The following day at work he was completely pre-occupied. Tate quickly grew frustrated with him.
“Maybe you should go home and get your shit together or take a nap. You’re completely useless to me today. Someone could tell you they are about to blow up the whole damned city and you’d not even realize it.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
“No. I can’t afford to be walking around with people like this and have my backup lost in his own damned head. I’ve only got a few months until I retire. I’d like to be able to sit on the river and fish and not go out in a box, if it’s all the same to you,” he growled.
“You can patrol alone.”
“I won’t. I need to do some stuff at the station anyway. Today is as good a day as any. Just do me a favor and don’t come back like this tomorrow.”
“Alright. I’m sorry. I’ll get a grip on myself.”
“Back inside the car,” Tate pushed him a little more. “Are you okay, Wilson? Do you need to talk?”
“Nah. I’m good.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I know I’m a cranky old bastard, but I am not completely heartless. I can listen.”
“Just woman problems and it’s getting under my skin. It’s unprofessional and I’ll get it under control before I come back tomorrow.”
“Alright. We’ve all been there, you know. Just sort it out with her. If you can talk to her, you don’t need her.”
“Fair enough.”
“Just go talk to her. I’ll cover for you at work.”
“Thanks, Tate.”
“No problem.”
Tate encountered Kate as he came through the doors of the station, despite trying to swerve her.
“Did you get my email with the photos?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I thought I replied,” he said, only now realizing that he hadn’t because of the argument with Lucy.
“Were they any help?”
“Don’t know yet, but thank you for getting them for me. Listen, I’ve got something to check into. I’ve got to run.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied, the disappointment in her voice evident.
He wasn’t sure what she had expected beyond that. Was she thinking they would team up? He would take her out to thank her personally? Make out with her in the copy room? None of that was going to happen, ever. Lucy or no Lucy. He had only come into the station to be seen there before he left again. He made his way out the back exit and got in his car, driving straight to Lucy’s house.
It was still dark, but this time he didn’t just pass by like some sort of stalker creeper ex-beau. He parked and got out. Her car was still there, it didn’t look like it had moved, but the lights were still out. It was the weekend, so maybe she had decided to go somewhere to cool down. She could have grabbed a cab to the train station or airport, perhaps even the bus route if she didn’t want to drive.
Frustrated that he couldn’t talk to her, he got back into his car and left. He’d just have to get a grip on himself and come back on Monday. Even if she went away for the weekend, she’d be back home then for classes and he could say he had given her time to think through things. If he was lucky, she’d call him before then. Either way, he was just going to have to get his shit together and make it through two more days of work without Tate having him kicked off the beat.
As it turned out, his head would be cleared quickly come the following morning when he and Tate walked into a world of shit. The heavy hitters that had turned up in town had finally made their move, taking out a rival drug faction which included an undercover police officer. It was all a mess, putting every cop on the streets on high alert and throwing a veil of silence over anyone in the neighborhood that didn’t want to become a casualty by talking to the cops.CHAPTER THIRTEENLucy
When Lucy had woken up yesterday, she had a splitting headache. Everything ached and it smelled like chemicals. There was no light and she had no idea what time it was, or even what day. She could hear sounds from outside the door, footsteps, and voices, but she couldn’t make out who they were or what they were saying.
She stood up and began feeling her way around the room. She could only feel block walls, but as she made her way toward the door, she felt a switch on the wall and flipped it, relieved when a small light came on above her. It was dim, but provided enough light for her to see what was around her.
The room was maybe six by eight and contained only a single size mattress. There were no sheets, but there was a blanket and a pillow. There was also a bottle of water. Whoever had put her here, hadn’t bothered to lay her on the mattress or she had moved off of it while she was out as she had awoken crumpled up in the corner opposite the makeshift bed.