Chapter Eight
What Does She Know?
“Nothing?” Amber asked for the tenth time as August looked at his cell.
“She got cold feet,” he replied. “I should have known she would. It was stupid to call her over here for dinner like this.”
“How else are we going to get to know her, Auggy? Did she say what happened?”
“I told you what her one and only text said three times now. She said something came up and she wasn’t sure if she was going to make it. That was two hours ago and she’s still not answering my texts.”
“Call her.”
“No.” August’s tone was flat but determined. “She canceled. I’m not going to suffocate her with calls and texts. If she’s uncomfortable about coming here, that’s not going to make it better for her.”
“Shit. What do you think she knows? Do you think that maybe she figured out that she’s a bear?”
August looked at Amber like she had sprouted a second head.
“In three hours?” he exclaimed. “She went her whole life without figuring it out and suddenly, on the night that we might learn the truth, she did? Does that sound realistic to you?”
“I’m just trying to make sense of this,” Amber retorted, flicking a dishrag at him. “Should we just eat, then?”
“You go ahead,” August sighed, rising from the dining room table. “I’ve got work to do.”
“What work? You were supposed to have a date tonight.”
“This might come as a shock to you, Amber, but life doesn’t stop just because I have dinner plans.”
He sauntered toward his bedroom and closed the door, not wanting to be disturbed.
There’s no reason for Amber to know that by “work” I mean I’m looking for Melissa’s father.
Amber would only have a ton of unsolicited advice for him.
He logged on to his laptop and flopped onto the bed, his cell directly at his side so he might see if Melissa decided to message him.
What turned her off to coming tonight?
Over and over, he played the last conversation they’d had in his head.
She seemed nervous but she was still coming. What changed? Did something happen?
He knew he would drive himself crazy playing that game. There was nothing he could do until Melissa touched base with him again.
Assuming she does.
With a giant sigh, he refocused his energy on the computer screen and logged into the CPD LAN computers but he knew from home, his access would be limited.
I need someone much more technical than me for something like this, he thought, wracking his brain for someone who could be trusted to find what he was looking for and keep their mouth shut.
It wouldn’t be an easy feat. Most of the techs he knew weren’t bears and the few bears that he did know with IT savvy were not apt to keep quiet about a rogue female bear who didn’t know her own past.
And gods only know what we might find about her real father.
Suddenly, his phone chimed and he started at the sound. Instantly, he snatched it up to read the text from Melissa.
Sorry about tonight. It couldn’t be avoided. See you tomorrow.
His fingers poised over the screen to respond but he could almost read the melancholy in her words, as if her upset reached through the phone and brushed past his face.
Are you all right?
He waited for her response but after two minutes of staring at his phone, he realized that she wasn’t going to.
What the hell is going on with her?
Again, he forced himself not to stress about that for the moment. She wouldn’t be able to avoid him in the squad car and they would have all day to get to the bottom of why she’d bailed on him.
Tonight, I’m going to find out everything I can about Melissa’s past. Tomorrow, I’m going to talk to her and find a tech who can help me investigate further.
~ ~ ~
He showed up to the station at six fifteen, his eyes gritty with lack of sleep.
If I keep this up, I’m going to start involuntarily shifting in the middle of the day, he thought grimly. I need to get some sleep.
“Silas! You’re here early,” Walker called when he ducked into the division. “Did you get CC’d on Stark’s email?”
“Uh, no… what email?” August asked, blinking as he reached for his phone.
“Oh. Awkward,” Walker chuckled. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not honoring her request anyway.”
“What request?” August demanded. “What was the email?”
“Don’t take it personally, Silas. You know how the newbies are. She probably got the hots for you or something.”
“Sarge, what did she want?”
Uneasiness filled August’s gut.
“She put in for a new T.O., in a new division. She wants to leave the 22.”
“W-what?”
Walker shrugged and took a swig of his coffee. “She hasn’t even been here a week and she’s putting in demands. Can you imagine her lasting a year in this job?”
The older man snickered and padded toward his office as August gaped after him.
She put in for a transfer, the day I invited her over for dinner? Why? Did I make her uncomfortable?
A wave of shock washed over August and he had to sit against his desk to reclaim his breath.
In his life and career, August had never been accused of misconduct. He prided himself on treating everyone with respect and dignity.
I misread this situation and now I’ve scared her off.
He’d never felt more humiliated in his life.
Abruptly, he rose and made his way into Walker’s office.
“Sarge?”
“Yeah?”
“Did Stark give her reasons for wanting a transfer?”
He shook his head and grinned at the detective. “It’s bugging you, huh? Trust me, Silas, you’re going to get more like Stark in your lifetime. There’s no pleasing some of them. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it has nothing to do with you.”
August knew he was being dismissed but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the room, his heart pounding.
“Could I see the email she sent you?”
Walker grunted and waved his hand without looking up from his computer.
“I’ll forward it to you but I’m telling you, there’s nothing specific.” The sergeant’s head jerked up, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Wait a second… did you do something? Is that what this is about?”
August paled and shook his head. “Uh, no… it’s just so out of the blue. I was hoping to make sense of it.”
Walker nodded, apparently content with the explanation, and returned to his work.
“Well, she just walked in. You can ask her yourself.”
August spun and saw that Walker was speaking the truth. Melissa had entered the squad room, her eyes trained downward as she shuffled toward his desk.
“Hey,” August breathed, joining her side. “We need to talk.”
“No, Silas, we don’t,” she said with a firmness that took him aback.
“Uh, yeah,” he insisted, grabbing her arm and steering her out of the slowly crowding area. “You blew me off last night and this morning I find out you put in for a transfer? I’d say we need to talk about this.”
Melissa’s head whipped up. “Walker told you?” she whispered. “Already?”
“Of course he did. Did you hope you’d just get transferred out and not have to see me again?”
Sadness shadowed her face and she lowered her gaze again. “I-I don’t know what I thought,” she muttered. “I guess… I don’t know.”
“Melissa,” he growled, pulling her into an empty locker room. “What is going on?”
“Nothing!” she snapped, a look of defiance coloring her cheeks. “I just think you’re right after all. I’m not really cut out for this work. I shouldn’t have asked for a transfer. I should have handed in my resignation.”
August scoffed in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, Silas, I’m not joking! I should have known that my past would catch up with me.”
She clamped her mouth closed as if she realized she’d said too much.
“Never mind,” she muttered but a stab of worry touched August’s heart.
“Your past? You mean your parents?” he asked. Her brow furrowed and she scowled.
“My parents? What?”
He exhaled and shook his head. “Tell me what’s going on,” he urged. “I can help you.”
“You can’t help me,” she retorted, wresting her arm free of his hold. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll forget about me.”
“How do you expect me to do that? You’re going to be riding with me every day.”
She shook her head. “Not if I get my transfer.”
“You’re not getting your transfer, Melissa.”
Her mouth gaped. “W-why not?” she breathed and August sighed.
“You don’t just get moved out because you ask for it. You need to earn your stripes and you haven’t even been here a week. Of course you’re not going anywhere.”
Despair stained her face.
“I-isn’t there anything you can do?” she asked pleadingly. “Can’t you put in a good word or something?”
He stared at her dubiously. “No,” he snapped. “No, I can’t.”
“Please, August,” she murmured, her eyes wide. “It’s important.”
“No, Melissa. You won’t tell me what’s going on and I won’t let you go now that I’ve finally found you!”
He hadn’t meant to say the last part aloud but it was too late to recant the words.
“I-I don’t know what that means,” she told him slowly. “But I’m not who you think I am.”
“Melissa, look at me. Look at me.”
Reluctantly, she raised her head and eyed him dully.
“I know you better than you can understand right now and whatever it is you’re going through, I can help you.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
Melissa darted toward the door as a pair of officers entered the room and disappeared into the district but August had anticipated her movements and was on her heels before she could run out the door.
“So, what now?” he demanded angrily. “Now you run away? Isn’t that what you swore you weren’t going to do anymore?”
“I’m not running away, August,” she sighed. “I can’t run away from this.”
“Then where are you going?” he demanded coldly.
“I’m going home to see if my roommate can train me in IT.”
August stared at her uncomprehendingly. “I-I don’t even know what that means,” he confessed. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m looking for a new career, August.”
“Wait, Melissa, hey…”
His hand went onto her arm again but she didn’t try to move out of his grasp.
“I didn’t mean to come on too strong with you. If you’re that serious about getting your transfer, I’ll see what I can do but you’re a good cop. I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise. I’m sorry I read our connection wrong. Just don’t do anything rash.”
A look of panicked understanding crossed her face.
“Oh… no…” she choked, placing her own hand over his. “No, August, this isn’t about you…”
She bit down on her lower lip with such force, he was surprised she didn’t draw blood.
“Then what is it?” he demanded, knowing that his insistence wasn’t going to get him anywhere.
If she really wanted to tell me what was happening, I wouldn’t have to beat it out of her.
“This isn’t your fault,” she told him and he believed her, but a feeling of helplessness fell through his body as he realized that she wasn’t going to give him anymore.
“Melissa, what are you going to do now?” he asked, dread seizing his gut.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered again, turning toward the sergeant’s office. “I’ve got to put in my resignation.”
This time when she walked away, he didn’t try to follow her, knowing that his actions would only be futile at that point.
This isn’t over, he told himself gravely even though his stomach was flipping with uncertainty. If she won’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll just have to find out for myself, won’t I?