“No. You’re both dismissed.”
Ava opened her mouth to thank Captain Minard but was surprised with how quickly Frank left the office. She nodded quickly to Minard as she walked out after him. She caught up to him as he was halfway across the room, cutting behind the bullpen area to get back to his desk.
“Frank? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, not bothering to look at her. He didn’t sit down at his desk. Instead, he grabbed his badge and the holster with his sidearm and slipped it on.
“Are you sure?” Ava said.
“Yes. I’m just going to head out and follow up on some leads for a few smaller cases I was reading up on this morning. Things that really haven’t even been properly assigned yet.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, sensing something very off in his demeanor and the way he was talking to her. “Do you need some help?”
He finally glanced in her direction, but it was brief. “No, thanks. You should probably stay here and figure out what all needs to be done about your transfer, right?”
It wasn’t an insult or even a direct dig at her, but it hurt all the same. And quite frankly, it made her a little mad. “Yeah, maybe so,” she said.
Without another word, Frank headed for the lobby and the front door beyond. Ava watched him go and when she sat down in his chair, she replayed the meeting in her mind. She was pretty sure she hadn’t said anything to set him off. She could only wonder if the meeting itself and its outcome had gotten to him. Maybe he feared their separation more than she did—and maybe he noticed it and felt hurt.
Whatever it was, Ava figured he was best left alone for the moment. And with him gone, she couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like at another precinct—a precinct where no one knew her outside of a few newspaper headlines and beyond just being the widow of a well-decorated detective. And thinking those things, she started to understand why Frank might be so affected.
And if they didn’t talk about it soon, it might be incredibly harmful to their relationship.
CHAPTER THREE
“You’re sure this reassignment has nothing to do with your performance?” her father asked.
The question stung at first, but Ava knew what he meant. He knew that she was doing a spectacular job in her role as detective, but he also knew how lots of male policemen resented the idea of women being part of the force.
“I’m pretty sure, Dad. I think it’s all going to be okay.”
Ava shared the news with her father and Jeffrey over dinner. As she’d assumed, they both thought it was an exciting new opportunity. Jeffrey even seemed to think she was some sort of hero because, the way he saw it, everyone wanted to be working with his mother.
As they talked about what this could mean for her career, as well as the challenges of working at a precinct that was half an hour away, Ava did her best not to be sidetracked by the fact that Frank was not there with them. He didn’t always join them for dinner, but it had become rather frequent—around two or three times a week. Neither Jeffrey nor her father seemed to think anything much of his absence, so it was left unspoken.
It wasn’t until she walked Jeffrey to bed that Frank was even mentioned at all, in fact. And when Jeffrey brought it up, it reminded her just how sharp her son could be at times. He had an eye for emotional detail that most adults would envy.
“How does Mr. Frank feel about you going to another place to work?” Jeffrey asked as she tucked him into bed.
She had to be careful how much she revealed about the situation, not wanting to upset Jeffrey over something she didn’t quite understand herself. “You know, we really haven’t had a chance to talk about it. But I’m sure he’s fine with it. I think he’d agree with you—that it’s a great opportunity. And besides… Mr.Frank and I will still get to see each other. Just not at work for a while.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back over to see us?”
“I don’t. But maybe tomorrow after I’m done with work, I can stop by where I worknowand see him. I’ll ask him then.”
That seemed to ease Jeffrey’s worries for the time being. They read a chapter out of one of his favorite books and then Ava returned to the kitchen where her father was washing the dishes.
“This whole relocation thing,” he said. “Are you really okay with it?”
“I think I am. I was a little uncertain at first but the more I think about it and talk it out, I do think it could be good.”
“Well, speaking as a completely biased father, I think it’s a pretty huge move—to have the Chief of Police actually make sure to speak to you and hand-appoint you to a new location himself. I think there will only be good things to come out of this.”
“Let’s hope so,” she said.
She pitched in and helped with the dishes, already feeling the urge to step out and head over to Frank’s place. She didn’t like the way things had gone before they parted ways at the end of the day, and she hadn’t realized until speaking to Jeffrey that she really had no way of knowing for sure when she’d see him again. After all, she was reporting to a completely different precinct in the morning.
As her father started to get ready for bed, going through his nightly ritual of washing off in the tub and brushing his teeth, Ava sat on the couch and put her shoes back on.