A place to hide, p.20
A Place to Hide, page 20
They said their goodbyes and Nick got back in his car to head to the police station. As he drove toward Main Street, he thought about Nene and the conversation he’d just had with her.
His impression of his landlady was that she was a sweet older woman who was more than a bit lonely. He had a feeling if he would have continued to sit at the table, she would have been perfectly satisfied talking to him for the rest of the afternoon.
With his living space sorted out he could now focus on the reason he was here. When he’d seen the ad in the paper looking for help in solving a series of murders, he had definitely been intrigued.
He’d spent years working as a homicide detective in the New Orleans Police Department. He’d won plenty of accolades and awards for his work and he’d labored hard on putting away as many murderers as possible. However, two years ago he’d decided to quit the department and open his own private investigation business, but that certainly hadn’t meant he was done with killers.
When he’d reached out to Thomas Gravois, the man had told him about the four young women from the swamp who had been brutally murdered by the same killer, but he hadn’t said anything about fighting between the swamp people and town people. In fact, Nene had given him more information about the crimes than Gravois had.
Still, that didn’t matter. Gravois had hired him over a phone call after seeing all of Nick’s credentials. Nick was now more intrigued than ever to get a look at the murder books and see where the investigations had gone so far and what kind of “monster” he was dealing with.
He didn’t know if his fresh eyes and skills could solve these murders, but he’d give his all to see that four murdered women got the justice they deserved.
* * *
SARAH BEAUREGARD SAT at the dispatch/reception desk in the police office lobby and drummed her fingernails on the top as nervous energy bubbled around in the pit of her tummy.
She’d been working for the police department since she was twenty-one years old and for the past twelve years Chief Gravois had kept her either on desk duty or parked just off Main Street to hand out speeding tickets.
Over those years she’d begged him to allow her to work on any of the cases that had come up, but he’d refused. She had just turned twenty-one when her parents had been killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver.
She’d been reeling with grief and loss and Gravois, who had been close friends with her father, had taken her under his wing and hired her on as a police officer. However, his protectiveness toward her on the job had long ago begun to feel like shackles meant to hold her back from growing as an officer.
Until now...once again butterflies of excitement flew around inside her. She stared at the front door, waiting for her new partner to walk in.
She frowned as fellow officer Ryan Staub walked up and planted a hip on her desk. “So, the little lady is finally going to get to play at being a real cop,” he said.
“First of all, I’m not a ‘little lady’ and second of all you’re just jealous because I got the plum assignment of working with the new guy on the swamp murders.”
His blue eyes darkened in hue. “I can’t believe Gravois is letting you work on that case. He must have lost his ever-loving mind.”
“He’s finally allowing me to work up to my potential,” she replied firmly. “Besides, you already worked the cases and nothing was solved. And get your butt off my desk.”
Ryan chuckled and stood. “Why don’t you go out with me for drinks on Friday night?”
She looked up at the tall, handsome blond man. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not going out with you? I’ve told you before, I find you impossibly arrogant and you’re a womanizer and you just aren’t my type.”
He laughed again. “Oh, Sarah, I just love it when you sweet-talk me.” He leaned down so he was eye level with her. “Do you want to know what I think? I think you have a secret crush on me and you’re just playing hard to get.”
Sarah swallowed against a groan of irritation. “Don’t you have something better to do than bother me?”
He straightened up. “Yeah, I’ve got some things I need to get to.”
“Feel free to go get to them,” Sarah replied tersely. She released a sigh of relief as Ryan headed down the hallway toward the room where all the officers had their desks.
She and Ryan had known each other since they were kids, but it was just in the last month or so that he’d decided she should be his next conquest. And he’d already had plenty of conquests with the women in town.
At thirty-three years old, she had no interest in finding a special man. She’d thought she’d found him once and that romance had gone so wrong. Still, if she was looking, Ryan would be the very last man on earth she would date.
At that moment the front door whooshed open and a tall, handsome hunk of a man walked in. She knew in an instant that it was him...the man Gravois had hired to come in and help investigate the four murders that had taken place.
She’d read his credentials and knew he had been a highly respected homicide detective with the New Orleans Police Department. His black hair was short and neat and his features were well-defined. A black shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and his black slacks hugged his long, lean legs. Definitely a hunk, and her new partner.
He approached her desk and offered a brief smile. Not only were his twilight-gray-colored eyes absolutely beautiful, but he also had thick, long dark lashes. “Hi, I’m Nick Cain, and I’m here to see Chief Gravois.”
“Of course, I’ll just go let him know you’re here.” She got up from the desk and headed down the hall to Chief Gravois’s office.
It really made no difference to her that Nick Cain was a very handsome man. What she was most eager about was diving into the murder cases and perhaps learning something from the far more experienced detective turned private investigator.
She knocked on the chief’s door and heard his reply. She opened the door and peeked inside. “He’s here.”
Gravois was a tall, fit man with salt-and-pepper hair and sharp blue eyes. “Get Shanks to sit on the desk and you bring him back here so I can talk to both of you at the same time.”
Once again, an excited energy swirled around in the pit of her stomach. She opened the door behind which all the officers on duty sat. There were only three men in house at the moment, Ryan and Officers Colby Shanks and Ian Brubaker, who was the deputy police chief. “Colby, Gravois wants you on dispatch right now.”
The young officer jumped out of his seat. He was a new hire and very eager to learn about everything. “Sure. Is the new guy here?” he asked as he followed just behind her.
“He is,” she replied.
“Cool, I hope he’s as good as he sounds.”
“Let’s hope so,” she said.
They returned to the reception area where Nick Cain stood by the desk. “Sorry for the wait, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to Chief Gravois.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
As she led him down the hall, she could feel an energy radiating from him. It was an attractive energy, one of confident male.
Suddenly Sarah wondered if her hair looked okay. Was the perfume she’d spritzed on that morning still holding up? She checked these thoughts, which had no place in her mind right now.
While she was working these cases with this man, she was a police officer, not a woman. Besides, one time around in the world of romance had been far more than enough for her.
She gave a quick knock on Gravois’s door and then opened it. Nick followed her in and Gravois stood and offered his hand to him.
“Thomas Gravois,” he said as they shook hands. “Please, both of you have a seat. It’s good to have you here, Nick.”
“Thank you, it’s good to be here,” Nick replied.
“Have you gotten all settled in at Irene’s place yet?”
“I have,” Nick replied.
“Okay then, first of all I want to introduce you to your new partner, Sarah Beauregard.” Gravois pointed at her. “She will work side by side with you while you’re here.”
Nick nodded at her and Gravois continued. “Right now, you will be the only two working this investigation. If you need additional help then we can talk about that. I’ve set you two up in a small office that should have all you need. However, if there is something more that you want, please just let me know about it. In fact, I’ll take you back there now and show you the setup.”
The three of them stood and Gravois led the way down the hall to the office, which was really just an oversize storage area. A table had been set up in the center and a small filing cabinet hugged one of the corners. There was also a large whiteboard on one wall.
“I’ve put the murder books there in the center of the table, along with extra notepads for you to use. I’m sure you’re eager to get started. I’m glad you’re here, Nick. We need to get this guy off the streets as soon as possible.”
“I hope I can help you with that,” Nick replied.
“Later this afternoon I need to have a chat with you to finalize exactly how things are going to work,” Gravois said. “I’ve also got some paperwork for you to sign.”
“Whenever you’re ready, sir,” Nick replied.
“I’ll just leave you to it and I’ll check in with you later,” Gravois said. He left the room and closed the door behind him.
Instantly the room felt too small. She could now smell the scent of Nick, a spicy intoxicating fragrance that she found very appealing. He gestured her toward a chair at the table and then he sat opposite her.
“Officer Beauregard,” he began.
“Please make it Sarah,” she said.
“Sarah, how long have you been with the police department?” he asked.
“I’ve been with the department for the past twelve years,” she replied.
“Perhaps you have some insight into the murders?” He looked at her expectantly.
“Uh...to be honest, I haven’t been involved in any of the investigations into the murders up to this point,” she confessed.
He looked at her for a long moment and then released a heavy sigh. “So, what investigations have you been involved in during the last couple of years? I’m just trying to figure out here what I’m working with.”
“You’re working with a police officer whose sole desire and interest is to solve these four murders. I’m hardworking and tenacious and I’ll have your back like a good partner should,” she replied fervently.
His hard gaze on her continued. “I guess time will tell if you’re really all that.”
It was at that moment Sarah realized her new partner might just be a jerk.
Copyright © 2024 by Carla Bracale
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ISBN-13: 9780369743961
A Place to Hide
Copyright © 2024 by Debra Webb
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Debra Webb, A Place to Hide
