“Look,” Nick said, “I know none of you are thrilled to have me butting in on your murder case but the chief did agree to accept my help so we may as well bite the bullet, so to speak, and make the best of it.”
“Agreed.”
“Good. That’s a start. You also need to anticipate heightened danger once we poke our noses into other people’s business. I don’t think you’re ready for that.”
“We’ve been over this subject before, Delfino. What do you expect me to do, suspect everybody?”
“All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind in both directions, good and bad. Just because a person may be familiar to you, that doesn’t make them innocent.”
“Aren’t you getting tired of hinting that my brother is guilty? I’m sure getting tired of listening to you.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Sounded like it to me.” She pushed past him and started for the condo. “Take my advice. You’ll get along a lot better around here by keeping your unfounded deductions to yourself.”
Nick followed closely, continuing to scan the area. “Noted. Look, Keira, I’m not oblivious to your family conflict. I’ll back your decision if you ask to be reassigned.” To his astonishment he saw her set her jaw and start to shake her head.
“Uh-uh. Not on your life. You’re supposed to be the best. I not only want to learn from you, I want to be in on solving poor Olivia’s murder. She didn’t deserve to die, and whoever is responsible needs to pay. Scripture says that vengeance is the Lord’s but I’d be overjoyed to have Him use me—use us—to bring that killer to justice.”
“I believe you,” Nick said, smiling in spite of himself. “You’re quite a woman.”
“I’m a cop,” she countered, chin lifted proudly. “That’s what I was born to be and that’s all that matters right now. We’ll get along fine as long as you add that important fact to the list of other things I’ve told you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a snappy salute.
“Humph.” Keira made a fist and slugged him playfully on the upper arm while exhibiting a lopsided smile. “I’m glad we understand each other. Remember, I grew up with four brothers. If I could hold my own with them, I can certainly keep up with you.”
She produced a key. “Come on. Let’s have a look at the apartment. I think you’ll like it.”
As Keira unlocked the front door of the former flour mill, he studied the old stone building. It had two visible stories, indicated by parallel rows of multipaned windows. The idle wooden waterwheel had been left in place on one side and definitely increased the rustic structure’s character.
Several cars were inching past, obviously taking it easy because of the slick roadways and the hidden hazards presented by the cobblestones beneath the packed snow and ice.
At first, Nick didn’t notice anything odd. Then, in the background, he spotted a truck that looked like the one that had been following them before. It was parked in a private driveway with only the front part of its hood visible from behind a board fence. Clouds of rising exhaust indicated that the motor was running.
He tapped Keira’s shoulder. “Wait. Look. Do you see what I see?”
She wheeled. “Where?”
“There. Half a block south. By the yellow house.”
“That property belongs to the Smiths. They always go away for the winter.”
“Any chance they’re home now?”
“No. Their nephew sometimes stops by to check the place but he drives a red SUV so that’s not him, either.”
“Only one way to find out for sure what’s going on, then.” Nick was scanning the surrounding area. “It’s too open right around here. What’s the best way to work my way there on foot without being spotted?”
“The mill basement joins up with a river that’s probably still frozen solid. We could travel along the banks until we got to some cover, then cut through a few backyards and come up behind him.”
“Not we. I,” Nick said firmly.
“But…”
“No buts, rookie. I’ll need you to keep an eye on that truck and provide a distraction if necessary.”
“Okay, okay,” she finally said with a sigh. “Come on. I’ll show you through to the back.”
Nick followed her. The vacant apartment was sparsely furnished yet appealing. Crossing the polished, wood-floored living space they hurried through the kitchen to a door that led them down a dusty flight of stairs into the former grain-storage area. The cavernous, musty-smelling room served as a catchall for extra building supplies and some antiquated milling equipment.
Keira threw a dead bolt and slid open a heavy, wooden, garage-type door. She pointed. “Head that way. It’s a little steep but not bad. Once you reach the river, keep off the ice just in case it’s starting to melt.”
Nick might have rolled his eyes at her if she hadn’t looked so apprehensive. Truth to tell, he’d been skating on figurative thin ice ever since he’d taken that first IA assignment and had begun to seek out and expose crooked cops—the kind who gave the whole profession a bad name.
“I know enough to keep from breaking through the ice,” he said wryly.
“Sorry. Be careful, okay?”
“I will.” He pointed back up at the living area they had just passed through. “Turn on a light in there so it looks like I’m making myself at home, then go back out to the patrol car and be ready for a pursuit if it comes to that.”
“Gotcha.” She reached for her belt, unclipped a small leather case and handed it to him. “Here. There’s a base radio in the car so you can take mine.”
“Thanks. Call me if he makes the slightest move. And don’t look so grim. I won’t get lost.”
“See that you don’t.”
Glad that he’d thought to order her back to the SUV where she’d be safe, he clipped the handheld radio to his belt and started off at a jog. The way he saw it, the less Keira was exposed to added risk, the better he’d feel.
The thought of what her reaction would be if he actually said as much made him smile. Admittedly, his initial judgment of her capabilities had been too low but she was still far too green to be considered reliable, at least in his professional opinion. Many a rookie had learned the hard way that real life on the streets wasn’t the same as acing tests in a classroom. Keira Fitzgerald was one cop he wanted to see get her seasoning without being hurt along the way.
Or disillusioned, he added. He didn’t know what she’d do if her brother Charles turned out to be a murderer.
Racing back up the stairs and into the living room, Keira flipped a light switch on the wall and raised the blinds so any observer
