Radio Silence by Lisbon Press

Author:Lisbon Press
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lisbon Press

Chapter Sixteen

Court

Court met Mel at the police station that evening, just as they were both clocking in for their shifts. She looked worn out, like she hadn’t gotten much sleep, and Court let her go first at the time clock.

“How’s Nonna doing?” she asked while Mel punched in.

“Good,” she said. “Still has pneumonia, but they gave her a few breathing treatments at the hospital and said she was well enough to go home again. Amanda and I spent most of the morning getting her situated and making sure she had everything she needed to be comfortable.”

“You seem like a really good granddaughter,” Court said. Mel stepped aside so she could have her turn at the time clock, and Court brushed her hand covertly over Mel’s as she passed her.

“Anything else happen on the Gilles case after we parted ways?” Mel asked.

Court shook her head. “Nothing important. The body was released to the funeral home, though. Dr. Trace said there was nothing further for the medical examiner’s office to do, so the family will be able to have a funeral.”

“That’s good,” Mel said. “They can get some closure now.”

“I don’t know how much closure you can get during an open homicide investigation,” Court said with a small grunt.

She was thinking about her mother’s funeral, how there were so many roses they made the entire room reek, how the smell nauseated her to this day. There was no question about who had killed her, but that didn’t make things any easier. The funeral was still one of the worst days of her life.

“Whoever invented the concept of closure clearly never lost anyone close to them.”

“I’m sorry,” Mel said. “I wasn’t thinking–”

Court waved her hand, forcing the emotions back down. “No, no, it’s fine. I didn’t mean to go to an ugly place like that.” She checked the time on the clock again, then said, “I have to get to my computer and log in or I’ll get in trouble… Walk me to dispatch?”

“Sure,” Mel said.

They took the stairs, holding hands when they were sure there was no one else around to see them. Court would have held Mel’s hand everywhere, no matter what, but then, she was the chief’s daughter and nobody dared to judge her to her face. Mel didn’t have that luxury, and she still needed to worry about being taken seriously, especially as both a female officer and a queer woman.

So when they got up to the third floor, Court gave Mel’s hand a little squeeze, then let it go. They walked to the door of the dispatch office, and Court paused outside of it. She had just a couple minutes to log in before she was officially late for her shift, but she was willing to risk it.

“The funeral is on Friday,” she said. “I asked Tom if he was going to go to the calling hours, scope things out a bit, but he said detectives don’t do that kind of thing unless they have a really good reason.

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