“No, I don’t think so,” Nick said thoughtfully. “Yeah, we’re pretty much retiring anybody who was in the old system and worked their way through it, because there’s really not anybody in Investigations who didn’t have to go along with some corruption here or there – the system was just set up that way. Which means I’m really damn glad Lee transferred me over to you guys. Peabody – who used to run Investigations – is gonna get another chance because, according to what info I was able to get from the Palace, he decided to cooperate, especially after finding out what his old colleagues did to the Empress and her family…”
“Have you talked to him?”
“Yeah, I did, after talking to Lee about him, and finding out what Lee wanted to know, and what he wanted me to tell Peabody. As well as talking Lee into giving him that chance, to begin with. It took a bit of doing, but I finally got Peabody to open up to me and just talk. I was in my office with him for a solid hour and a half – closing on two hours, I think.”
“And?”
“…And when Peabody saw what those bastards did to the Imperial family, Cally?” Nick shook his head. “Even trying to tell me about it, he paled and turned a little green. Then he got angry. I don’t think he wanted any of that to happen, nor expected it to. He met her, you know. Empress Ilithyia. And she made a difference in him. Made him actually think about another way of doing things.”
“Well, that’s promising, I guess. So he’s coming back as a detective? Will he be the one over you?”
“No, and no. Per Lee, he’s been busted all the way down. The only people under him, rank-wise, will be the recruits fresh out of the Academy, and the brand-new investigators.” Nick paused, his face adopting a rueful expression. “I got to tell him that. He wasn’t happy about it at all, but he admitted he had it coming, and had some trust to win back. Well, I gave him the option of leaving and finding something else to do, or even retiring. But he’s not really in retirement age, doesn’t have a medical condition that we could leverage, and he wasn’t sure how it would look on his résumé if he went job-hunting now…”
“Ugh. Good point. ‘Hi there. I’m looking for a new job because I was a crooked cop and they don’t want me working for ‘em any more…’”
“Exactly. And I think he really wants another chance. Peabody was one of the less-corrupt detectives, as such things go. He only went that way if that’s what it took to save his own hide. That’s what he told me, and I went through his records – fortunately all that shit was backed up offsite – and he actually did go against the party line on quite a few occasions. He just made sure he had his ducks in a row first, so they couldn’t nail him for it.”
“Interesting.”
“Yeah. He told me, though, hard as he tried, he couldn’t do it but for more than a quarter to a third of his cases that had ‘predetermined outcomes,’ as we took to calling it. That said, all cases weren’t like that; most of the time, it was a regular old robbery or whatnot, and he could do his job without the solution being dictated to him.” Nick shrugged. “Most of the investigators were like that, though. Because most cases were standard cases.”
“I get you.”
“I know. And I’m glad of it.”
“So does he have a family he has to provide for, or something?”
“Peabody? No. He’s a bachelor. Had a girl he was courting years ago, but when she found out where he worked, he said she seriously thought about breaking it off. Then, when there was a risk of blackmail on a case, with her the one in danger from it, he broke it off, to keep her safe. He never found anybody else, so he’s hoping, if he can clear his name and reputation under us, maybe he can go find her and try again. He said he’d sorta followed her career and stuff, you know, from a distance… and she never married, either.”
“Aw. Sounds like it might have been true love for both of ‘em, then.”
“Yeah.”
“So this really is a second chance for him.”
“Yup. And one he appears to be eager to try for. Lee and I are gonna do everything we know to do to make it a great opportunity for him. Give him a real chance to make good.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, it is,” Nick said. “I only hope all my decisions are that easy to make.” He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. Cally studied him for a moment.
“You’re worried about all this.”
“Hugely.”
“Why?”
“I’m not that old, and I’m not that experienced, Cal,” he told her. “Sure, I’m a good detective, but this isn’t detective work, it’s really management of a sort. This is a monumental job, because according to those conversations I’ve had with Lee, we’re not just replacing out positions here, not just reconstructing a building – he wants to restructure the organization. And that restructure may trickle down to the sectors an’ shit, too. Sooner or later. And I have to figure out how to restructure ‘my’ division, then pass that up to him… and make it flow with the other divisions, too.” He shook his head. “This needs somebody like Maia, or Stefan, or Gene. Not me. I don’t know if I have enough insight to do this, let alone do it right.”
Cally stared at him.
“Nick, not only are you the smartest man I think I’ve ever
