Chapter 1 (Mandy)

“Hey Mandy, do you want to grab a few drinks with us?”

I looked up to find my partner standing in front of my desk, thumbs hooked into his belt in his typical stance.

“Huh?”

“We’re headed to Patty’s for some drinks.” He repeated. “I thought you might want to come. We’ve all been working hard this week. We deserve a break.”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

Henry was an older man who had seen it all. He had been on the force for twenty-five years. Most nights he clocked out early, saying he no longer had the patience to work the long hours like the newbies.

“Yeah. I’m just finishing up here.”

“That’s what you told me last time.  Yet, when I came in the next morning, you were still here. You’re working too damn hard Mandy. You’ll burn yourself out.”

“I won’t do that this time. I just feel I’m onto something… I want to follow the lead while it’s still hot. It’s exciting, you know?”

“Hold on. Is this still the Hitchcock case?”

I smiled and nodded back at him.

“You’ve been taken off that case, Mandy. You have no jurisdiction snooping around anymore. Plus, talk about a conflict of interest.”

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore,” I said, voice curt. Before he could say anything else I got to my feet and headed for the breakroom, trying to avoid the lecture he was about to give me.

“Well, if you decide to give yourself a break, you know where to find us.” 

“Yep, Yep. Will do.”I said as I disappeared through the doors.

The break room was a miserable, pokey little place - barely larger than a supply closet. Inside, lockers went right across one wall, always overspilling with coats and bags that were stuffed inside. We had one kettle, only large enough to make two cups of tea at a time, and about ten mugs between us. The smell of coffee and bad milk always hung in the air. Tucked away in the corner was an ancient looking microwave that would sputter to a dead stop after three minutes of use. We were probably all slowly dying from some sort of radiation poisoning just standing in this room.

“Mandy!”I looked up. Fucking brilliant. Sat on the single tattered couch was Roger, a detective from my graduating class. While we were in training he had hit on me countless times, always trying to take me out on a date. He never seemed to get the message that I wasn’t into him. He just wasn’t my type.

“Roger, hey.” I glanced over and smiled politely in his direction before turning to face the selection of coffee, trying to look busy. Not that there was much of a choice. The dark roast looked like a safe bet.  I started up the machine and filled the reservoir with water. I should have guessed that Rodger would come and talk to me as I waited for it to boil. He got up, carefully folding his newspaper and placing it on the counter. “What are you still doing here? I thought your shift ended already.”

“It did. I’m just tieing up a few loose ends and then I’ll be off home.”

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “The Hitchcock case?”

“It’s really none of your business.” I snapped. That was one thing that I really disliked about him. He was so damn nosy.

“Oh come on, maybe I can help.” He offered, stepping even closer.

“Roger.” I held up my hand in warning. “I don’t want to be the bitch here, but I’ve told you plenty of times that I’m not interested.”

He sighed. “I get it. You’re still trying to get over him, aren’t you? That’s why you’re trying so hard to crack this case.”

“This has nothing to do with him.” I clenched my teeth in frustration. Why did everyone think that I was still so hung up on my ex-boyfriend?

I didn’t care about him.

Not anymore.

Not after I found the truth.

Well, almost. I was still working on it…

“Look, all I’m saying is that I can help. You don’t have to kill yourself over this if you don’t want to.”

“And I’m telling you, for the final time, that I can do this on my own.”

Roger ran his fingers through his long greasy hair. “You always were a stubborn one.” He said with a mischievous grin. “I think that’s why I’ve always tried so hard to get your attention.”

My brows furrowed in confusion.

“Never mind. Enjoy your coffee. I’ll see you around.” With a wave, he left the room. That was rather odd behavior, even for him. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, but he certainly seemed like he was up to something. Then again, it could just be my paranoia setting in.

Truth be told, I shouldn’t even be working on this case. After my lieutenant found out I was dating one of the Hitchcock family members, he immediately took me off the detective squad. But I wasn’t the kind of girl who takes no for an answer.

I still had some of the case files on my computer and with a little bit of digging around, I managed to get rest of the files I was missing. I was on a one-woman mission to undercover the darkest secrets of my ex-boyfriend and his family.

I’ll say one thing; they are damn good at covering up their tracks. Their history is so muddled that no one can really figure out what they're up to or how they’re getting all their money. Theories include casino rigs, siphoning money from various banks, and the obvious drug cartel. My gut feeling is that there is a whole lot more going on than any of us could imagine. And I sure hope I prove myself wrong because my guess is it is something much darker. 

I don’t know what. But I made it my job to find out.

With this newfound motivation, I grabbed my mug and headed back to my desk.

By this time the station was nearly empty. The few people that were still around looked so tired and drained to give a shit about anything I was doing. Since it was a Friday, most people had gone home as soon as their shift was over.

Soon only the night square remained, and they were a dismal group.

Then again, we didn’t need much protection. Located on the outskirts of a national forest, we were a sleepy little town that usually kept to the straight and narrow.

It made my job easier but it could also make it incredibly boring.

Sometimes I wondered why I didn’t move to a bigger city, like New York or Boston. There was sure to be excitement there – perhaps more than I could handle – but exciting nonetheless.

I am sure I would find a decent guy in a big city office too. Rather than some asshole whose parents were probably head of a mafia crime family or something.

I sighed, reclining in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest. I could already tell this was going to be a long night.

***

“Mandy.” Someone shook me awake.

I jerked in my seat, knocking over my coffee. Fuck. It spilled all over my paperwork.

My eyes widened and I jumped into action grabbing tissue after tissue, frantically trying to clean up the mess and salvage my much-needed notes. This is exactly why most people make their notes on their computers these days.

After using almost an entire tissue box, I looked up to find Keith standing there.

I froze and my heart thudded in my chest.

What was he doing here?

I blinked and quickly got to my feet, one hand on my gun. “Leave. Now.” I instructed.

He held up his hands in innocence. “Relax, Mandy.”

I did anything but. My body was still tense. My fingers tightening around the handle of my gun. “What are you doing here at three in the morning?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as level as possible. I liked to pride myself on being just as tough as everyone else in the department but sometimes I had my moments of weakness.

And, Keith was one of them.

There was just something about him that made me nervous. Maybe it was that intense gaze or the way he seemed to own the world.

Why had I ever dated this creep? I knew exactly why. There was just something about his arrogance and bad boy demeanor that simultaneously infuriated me and drew me in closer.

But he was a mistake. No doubt about that.

At least I never slept with him.  Well, he never wanted to sleep with me. Maybe he didn’t find me attractive or something…

“I just wanted to check up on you.” He said, breaking my train of thought.

I blinked, trying to reorient myself. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What did he want from me?

“Why would you need to check up on me? We aren’t dating anymore, Keith.”

“That doesn’t mean that I don’t still care about you.” He flashed one of his signature smiles, flicking his hair to the side. His bangs covered his left eye which was rendered permanently blind after a street fight. He never cared to give me much more detail, so I always had my suspicions about what really happened.

“I told you. Get out.”

“Why do you have to be like that?” He growled.

I stepped back and swallowed hard. Keith was prone to mood swings, a furious temper that could kick in at any time. I had seen it and it was downright scary. One moment he is happy and calm and in a flash, he will glare at you like he’s ready to tear your head off.

“Calm down, ok?”

He laughed in his throat. “Oh, now you want me to calm down, do you?” He approached my desk and peered over at my documents.

Before I could stop him, he snagged a folder and flipped through it.

“Hey! You can’t read that!”

“You’re still investigating my family…” He turned. His voice eerily calm.

I gulped. I knew that look. The calm right before the storm.

“It’s my assignment.” I lied, hoping to sound convincing.

“Like hell it is.” He snapped, giving me a fiery glare. In a fit of rage, he threw down the folder and grabbed me by the arms, tightening his fingers like a vice.

I flinched and fought but was unable to break out of his grasp.

“If you were smart, you’d stop putting your nose where it doesn’t belong or you’re going to end up getting hurt.” He warned.

“Is that a threat?”

At that moment Roger appeared, puffing out his chest trying to look bigger than he really was.

“And, who the hell are you?” Keith growled, looking like a wild animal about to attack.

I shook my head at Roger, trying to signal that he should get involved.

“I suggest you leave before I’m forced to arrest you.”

“Arrest me?” Keith chuckled. “That’s funny.”

“Is it?” Roger pulled out his handcuffs. “Just try me.”

Without warning, Keith threw a punch. It landed squarely on Roger’s jaw. He was out for the count, collapsing onto the ground with a loud thud.

My eyes widened, rushing to his side. “Roger!”

“Pathetic.” Keith shook his head. He was about to leave when other members of the department surrounded him, including the night lieutenant who wore a sour expression on his face. “Oh, I’m so scared.” He taunted. “All these big bad officers are going to arrest me.”

Keith had downright lost his mind.

As they approached him he lunged forward, tackling one of the newbies to the ground. He exploded, throwing down punch after punch, breaking the officer’s nose with a sickening snap.

It took three men to restrain him. Even once they had him he put up quite a fight, yelling, screaming, and kicking his legs like a toddler.

“You’re going to regret this, Mandy! You should never have broken up with me! Nobody breaks up with me. Just you wait until I’m out of here.” He yelled.

I stood there, shaking like a leaf. There wasn’t much that scared me with what I had seen on the force. But Keith terrified me. I closed my eyes, remembering the nights he would come home belligerently drunk, taking out all his anger on me.

It was a nightmare.

At the time, I had been too naïve and frightened to leave him. He had a way of breaking a person down that left me feeling like I was too worthless to find someone else.

“Love” really does make you blind. I cannot believe how foolish I was to let it happen.

I’ve learned better since then.

At least, I hope so.

After a few minutes, the night lieutenant returned to check on me. “Are you hurt, Mandy?”

I shook my head.

“You should go home. In fact, I think you should take a few days off. I’ll have a word with Laurence about this little incident, but I don’t think he will be very happy to find that you’re in possession of the Hitchcock files.”

“Look, I’ll take the time off but please don’t tell him about the Hitchcock files. He’ll fire me for sure and I can’t afford to lose this job.” I answered quickly, sounding desperate. I hoped he would take pity on me. I absolutely loved being a detective and I would be devastated if I lost my badge. “Please.”

He looked at me for a while before his expression softened. “So long as you promise that you won’t try snooping in this case again. This is your final chance.”

“I promise.” I agreed. Even though I knew it would kill me inside to leave certain questions unanswered.

What was Keith’s family really up to?

I might never know…