Youre not dating my sister, either, the young Cartwright warned to his fellow officer. Ive seen how you operate.
A sweet guy like me? Baldy feigned offense and saluted the television with his last bite of bagel. Im just sayin shes
Gentlemen. Taylor subdued them with a single word.
Elis gaze slid to the TV, where a stock photograph of the commissioner graced the corner of the screen while the commentator related highlights of yesterdays robbery and double homicide at the Cattlemens Banks downtown office. Masking his interest behind a swallow of coffee, he listened for any mention of the other police officer whod been on the scene and had taken down the alleged gunman with a shot to the knee.
But the focus was all about Commissioner Cartwright and how KCPDs top bureaucrat hadnt been behind a desk so long that shed forgotten how to protect and serve the citizens of Kansas City when danger struck.
Ah, cmon, sir, the bald one was protesting. Were on our fifteen.
The morning briefings in ten.
Then were on a ten-minute break? Baldy tried to appease his boss.
Better make it nine and a half so you can get front-row seats.
The two young officers echoed a dutiful, Yes, sir.
Front and center, Baldy added for good measure.
Just be there. Taylor shook his head as though Cartwright and Baldy were the problem children of the Fourth Precinct. But there was no smile, indulgent or otherwise, when the captain took his leave of Eli. Masterson.
Captain.
Whoa, man, there she is.
Eli pulled his gaze from Taylors departure and tuned in to the television, too, to catch highlights from yesterdays news conference outside the Cattlemens Bank.
A dramatic shot of two ambulances with their swirling red lights, and the banks shattered front window formed a backdrop as Shauna Cartwright faced off against the press of reporters and photographers. The spotlight from several stations television cameras bathed her even features in a cold, harsh glare. Her short hair formed a careless fringe about her cheeks and forehead, but there was an energy shining from her intelligent eyes and upturned chin that seemed to command the crowdeven more than the guarded stance of the man at her side. With the distinct, receding points of his dark brown hair, and the impeccable suit that masked the gun he wore at his waist, Deputy Commissioner Michael Garner was instantly recognizable.
Garners dark, narrowed eyes scanned the crowd as he inched closer to Shaunas shoulder. The man was expecting danger. An answering tension squeezed like a tight fist at the back of Elis neck. Even through the television screen, Garner indicated that he sensed some kind of threat in the audience behind the camera. Maybe the man was protecting the officenot the woman. Maybe he was guarding KCPD itself from any questions that probed too far into events from the robbery/homicide.
Meanwhile, Shauna seemed unaware, or perhaps impervious to any potential danger as she fielded a barrage of questions.
She pointed to a dark-haired woman with a tape recorder. Ms. Page.
The reporter wasted no time. Having finally put a man on trial for the Baby Jane Doe abduction and murder, and now personally thwarting a bank robbery, do you feel youre settling into your new role as the head of KCPD?
You had to bring up Baby Jane. Officer Cartwright shot his wadded napkin at the TV screen, nailing the reporters image. Moms had the job for almost a year now, toots. She had to take command before we finally got the damn case solved.
Down, Tiger, Baldy raised a hand to calm his partner.
Young Cartwright crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. From the most seasoned veterans to newbies like these two, the Baby Jane Doe murder case was a sore point that had plagued KCPD for over two years. A mutilated baby girl left in the city dumpunclaimed, unidentifiable. No parent had come looking for her; no clue had led to a real suspect. For months, the city had lived in fear for its children. Kansas City had mourned for the little girl whom no one seemed to miss, while they railed against the idea that such violence had come to their town. Through a charity drive headed by KCPD, citizens had raised money to give the girl a proper burial. But they still couldnt give her a name.
Closure was a long time coming for a weary police force with its reputation on the line. Eli knew firsthand there was often that one case which haunted a detective throughout his career. Baby Jane Does senseless murder was a case that had united the entire department, in frustration and sorrow.
But things had changed a few months ago. When Shauna Cartwright had been appointed to finish the term of the ailing commissioner, one of her first acts was to appoint a task force dedicated to the Baby Jane Doe investigation. Kansas City finally breathed a little easier. The task force arrested Donnell Gibbs, a known pedophile, whod confessed to the killing. The D.A.s office was set to prosecute Gibbs for murder. Preliminary hearings in Gibbss trial made news reports almost every night.
The story made good press, Eli supposed. But until Gibbs was in prison and the girls story was laid to rest, there wouldnt be any real closure for Kansas City or KCPD.
Now there was one cool lady, Eli mused, mesmerized by the TV screen.
Without batting an eye, Shauna looked into the camera and diverted attention away from that hot-button topic by talking about the banks two wounded security guards. All of KCPD is keeping them in our prayers.
Do you have the officers names? shouted another reporter.
Not at this time. Were waiting, of course, until their families can be notified. The men are in good hands at St. Lukes Hospital, and I know their families will want to join them there.
What about the two men who were killed? And the man you took into custody?
The first detectable glitch in her control came when she rolled her shoulders as if shed suddenly discovered a stiff muscle, no doubt a result of Elis flying tackle. But she still made no mention of him.
Michael Garner had noticed the change, too, as he dragged his gaze from the audience down to the woman at his side. He whispered something to her, out of ear-shot from the camera. Shauna shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her, rubbing her palms along the sleeves of her white blouse as though nothing more ominous than a chill had shivered through her.
Well be sharing more information as it becomes available, she continued, ignoring Garner and her own discomfort. In the meantime, we appreciate you honoring the guards privacy and giving the doctors time to do their work. Thank you.
Before the news clip faded and the picture returned to the studio anchors, Eli zeroed in on the blood staining the commissioners cuffs. The tension in his neck shifted and throbbed at his temple. He reached up and touched the two butterfly bandages that cinched the wound in his hairline.
Was that his blood? For all her cool, calm and collected facade, Shaunas hands had been surprisingly warm and urgent as shed tended him. And her shapely body had shaken with fear, or perhaps simply an over-abundance of adrenaline, when shed been sandwiched between Eli and the floor.
What the hell?
Before Eli could quell his hormones masculine response to the vivid memory of his bosss subtle feminine attributes, her grown son shot to his feet, swearing at the television.