Chapter 29

URIAH

Captain Lee stood next to the window, her hands behind her back, and stared out her office window. She was so still that it was hard to tell she was even alive. A pose I’d seen many times before.

I sat patiently in my seat. At this point, I was ready for her to say anything.

“Do you know how long I’ve been captain of this department?” she asked.

“I’m sorry,” I said with a shrug. “I never bothered looking that much into your personal history.”

“Take a guess.”

“I—”

“Don’t worry. I know I’m old. You won’t insult me.”

“Thirty years?”

“Longer than that. I’ve been captain for longer than that. And I’ve been at this station even longer. And I’ve lived in Snow Falls for even longer. This is my home. It will always be my home. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Sir… Why are you telling me this?”

She didn’t say anything, still motionless next to the window. Before the silence in her office could grow more awkward, she slowly turned around.

“I want you to understand how important this is to me,” she said. “How important it is to me that this city does everything it can to maintain as much of a semblance of peace as it can maintain. There will always be criminals out there. There aren’t enough police in the city to watch over everybody. But in all my years, I’ve never failed to do everything I could.”

She took a seat at her desk.

“And I know that you feel the same way,” she continued.

She leaned back, her fingertips pressed against one another. She stared at me like she was sizing me up. A teacher hesitating to tell the student his grade on the assignment she just graded.

“You were reckless,” she said.

As soon as she said it, the scowl on her face grew.

“Two times you encountered Rivera and two times he blew up all of the evidence. Of course, the evidence doesn’t matter since Rivera is dead. Though it would have been nice if we could trace everything back to all of the people he’s dealing with. But… It doesn’t matter. With Rivera gone, everything underneath him will eventually crumble.”

“I’m sorry. I know the DA wanted a conviction. But Rivera forced my hand. If I didn’t do what I did, he would have killed me.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me. I read your report more than once, Kennedy. It’s not just the two facilities that blew up. It’s the biker gang. To think that you were in league with a petty thug.”

She sighed a deep breath and shook her head.

“It’s disappointing that you had to use alternative means rather than the resources the department provided for you.”

“There are limits to what even the police can do. I had to go out there on the streets. It was the only way I could discover the details we needed on Rivera. It was the only way I could get close to him.”

“It was still reckless. It was irresponsible. I didn’t put you on this assignment so you could just carelessly throw yourself in harm’s way.”

I put my head down. The more I tried to reason with her, the more I knew she would only scold me. There was no point in trying to explain my point of view.

“You did everything you had to do,” she said. “And that’s exactly what I wanted to see.”

I slowly turned my head up. The sudden smile appearing on her face only made me more confused. I blinked to make sure that I was seeing her right.

“I love Snow Falls,” she said. “I’ll do anything to protect it. This last assignment proves you’re willing to do the same. I can assure you that you’ll never have to worry about doing anything like that again.”

“Do you mean—”

“I’ve put in a strong recommendation for you. How does Detective Kennedy sound?”

“It sounds… great,” I said with a laugh.

“It’ll take a few weeks to process the paperwork. But once it’s done, I’ll expect you to get back to work. There are a lot of things going on out there in Snow Falls, not just in the West Bay. I want you to be one of the people responsible for making sure that those things are put to rest.”

I stood up from my seat and shook her hand.

“I promise you,” I said. “I’ll do everything I can to keep this city safe. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

“I know you will.”

I turned around to leave. Just as I put my hand on the doorknob, she called out to me.

“Kennedy.”

I turned around slowly.

“Congratulations.”

The smile on her lips was still hard to believe. It didn’t make her look any less intimidating. She always had my respect though. Even more so now because through it all, I knew she was just a woman who cared about her city.

I headed back to my desk and collapsed in my seat. The tension I had just before the meeting with Lee was completely gone. I felt foolish that I had any worries at all.

“Look who it is,” Sanders said. “The man of the hour.”

He had a small box in his hands as he sat down at the desk across from me.

“How are things, Officer Kennedy? Or should I say Detective Kennedy?”

“What? How did you know?”

“I’ve already told you before how long I’ve been here. I’ve seen all kinds of people walk through that door. I always knew you were one of the good ones. What you did with this Rivera case is nothing short of remarkable. You tracked down the biggest drug kingpin in the state. Hell, you didn’t even lock him up. You got close enough to put a bullet in his chest.”

“Considering how many enemies he had, I wonder how he’d gone so long without it.”

“Everybody was scared of Rivera. Not you though. You took down an empire. You made him run away like a coward.”

“I did my job, that’s all.”

“Everybody working for Rivera scattered like roaches. I imagine there are a lot of small-time dealers celebrating his demise.”

“The thought of doing something that criminals are celebrating doesn’t exactly make me feel good.”

“It should make you feel good because none of them are as bad as Rivera. You can’t arrest every bad guy in a day. One by one. You’ll get there. And with you working investigations, I’ve got no doubt things are gonna be looking pretty good for Snow Falls. Too bad for you though…”

Sanders opened up his box and pulled out a glazed donut. I raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity.

“Wait a second,” I said. “What do you mean too bad for you?”

He swallowed his bite down and shrugged.

“Look at you,” he said. “You’re fit. You’re athletic. You spend more time at the gym than you do enjoying life.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You were built to be out there on the streets, dealing with punks and checking thugs. Now, you’ll just be in your office, pushing pencils and directing other cops on what to do. You do know that’s what it means to be on investigations, right?”

“I know what it means. I just… I never thought of it that way.”

“Not that it’s a bad thing. Nice office. Constant air-conditioning. Not having to report to your superiors every single day. You’ve got it made.”

“Yeah, I suppose I do…”

With Bryce in my life and a child to take care of, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I wouldn’t have to keep him up late at night, wondering and worrying about where I was. I could do my job and still be the father I needed to be.

“Hey, Sanders.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Hey, you’re not the first partner I’ve ever had. That’s what partners do. Besides, it’s not like I won’t be around. You can still hang out and have some donuts.”

“…You know… I think that extra burst of sugar was what I needed to catch Rivera that night.”

“I’ve got no doubt in my mind that it was. Here…”

He held the box out to me.

“…A little celebration,” he said. “Take a donut. For me.”

I chuckled softly and nodded.

“Okay,” I said. “A little celebration…”

I looked at all of the sweet donuts, each one just as sugary as the next.

“The jelly ones are always good…”

I grabbed one and took a bite out of it.

“How is it?” Sanders asked.

I closed my eyes and savored it for a moment. After everything I’d been through, I had to appreciate just how good it was. I couldn’t help but smile.

I opened my eyes back up and Sanders was staring at me, his eyes wide and a big grin of anticipation on his face. I nodded back to him in approval before I responded.

“I’ve never had anything that tasted so sweet.”