up. Rose Tannison, his GS-12, government civil service secretary, stood in the doorway. She was a civilian who worked for the military. Her bulk filled it amply. “Yes, Rose?”
“We’ve got a problem.” She removed her bifocal glasses from the end of her nose. “Mind if I come in and shut the door while we talk?”
Groaning inwardly, Dan guessed it to be another personnel problem. Right now, he wanted to strangle Jacobs, a short-timer whose bitter attitude toward the Marine Corps had rubbed off on the enlisted people who worked under him. “Sure.” Dan glanced at his watch: 1145. For once, if this didn’t take long, he was going to be able to grab some lunch.
Rose smiled and sat down after closing the door. She fluffed her full pink cotton skirt. “Have you met Howard Parker, the police chief from Oceanside, yet?”
“No.” Oceanside bordered Reed’s territory and was a military town with all the inherent problems that accompanied such a dubious title. And Dan knew working closely with civilian law enforcement would be vital for his plan to be successful.
“Well,” Rose said, placing her glasses back up on her bulblike nose and peering over them at him, “you’d better pull out a big box of Band-Aids. He’s on his way here.”
“What does that mean?” Dan rested both his elbows on the desk.
“May I be frank?”
“Yes.” Rose had worked in Reed HQ for eighteen years, and Dan was finding her indispensable for the straight scoop on what was going on around the base.
“Trouble with a capital T. His wife was formerly married to a marine sergeant. Unfortunately, the sergeant died and she married Parker on the rebound, six months later. The chief has never forgotten his wife’s first love was a marine. He’s always been the jealous type.”
Mouth quirking, Dan leveled a stare across the desk at Rose. Her black hair was pushed up into a haphazard knot on top of her head, and she wore long, dangling red earrings that matched her red-and-pink cotton blouse. “And so,” Dan said, “he doesn’t like marines very much at all and is a pain in the rear in any working relationship with marines. Right?”
Rose beamed. “Go to the head of the class, Captain Ramsey.” She grinned impishly. “They said you were a tough officer. But I think you’re smart and tough.”
Grinning, Dan leaned back. “Being tough isn’t going to smooth out this problem, Rose. Do you think a little diplomacy will work with Parker?”
“Captain Jacobs hated the police chief, and vice versa. But then, Jacobs couldn’t get along with his own shadow. I think if you appear willing to work with Parker and let him think he’s running the show, there’ll be room to maneuver.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Rose. Okay, so handle Parker with kid gloves and pull his strings without him knowing it. Can do.” He frowned. “I just wish my own people weren’t so damned sluggish and morale wasn’t so low.”
“Joe Donnally’s squared away,” Rose assured him. “He and Captain Jacobs got along like a dog and cat. He’ll level with you the way I do. But he needs your permission to speak frankly, while I don’t. Ask him for his opinion and use his suggestions. He’s been at Reed for two years. As a brig chaser and a people manager, he’s the best. I think if you shower your people with a little attention and pats on the back for a job well done, they’ll snap back into line real quick.”
Laughing softly, Dan nodded. He picked up a pen and tapped it against the desk. “At least there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.”
“You got handed a can of worms when you came here, Captain.” She grinned lopsidedly. “But then, I feel you’re just the kind of man to handle a can of worms. My money’s on you.”
Glancing out the venetian blinds, Dan saw a police car pull into the parking lot. A heavyset man in a dark blue uniform stepped out. He had a bulldoglike face, jowls and all. “Keep telling me that, Rose. I think Parker’s arrived.”
“Uh-oh.” Rose got nimbly to her feet. “I’m outta here. Want me to send him in and get coffee?”
He nodded. “Yes, thanks.”
“Good luck.”
Dan smiled and watched her leave as silently as she’d come. Rose must weigh at least two hundred and fifty pounds, he thought, but for all her bulk, she was surprisingly agile and quiet. As he pulled the blind aside a bit more to take a good look at Parker, Dan’s mind shifted unexpectedly to Libby Tyler. Her file was still sitting in his Out basket. He just hadn’t had time to contact her yet with the results of Donnally’s investigation. That was one woman he wanted to see, but the pressures and demands of his job were drowning him. She probably thought he’d buried her investigation in the circular file. He’d have to get the report over to her soon.
With a sigh, he released the blind and went over to his desk to tidy up the piles of work. Might as well make a good first impression on the police chief. At least his summer uniform was perfectly pressed, the ribbons on the left side of his chest in order and straight.
Rose knocked on the door and opened it. “Captain Ramsey,” she sang out, “Chief Parker’s here to pay his respects.”
Dan rose and smiled. “Thanks, Rose. Chief, come on in.”
Parker glared as the door shut behind him and Dan offered his hand. Grudgingly, he shook it.
“Captain.”
“Sit down, Chief. Rose will bring us coffee.”
“I’m not staying that long, Ramsey.” He took off his cap and tucked it under his left arm. “I’m making this call because it’s necessary, not because I want to do it.”
Resting his hands on his hips, Dan coolly held the chief’s belligerent stare. “Okay, Chief. What can I do for you, then?”
Parker stared at him. “I hope you’re nothing like Jacobs.”
“I didn’t know the man.”
“We didn’t get along.”
“So what will it take for us to mend some of those bridges, Chief? We don’t have a choice in this matter.”
Parker looked around the office and then back at the marine. “You got any background in law enforcement?”
“I’m a lawyer.”
Parker’s eyebrows rose and fell. “What else?”
“Drug enforcement is my jurisdiction, Chief, which is why I’ve been assigned to Reed. I’m interested in stopping any trafficking going on inside the base or around it. I’ll need your support and, sometimes, your help.”
“Captain Jacobs didn’t give a damn about anything except how much time he had left before he got out.”
“I’m looking at a thirty-year career, Chief, and I can promise you I’m in for the long haul, particularly in regards to drug enforcement.” Dan saw Parker’s face turn a dull red. “Have a seat, Chief,” he coaxed. “I’m interested in your assessment of drug traffic through your city. And I want
