Dark Sand: A Port Stirling Mystery Book 4 by Kay Jennings

Author:Kay Jennings [Jennings, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paris Communications
Published: 2022-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

Fern stood in front of her desk and cleared her throat. “If you could all give me a minute, I have something I want to tell you.”

Matt, Jay, Sylvia, Walt, and Rudy all stared at her. Joe and Rod stood behind her and off to the side. Phelps buttoned his suit jacket and clasped his hands in front of his body.

“You’re pregnant?” said Sylvia. She sounded hopeful.

Fern laughed, and then so did everyone else. “No, that’s not it, Sylvia. Not yet anyway.” She winked at Matt, which drew more laughter.

“I want you to be the first to know that I have resigned from the Port Stirling police department,” Fern said, and her bottom lip quivered. “My boss has been very gracious about it, and we expect a smooth transition.” She smiled shyly at Matt, who gave her a gentle salute.

“No. Just no,” said Jay, visibly upset. “Not allowed.”

“There’s more, Jay,” Fern said quickly, “and you’re not getting rid of me that easy. You all know Joe Phelps and Rod McClellan.” She turned to look at them. “They’re here because they’ve offered me a new job with the United States Department of State, and I’ve accepted it. I’m going to be the Public Affairs Officer for the West Coast.”

“Doing what?” demanded Sylvia. “Getting your head chopped off like poor Clay Sherwin?”

Fern reddened, and her eyes filled with tears. “Nnn-No,” she stammered. “I’ll be doing a different job, focused on trade opportunities, human rights issues, and conducting diplomacy—like we’re going to need with Phineas Stuart’s death. You’ll see, Sylvia, it will be fine.”

Sylvia stared hard at Fern, her mouth set in a tight line, and slowly shook her head. There would be no fooling Sylvia, as Fern feared.

“This sucks,” said Walt. “Is it too late to change your mind?”

“My mind is made up, Walt,” Fern said softly to the sergeant. “There are other things at play here, but one important thing is the city policy about spouses not reporting to each other. The chief and I are in violation now, and we don’t want to make it uncomfortable for Bill Abbott.”

“So report directly to Bill,” pleaded Jay. “Nobody cares about that shit anyway.”

“Language, Jay,” reminded Sylvia. “Although I totally agree with you.” She frowned and let out a big sigh.

“This is a better solution,” said Fern. “I’ll still work with you guys sometimes. Joe wants me to be their liaison to the police up and down the Oregon coast.”

“So you’ll stay in Port Stirling?” asked Jay.

“Of course,” she answered. “This is my home.”

“Plus, it’s a good central location for us on the west coast,” Joe Phelps said, taking a step forward. Sylvia glared at him, but he continued speaking anyway. “As this week’s event points out yet again, Port Stirling has regular international activity, and because of the earthquake, I don’t envision that changing anytime soon. We need someone here to represent U.S. interests, and I believe Fern is exactly the right person for the job. I’m in negotiations with your city manager to rent an office for her in this building.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.