatever evidence I gathered, I could turn it over to the sheriff, and he could hand it over to the state investigators. Perhaps create a joint task force.
There was no doubt in my mind the Pineapple Bay Police Department's Internal Affairs Division was burying these types of allegations. Not every cop in Pineapple Bay was dirty, but there were enough to make things difficult. It wasn't just limited to harassing women at traffic stops. It extended to drug trafficking and extortion.
I wasn't concerned with bringing down the whole system. Right now, my focus was on a single dirty cop.
49
Thanks to Isabella, it wasn't hard to get tracking data on Officer Howell's patrol car. I tried to remain inconspicuous as I followed him around for the evening.
Officer Howell mostly cruised the strip around the clubs, pulling over people for DUI. It wasn't tough work watching someone stumble from the club to their car and climb behind the wheel. I had no doubt he drummed up a lot of revenue for the city.
All in all, Howell gravitated toward pulling over attractive young ladies. Depending on the infraction, sometimes he’d let them go. Sometimes he wouldn't.
The first night I followed him around, he didn't cross any lines. He played it by the book.
Paris buzzed my phone while I was on my stakeout. “Looks like Eric Stahl is back in the news.”
I groaned. “What did he do this time?”
“Apparently, that’s the subject of much debate.” She gave me the details of his situation. “You served in the Navy with him, right?”
“He was briefly assigned to my unit for a few ops.”
“I was hoping to score an interview with him. Are you still in touch?”
“I haven’t talked to him in a long time.”
“He’s currently living in Sapphire Shoals in Emerald County.”
”I wouldn’t even know how to get in touch with the guy.”
“I’ve got his number, but he hasn’t returned my calls. I was thinking maybe you could put in a good word.”
“In his current situation, he’d be foolish to talk to the press.”
“Do you think he’s guilty?”
“I don’t know. I hope not.”
“What do you think about the prior allegations?”
“Is this off the record?” I asked.
“Of course. This is just a call between two friends.”
