I Shall Not Want

do that! He snapped his jaw shut. He wasn't going to move up from patrol by being a crybaby. A new and unpleasant thought occurred to him. Maybe he wasn't going to be the one stepping into departed officer Mark Durkee's shoes. Maybe he wasn't advancing from street work to investigations. Maybe they had hired Hadley Knox for that. That would explain why, despite her reluctance, the chief kept pushing her into the investigations. Maybe her DOC experience gave her an edge. Maybe they still thought he was too young. Maybe there was some sort of equal opportunity quota and they needed a woman.

The chief was still talking. 'Don't forget he probably views any American in uniform as a threat. I suspect his uneasiness may have more to do with his legal status as an alien than with trying to conceal anything criminal. Still… let's keep that in mind.'

'Maybe you should let Knox question him alone.' MacAuley looked at Hadley speculatively over the rim of his coffee cup. 'He might find her less threatening. Open up more.'

Solo questioning! And she's not even out of Basic! God damn! Hadley, however, didn't seem to appreciate that she was in like Flynn-except this Flynn obviously wasn't. She got a panicked look on her face. 'Uh…' she said.

The chief shook his head. 'I want to talk with my sister and brother-in-law first. Kevin?'

'Chief?'

'I want you to drive Mr. Esfuentes back to St. Alban's.' He paused. MacAuley turned his considering gaze on the chief. 'Tell Reverend Fergusson we'll run him back out after he finishes work tonight,' the chief continued. 'We'll keep everything nice and informal and friendly-like.'

'Uh… okay.'

'Officer Knox, go with him to the interview room and let Mr. Esfuentes know what's going on.' He glanced at the clock on the wall. 'Then you may as well knock off for the day.'

She stood. 'Yes, sir.'

In the hallway, out of earshot of the old guys, Kevin said, 'Look, I'm sorry about what went down back there. I mean, about not backing you up on the tattoos.'

She gave him a jaundiced look. 'I don't expect you to lie for me, Flynn.' She inhaled. 'It doesn't matter if they believe me or not. I shared like the chief told me to. What they do with it is their business.' She turned and marched down the hall.

She was smack-dab in the middle of the corridor, so he had to bob and weave to keep up with her. 'Is your car fixed?'

'No.' She pressed on, past the dispatch room.

'Hi, Kevin!' Harlene yelled.

He paused. Waved. 'Hi, Harlene!' He had to take two large steps to catch up with Hadley, which was something, considering his legs were a lot longer than hers. 'Did you drive your grandfather's car?'

'No.'

He stopped in front of the interview room. It differed from the interrogation room in that it had windows, and the table and chairs weren't bolted to the floor. 'How are you getting home?'

'I'm walking.'

'To Burgoyne Street?'

She finally looked up at him. 'It's not the other side of the moon, Flynn. It'll take me thirty minutes, tops.'

'Come with me. I'll drop you off after I run this guy to St. Alban's.'

She shook her head. 'No, thanks.'

'You're angry with me. About what I said to the chief.'

She set the edge of her jaw. 'Forget what you said to the chief. It's just… Look. Last night was an emergency. I'm not letting you take me anywhere if I can get there on my own.'

'Why not?' He meant it to be civil, inquiring; instead it steamed out, frustrated and perplexed. 'It's not like I'm asking you out. I'm not trying to steal a march on your spectacular career in the department. I'm just trying to be friendly, for chrissakes. That's all. Why do you keep blowing me off?'

She looked at him as if he had donned a hockey mask and fired up his chain saw. 'My spectacular career in the department?'

He erased the words in midair. 'I didn't mean to say that. Forget it.'

Her lush lips thinned, and two angry red blotches marred her perfect skin. 'Are you making fun of me?' She didn't look so beautiful now, and it was a relief, because for the first time it felt like maybe they might belong to the same species. 'Because I haven't been studying to be a cop since I was in diapers? Which for you was, like, four weeks ago.'

He could feel it, in that second, a fault line running through his head and heart as his blind adoration cracked and fell away. 'I'm not making fun of you. I'm trying to be friends. I'm starting to guess you don't recognize the concept because you don't have any.'

She held up her hands as if framing a camera shot. 'Let me set you straight. I didn't come here to make friends. I came here to do a job, get paid, and go home.'

'Where your life is so perfect, no doubt.'

'Where my life belongs to me. And my children. And I don't have to explain, or justify, or meet anyone else's expectations. So, no, Flynn, I don't want to be your friend. If you thought otherwise because you caught me in a weak moment last night, I'm sorry, but that was your thought, not anything I said or did to encourage you.'

She swung the door to the interview room open and stepped in, hanging off the doorknob. She rattled off a long sentence in loud Spanish, then swung back into the hall, pulling the door with her. Her eyes went round. 'Sir,' she said.

Kevin whirled around. The chief was a few feet behind him, his expression a blend of irritation and weariness. 'Kevin,' he said, 'are you bothering Officer Knox with unwelcome and unprofessional attention?'

'No! I mean, I didn't think I was. I didn't mean to.'

The chief's eyes cut to Hadley. 'Officer Knox?'

She jerked her chin up. 'I was just setting down the ground rules for Officer Flynn, sir. No offense taken.'

'Then let me set down the ground rule. Singular and simple. There will be no fraternization among members of this department. Failure to observe this rule will result in administrative notice, disciplinary action, and possible suspension. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Yes, Chief.'

'Good. This is a police department, not a high school dance.' The chief pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses. 'Appearances sometimes to the contrary.'

X

'I don't know why he seemed nervous.' Janet tucked the phone more firmly beneath her chin and lifted the lid on the pot. The water had come to a boil. 'Maybe because he's a stranger in a strange land? Maybe because when you come over all cop you can be as intimidating as hell?' She ripped the top off a bag of egg noodles and dumped them into the water.

'I didn't try to browbeat the kid,' her brother said. 'For chrissakes, you sound like Clare- Reverend Fergusson.'

Interesting. Should she pursue that line of-

'I just want to know if you've observed anything, anything at all, that might account for his twitchiness.'

'Not here,' she lied. 'He spends most of his time working at St. Alban's. I suggest you