Safe Harbor 02 - Beyond The Breakwater by Radclyffe

Author:Radclyffe [Radclyffe]
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2010-03-14T10:58:09.726000+00:00

Chapter Twenty-four

Within an hour, the fire was out, and all that remained was the cleanup. Reese headed back to the office. When she walked in, the newest member of the department was leaning against the corner of her desk. Reese pushed through the wooden gate and extended her hand to the young cadet in the pristine uniform.

"Officer Parker, welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Bri grinned fleetingly and then straightened. "I would have notified you when I got here, but you were already out on a call."

"No problem. Come on, let's take a ride through town, and well talk about the game plan."

When they settled into the car, Reese turned to Bri. "Have you seen your dad?"

"Just for a minute. He told me that my training officer would be along shortly."

"You know, he needs to distance himself a little bit from your training so that there won't be any question of prejudice in your evaluations."

"I know that," Bri said steadily, keeping her eyes forward. Plus he didnt seem too keen for me to be here. I guess he still thinks I made a mistake leavingNew York.

She couldnt think about the fact that she hadnt talked to Carre in weeks. Once shed finally gotten over some of her anger and embarrassment over storming out, and worked up the nerve to call her, all she ever got was the answering machine. Eventually, shed just left a message reminding Carre of the party this coming Friday and left directionsjust in case. Yeah, sure. You know shes not coming.

Reese pulled the patrol car to the side of the road across from the smoldering ruins of the Moorings restaurant.

"Whoa," Bri exclaimed.

"So," Reese said as the two of them crossed the street to the rubble-littered parking lot. "Tell me what you want to know about this."

Bri looked around for a second and then began confidently to ask questions. Reese nodded in satisfaction as Bri succinctly elicited the vital information regarding time, circumstances of the call reporting the fire, initial impressions of the fire captain, nature of reported injuries, and other basic data from her.

"Good. You can write all that up when we get back to the station." They slowly circled the perimeter, each of them silently studying the scene. Eventually, Reese asked, "How would you approach the investigation?"

Bri took her time, and when she spoke, she sounded thoughtful but steady. "First, we'll need the fire marshal's report.

"What do you think the fire marshal is going to tell us?"

"This place has been closed since last summer. As I recall, one of the big resort consortiums has been trying to buy it to build a timeshare here. The land is worth a lot, but the restaurant has seen better days."

"Uh-huh." Reese realized what a benefit it was for officers to have a history with the community that they policed. She was still a relative newcomer, but after three years, she knew a great deal about the inner workings of the tiny town and its inhabitants. Bri, though, had an advantage that Reese would never be able to match.

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