A Better Man
“Good morning.” Roth greeted his deputies, and like Thursday when he’d dropped by to introduce himself and pick up his uniforms, the happy-to-meet-you vibes were noticeably absent.
Jones, the lone female, and Morris muttered replies. White and Aycock remained mute. Roth drilled Aycock with what one of Roth’s boot camp drill instructors had called the “dead stare.”
Aycock folded. “Morning. Sir.”
Roth locked gazes with White. The older man’s expression turned obstinate. Why had he been passed over for promotion? He’d been with the department since Roth’s time in Quincey. Roth could easily ask around, but he’d learned a long time ago to distrust gossip. He would have to watch White and figure out what his issues were.
Snodgrass cleared his throat. “Deputy White, would you retrieve the chief’s badge and gun and the appropriate forms, please?”
White’s surly attitude and snail’s pace as he fetched the items from a glass-enclosed office—Roth’s new office—confirmed his passive-aggressive resistance. He returned and slammed the items on the scarred desk in front of Snodgrass.
Roth picked up the pistol and checked the chamber and clip. “HK. Nice weapon and able to withstand abuse.” Like being slammed into a solid surface.
The mayor nodded. “We upgraded our weapons last year. The HK 9mm is supposed to be what European officers carry. Deputy White, as the senior officer present, you may have the honor of swearing in the new chief.”
White folded his beefy arms. “You’re the mayor. You carry more clout in this town. You do it.”
Oh, yeah, Roth and his second-in-command would have to work out their differences. White wouldn’t like taking orders from a man twenty-plus years his junior. But doling out discipline was a skill Roth had mastered in the Corps. He could handle anything the deputy tossed at him.
The mayor offered a Bible. Roth experienced a slight twinge of conscience when he rested his hand on the book and repeated the oath, knowing he’d be counting the days until he could surrender his badge.
Then it was done. Roth was committed to protect the town that had done nothing to protect him or his mother. But he’d survived worse.
He pinned his badge to his blue uniform shirt and holstered the gun. The mayor offered him a pen. Chest tightening, Roth slashed his signature on the contract’s relevant lines.
Snodgrass pointed to the last form. “This one needs a witness. Who—”
“Deputy White will be my witness,” Roth commanded, and challenged the man to decline. Refusing a direct order from his superior would be grounds for dismissal.
White got the message and after a noticeable hesitation he scratched illegibly across the form. His scowl made it clear he considered the battle lines drawn.
The deputy would learn quickly that this Marine didn’t retreat just because the job looked tough.
CHAPTER FIVE
“WHY DIDN’T YOU tell me?” Madison asked as she sat at her kitchen table across from Piper.
Piper hoped Madison wasn’t talking about what every single person who’d walked through the clinic’s door this morning had brought up. “Tell you what?”
“Piper Hamilton, don’t give me that innocent look. You know what I’m talking about. I can’t believe I had to hear about your juicy past with Chief Sterling from my clients instead of you.”
“There’s nothing to tell. We dated. Briefly. It ended badly.”
“You did more than date. I can’t believe you would have let me bake a cake for the new chief like every other eligible woman in Quincey.”
“You don’t bake.”
Madison rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point. Is he Josh’s father?”
Piper nearly dropped her sandwich. “Wh-why ask such a crazy question?”
“Josh looks like him.”
“My son is a blond, like me.”
“Yes, but he has his daddy’s brown eyes. Those eyes will talk a lot of girls out of their panties in a few years. You should be worried. Does Roth know?”
Piper miraculously managed to follow Madison’s train of thought. She seriously considered lying for all of thirty seconds. “No. And I don’t want to bring it to Roth’s attention, so please keep quiet.”
“Sweetie, that’s a hard secret to keep with them practically living on top of each other. If Sterling has half a brain cell in his gorgeous body, all he has to do is a little math. It’s not like you to deny the obvious.”
Piper shoved her sandwich away. Never mind that Madison made the best chicken salad in the world, at the moment Piper would choke if she tried to eat another bite. “I usually like Monday lunches at your house. You’re killing that pleasure for me today.”
“What happened?” Madison ignored her complaint.
What was the point in evading the truth? “I got pregnant. I thought we’d get married. Instead, when I told Roth he offered me money for an abortion and then he left town.”
“Sonofabit—”
“It’s not entirely his fault. I recently discovered my father threatened Roth and coerced him into joining the Marines. And…I told Roth I’d never give birth to the child of white trash like him.”
“Not nice, and so not like you to be a vindictive bitch.”
“No. I hate conflict. But I was hurt and scared, and I struck back the only way I knew how.”
“Becoming old and wise requires us to go through the young and stupid stage. Don’t beat yourself up over it. What can I do to help?”
“I wish I knew. But mostly, I wish Roth had never come back.”
“Wishing is a waste of time. Trust me on that. You need a plan, and you need to consider telling Roth about Josh and letting the man contribute to your son’s upkeep.”
“I don’t want anything from Roth.”
“Maybe you don’t. But doesn’t Josh deserve to know his father?”
The question cut deep—right to the heart of Piper’s insecurities. When Josh was younger she’d been enough. And when they’d moved home her father had pitched in. But lately…Josh had been moody, acting as if something bothered him. When she asked what was wrong he said, “Nothing.” Her mom claimed it was puberty. Piper wasn’t so sure.
Whatever the problem was, Roth wasn’t the answer.
“I’m convinced Roth won’t hang around long. He’s always hated Quincey. I don’t want Josh to get attached and then get abandoned.”
“Like you did.”
Piper picked at the crust on her bread. “Yes.”
Madison grasped Piper’s hand. “Even in the best, the strongest relationships, there’s no guarantee that you won’t get left behind.”
The raw pain and sadness in Madison’s eyes tugged at Piper’s heart. “Roth was a Marine sniper. He killed people for a living. And before he came here he was a sniper with the Charlotte SWAT team.”
“I can see how that might bother you, but, sweetie, that was his job.”
“But how could he kill people in cold blood? I’ve seen the sniper shows with my father. They plot and plan, sometimes for months, to kill someone.”
“He’d do it the same way I euthanize pets—by focusing on the good you’re doing. In my case I try to end an animal’s suffering. In his, I’m guessing there’s a very good reason for him to follow an order to take someone out. That doesn’t make either of us a killer.”
That was eerily similar to what Roth had said.
“Madison, I’m scared of that dark side of him. And I can’t risk losing my son to someone like that. Roth could try to take Josh away. At the very least he would get joint custody. Or Josh could hate me for lying to him about his father. Either way, I lose.”
* * *
THE FRONT DOOR of Ann Marie’s office slammed open. Only one person dared to enter her carefully restored, on-the-historical-register, former-train-station office that way.
Lou Hamilton.
If he’d put a fresh dent in the plaster behind the door, she would ring his neck. After he repaired it. The man was still good for some things.
“Ann Marie!”
She rose, smoothing her palms down her skirt, and met him in the doorway. “Good afternoon, Lou. Doris, why don’t you take your lunch break now?”
“But—”
“I’ll go when you get back. I’m waiting for a call and don’t want to leave the phone uncovered.” As well as she and her secretary worked together, Doris was one of the biggest gossips, and their corner office on Main and Maple Streets gave her the perfect vantage point to see everybody’s business.
Doris looked predictably disappointed. Lou only stormed in when he had something interesting to grouse about. He never dropped by to chat the way he’d done before Piper became pregnant and he’d taken the stance that Ann Marie couldn’t forgive or forget.
Ann Marie waited until her assistant had gathered her purse and shuffled out the door before marching over to inspect her wall. Her fingertip trailed over a telltale dent. “You’re going to fix that.”
“Course I will. Do you know what that sonofabitch has done?”
“To which fine citizen are you referring?” But she knew. Lou had only one man in his sights at the moment.
“Sterling sent Morris and Jones home and told them to come back this evening. Then he said, ‘We’re not going to sit on our asses and collect our paychecks. We’ll be working twelve-hour shifts and patrolling when we’re not doing paperwork.’ Then he left Butch in the office to run Dispatch, with orders to clean the equipment while he waited for calls to come in.”
“Don’t other towns’ officers work shifts?”
“I don’t care about other towns. That’s not how we operate. We’ve never worked shifts and we’re all available ’round the clock when calls come in. That damned Snodgrass and his peons have been bending Sterling’s ear.”
She didn’t bother reminding Lou he was no longer part of the “we.” In his mind he would always be Chief.
“You’re angry because you’ve lost your daily poker game. And you shouldn’t be getting this worked up over something that’s not your problem. You have your checkup this afternoon and you don’t want your blood pressure to be too high.”
“I will not let that jackass ruin my department.”
That did it. There were times you just couldn’t ignore pigheadedness. “It’s not your department anymore, Lou.”
She said it as gently as possible, but he paled as if she’d slapped him.
“Sterling has to go. Have you even thought about what will happen if he finds out about Josh? He might sue for joint custody, and if he does, then Josh will spend time with him. What grandma ignores her grandson? Which means Josh will be keeping company with Roth’s mother, and where Eloise goes, Seth goes. I will not allow the murdering bastard who killed my brother anywhere near my grandson.”
Fear fisted in Ann Marie’s stomach. She collapsed into her chair. “I’ve thought of nothing else since Roth told me his daddy was getting out, and I’m worried sick. But Lou, if you don’t control your anger, Roth will start asking questions about what has you so riled. And if he asks the right ones, then we might face exactly what we fear the most.”
“Over my dead body.”
She hoped that was an empty threat.
“None of us wants that. Piper needs us now more than ever, so please, try to put her well-being first instead of forcing your edicts on everyone else.”
He flinched at the low blow. It wasn’t often that she brought up the decision he’d made that had destroyed their marriage. But he had to focus on Piper and not his pride, or they could lose everything they held dear.
And Ann Marie would not, by God, lose her daughter again.
* * *
A QUICK FLASH of red amongst the pines caught Roth’s attention. He slowed the patrol car and scanned the woods, but whoever was out there had gone to ground.
He stopped the car, silenced the radio, lowered the windows two inches and killed the engine. Then he waited. Listening. Watching. Snipers learned patience early in their careers. Or they died. Five minutes passed before the top of a blond head preceded a pale face from behind a trunk. A boy. Too young to be out of school. Dark eyes. Medium build. Five and a half feet tall.
Roth blipped the siren with one hand and reached for the door handle with the other. He fully expected his quarry to flee. Instead, the boy strolled toward the car. He stopped abruptly when Roth emerged. And then he considered running. Roth could read it in the sudden tensing of the kid’s muscles and the slight flexing of his knees.
“No point in taking off now. I’ve seen you well enough to have a good description. Plus having to chase you would really piss me off.”
Roth did a visual for weapons or accomplices and saw neither. The crunch of the gravel beneath his feet gave way to the crackle of dead leaves. “Good weather for a hike, but shouldn’t you be in school?”
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