Page 5 of Dirty Cops Next Door

3

Toni

I watchedthe sun go down on my first day as a reporter with a smile on my face. The pinks were turning to a dark purple, and shadows danced in the street light as lightning bugs made the dark places twinkle. It had been a good day.

I’d managed to interview the chief and the woman about the policemen’s ball, and had already written up the report and sent it to Barbara. Tapping the glass of wine in my hand with a fingernail, I looked out at the slice of suburban nirvana I’d provided for my brother. A narrow street separated the rows of houses on each side, all brick homes with concrete driveways.

I was waiting for Eric to get home, to hide the wine I didn’t want him to know I’d bought. He’d texted me before I’d left for home to say he’d made a friend and was going to his house to hang out.

Bee had also texted, asking if I’d like to have dinner with her at the diner, so I’d met her there and we’d spent an hour getting to know each other. I liked her, and it was nice to know somebody who wasn’t someone I worked with.

On the way home, I’d stopped for a celebratory bottle of chardonnay. I wasn’t ashamed of the wine, I just didn’t want to see the ‘I told you so’ smirk I knew I would get if Eric saw it. Alright, I might have been watching for my neighbors too. I should have been working on tomorrow’s assignments, getting prepared at least, but I had two very good reasons for staring out the window. Three really, my brother and those two cops next door.

I was just tipsy enough to give a sputtering laugh at my own thought. Those two certainly wouldn’t be interested in me other than as a civilian to protect but I’d let them protect me all they wanted to. Especially if it were anything like my dreams. Or the fantasies I would let myself have about them. And then I was outright laughing.

I stopped laughing when a car pulled up in my driveway. Why were my neighbors pulling into my driveway?

I hurriedly hid the wine and the glass and went to answer the knock at the door.

I pulled the door open to find a very somber face. I felt doom wash over me as I stared back at the man I fantasized over. Something was wrong. I’d seen that look before. Grant wasn’t coming with glad tidings.

“Hi, Toni. Uh, may I come in?” Grant did not look like he really wanted to come in. In fact, he looked as if he’d like nothing more than to march right back to his own yard.

“What’s wrong?” I didn’t play around with niceties; I just went straight for it. I hate being placated or eased into bad news. Life had hit me too hard too many times to take the soft approach.

I held the door open and he came into the house. I closed the door behind him and turned to stare at him, waiting for the glass world I’d created to shatter.

“Toni, I need you to come with me.” The chirping of my brand new work phone interrupted him and he paused, his gaze locked on mine.

“Should I answer it?” I asked as I glanced down to see it was Barbara on the line.

“Maybe you should.” He looked like he’d just been saved, as relief washed his tension away.

“Hello?”

“We need you to get down to the industrial park, there’s been an explosion down there and some kids have been hurt. Trent can’t get over there right now and you’re the only one answering the phone, so it’s your story, kid. Get on it.” Her voice screamed she didn’t want to hear excuses, but my knees were already giving out and Grant caught me as the phone fell to the floor.

“Hello? Barbara? Yeah, it’s not a good time. She’ll call you back. It’s Grant. Yeah, the sexy policeman with the eyes.” He chuckled but then he looked at me and his tanned face went as pale as mine felt. “Right, she’ll call you back.”

“It’s Eric, right? Is he alright?” I looked at him, prepared for my heart to stop as I slumped into a recliner. I couldn’t take any more pain and loss, I just couldn’t.

“He’s… He’s hurt. I don’t know much more yet. David’s there.” His jaw was as hard as David’s but there was a softness around Grant’s eyes and lips that David lacked. Grant was the caring partner then, the one that would let a broken speed limit slide.

He took my hand in his broad one. I had a typist’s fingers, a pianist’s fingers, but Grant’s swamped mine. I felt a warmth in his hand, a reassurance that I was not alone.

The ache in my chest eased a little as I looked at him down on one knee in front of me. Ten minutes ago my heart would have been fluttering at the sight, but now, it continued a steady, rapid pace with a hard throb every few beats that made me catch my breath. Eric was still alive; there might be hope.

“Why don’t I tell you what happened on the way to the hospital? We need to question him. He’s a minor, so we need you there.”

“To… what? To question him?” I stood up with his hand at my elbow and walked in a daze to grab my purse before he steered me out to the car.

Once he’d pulled into traffic and aimed us in the direction of the county hospital, Grant started to talk finally.

“It seems your brother has gotten involved with the wrong crowd. He was, well, there’s no easy way to put this, he was at a drug deal when it went kind of south, and somebody started a fire. We need to know what Eric saw.” Grant didn’t take his eyes off the road as he spoke; he just kept driving.

“Drugs? What? We only just got here! Eric’s never been a problem, never done drugs! Oh my God, this has to be a mistake.”

“Well, I think he’s a good kid, but he was there. He was definitely there.” Grant rubbed at his jaw, as if he were trying to rub away a memory that still plagued him.