Nolan continued, “Don’t think the color of your skin and local politics are going to save your ass if you’re harassing people. I’ll go to Sullivan myself if I have to.”
“I expect as much from a sorry excuse of an officer like you,” Tain said as he spun around. “You stay the hell away from me.”
“Don’t you even care about those missing girls?”
“More than you do.”
“Yeah? Prove it! Stop jeopardizing this investigation. You keep running off, doing your own thing, not checking in with anyone, threatening people for no reason.”
“I have my reasons.”
“Yeah? How about filling the rest of us in? Sharing your alleged leads? If you’ve got something on Kurdy, put it on the table so we can get surveillance, bring him in for questioning. You running off trying to save the day on your own is holding us back.”
“Yeah?” Tain shifted his gaze deliberately to Craig Nolan’s left, then right. “And where’s the little chick the sergeant told you to partner with?” He looked Nolan in the eye. “Waiting in the car? Or did you ditch her at the office first chance you got? Don’t you lecture me about playin’ it solo. Not after what happened to Winters. I’m under no delusions about who isn’t watching my back, Nolan. Not unless you think you can put a knife in it, that is.”
He spun on his heel and walked away. Somehow, Nolan had known where he was going, what he was doing. Tain knew Nolan had been keeping an eye on him, but he also knew he’d left the station well ahead of the ambitious officer. There was no way Nolan could have followed him.
And that left a few possibilities. Nolan’s instincts could have been better than Tain wanted to give him credit for, or he might have gotten lucky.
Or he had a source.
Tain yanked the car door open and slammed the key into the ignition as he formed a mental list of everyone he’d seen in the bar, anyone who’d noticed him when he went in. It had been the usual crowd of underemployed or hired by the job, off-the-books types who practically lined up outside waiting for the doors to open.
Luck wasn’t something he believed in, but the idea that Nolan could read him or had someone tipping him off made his gut twist.
He was going to have to watch his back, more than he already was.
C HAPTER T EN
Eighteen months ago
It was 2:45 p.m. when Ashlyn pushed what was left of her sandwich aside and tossed the latest message on Craig’s desk.
Complete with follow-up details attached. She’d done the legwork on every call that had come in since her partner had left, as well as the messages he’d tossed in front of her. Some of the callers had been identified as cranks, people who tried to be helpful by calling the police with what turned out to be useless information. Sue Sanders claimed she’d seen Mary Donard at the local diner when she was on her way to a ten a.m. appointment with Dr. Daniels on the fifteenth. Sue couldn’t remember which month, but she knew for a fact that it was the fifteenth, and if Ashlyn would stop being so lazy and call the doctor’s office, they’d tell her themselves.
It turned out the only appointment she’d had with the doctor in recent years was on the seventeenth of December 2002, but between Ashlyn and the receptionist, Sue Sanders wasn’t playing with a full deck.
Ashlyn didn’t call Mrs. Sanders back to let her know what conclusion she’d reached about her tip.
Doubt was cast on another potential lead when she’d called the helpful citizen, only to discover he had no memory of calling the police at all. A third had called from a long-term nursing facility. Staff confirmed the patient in question had been a resident for two years and hadn’t been off the property in more than four months and therefore couldn’t possibly have seen a missing girl at a church dance two weeks ago.
For the very few she couldn’t refute or substantiate, Ashlyn had outlined a course of action for further investigation.
“I expect as much from a sorry excuse of an officer like you,” Tain said as he spun around. “You stay the hell away from me.”
“Don’t you even care about those missing girls?”
“More than you do.”
“Yeah? Prove it! Stop jeopardizing this investigation. You keep running off, doing your own thing, not checking in with anyone, threatening people for no reason.”
“I have my reasons.”
“Yeah? How about filling the rest of us in? Sharing your alleged leads? If you’ve got something on Kurdy, put it on the table so we can get surveillance, bring him in for questioning. You running off trying to save the day on your own is holding us back.”
“Yeah?” Tain shifted his gaze deliberately to Craig Nolan’s left, then right. “And where’s the little chick the sergeant told you to partner with?” He looked Nolan in the eye. “Waiting in the car? Or did you ditch her at the office first chance you got? Don’t you lecture me about playin’ it solo. Not after what happened to Winters. I’m under no delusions about who isn’t watching my back, Nolan. Not unless you think you can put a knife in it, that is.”
He spun on his heel and walked away. Somehow, Nolan had known where he was going, what he was doing. Tain knew Nolan had been keeping an eye on him, but he also knew he’d left the station well ahead of the ambitious officer. There was no way Nolan could have followed him.
And that left a few possibilities. Nolan’s instincts could have been better than Tain wanted to give him credit for, or he might have gotten lucky.
Or he had a source.
Tain yanked the car door open and slammed the key into the ignition as he formed a mental list of everyone he’d seen in the bar, anyone who’d noticed him when he went in. It had been the usual crowd of underemployed or hired by the job, off-the-books types who practically lined up outside waiting for the doors to open.
Luck wasn’t something he believed in, but the idea that Nolan could read him or had someone tipping him off made his gut twist.
He was going to have to watch his back, more than he already was.
C HAPTER T EN
Eighteen months ago
It was 2:45 p.m. when Ashlyn pushed what was left of her sandwich aside and tossed the latest message on Craig’s desk.
Complete with follow-up details attached. She’d done the legwork on every call that had come in since her partner had left, as well as the messages he’d tossed in front of her. Some of the callers had been identified as cranks, people who tried to be helpful by calling the police with what turned out to be useless information. Sue Sanders claimed she’d seen Mary Donard at the local diner when she was on her way to a ten a.m. appointment with Dr. Daniels on the fifteenth. Sue couldn’t remember which month, but she knew for a fact that it was the fifteenth, and if Ashlyn would stop being so lazy and call the doctor’s office, they’d tell her themselves.
It turned out the only appointment she’d had with the doctor in recent years was on the seventeenth of December 2002, but between Ashlyn and the receptionist, Sue Sanders wasn’t playing with a full deck.
Ashlyn didn’t call Mrs. Sanders back to let her know what conclusion she’d reached about her tip.
Doubt was cast on another potential lead when she’d called the helpful citizen, only to discover he had no memory of calling the police at all. A third had called from a long-term nursing facility. Staff confirmed the patient in question had been a resident for two years and hadn’t been off the property in more than four months and therefore couldn’t possibly have seen a missing girl at a church dance two weeks ago.
For the very few she couldn’t refute or substantiate, Ashlyn had outlined a course of action for further investigation.
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