Pregnant Protector. Anne Duquette Marie

Nick said. “Time to find out what’s going on.”

      A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, Nick sat in Lieutenant Joe Lansky’s empty office waiting for him to return with coffee. Lara had placed badges around both her neck and Sadie’s, where they were visible for all to see. When she wasn’t in her special K-9 squad car, she didn’t wear her uniform.

      “I’m gonna roam, if you don’t mind. You’ll be safe enough in here,” she’d said before leaving. “We got news this morning when you were in the shower.”

      “What news?”

      “Lansky will fill you in. You’ve got my police cell number and my personal cell number. Don’t even think about leaving the building without me. Got it?”

      “Got it.” Her posture and tone said it all. It reminded Nick of Lara’s story of foiling a kidnapping. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he remembered her saying dismissively, “A few stitches.” Clients—even wealthy ones—didn’t usually compensate “a few stitches” with La Jolla mansions.

      Nick took the liberty of logging onto Lansky’s computer. First he tried to access any information on his partner’s death, but found only a flashing, coded “pending.”

      Annoyed, but still logged on, he pulled up the police details of the rock star case. Four men had attempted to kidnap the rock star’s daughter; Lara and her sister with their dogs had won the battle, but not without a price. Lara had been knifed in the ribs by one of the men. The knife was polymer, just as hard and sharp-edged as metal, and had escaped detection by concert security in the metal detectors. Three of Lara’s ribs had been slashed right through, and the knife-wielding kidnapper had died by two bullets, one from each sister; either hit would have been fatal. Lara needed emergency surgery, according to the police reports. The three remaining kidnappers were in prison, the ringleader on death row due to “special circumstances,” stalking, the attempted kidnapping of a minor, the attempted murder of law-enforcement officers and assault upon said officers.

      Nick logged off the computer and returned to Lansky’s visitor chair, his face thoughtful, his suspicions confirmed. Lara had courage when it came to law enforcement. Terrible thing, her fiancé dying…

      Lansky entered the office, two cups of coffee in hand, and Nick gave himself a mental shake. He lifted his gaze to Lansky’s ruddy face. “What’s new with the investigation?”

      Lansky set both coffees down and sat behind his desk. “Nothing on the shooter. The divers recovered Julio’s body around ten this morning. We contacted Nelson, and—”

      “Ten this morning?” She could have told him. She hadn’t. Nick remembered the cheery breakfast they’d had, and his lips thinned. He needed information, not a babysitter.

      “Yes. Julio’s driver’s-door window was destroyed by a single round, which continued into his body. What with the slow traffic speed during the rain, it’s conclusive, Cantello. We’re talking murder.”

      Nick blinked. A bullet. Shot at his partner.

      “What caliber?”

      “Dunno yet.”

      “Anything else?”

      “The burial arrangements are pending. When the body is released from the coroner’s office, the family will return. Have you talked to them?”

      “I haven’t been able to get through. I’ve tried more than once.”

      “We’ve reached them. They know.”

      “That’s all?”

      “You know, you’re just as impatient as your aunt.”

      “You knew Magda?” Nick’s late aunt, Magda Palmer, hadn’t been a law enforcement officer—women didn’t hold such jobs in her day—but she had worked as a clerk-typist in the old paper-records department. She’d also raised him.

      Lansky shrugged. “Professionally. She used to type up some of my cases. So tell me. What’s up with your new bodyguard, Lara Nelson?”

      “She’s a pro with dogs, obviously.”

      “Where’s she gonna stash you?”

      “She’s not.”

      Lansky’s forehead furrowed. “No? I hope this lady knows what she’s doing.”

      Nick jumped to Lara’s defense. “Captain Girard said you agreed to her assisting.”

      “Only because we didn’t want you quitting and going vigilante,” Lansky said pointedly.

      A muscle worked in Nick’s jaw. “Point taken. What else?”

      “Valdez’s wife called him at work, she said, right before the shift ended and you two walked to the parking lot. We replayed our phone logs from Friday this morning…something about a broken refrigerator and needing ice. Julio agreed, but he’d be a few minutes late.”

      “I know that. That’s why we swapped vehicles,” Nick said with impatience. “What else?”

      “Julio’d discovered information on a fellow officer he needed to check out. Even wished you were around to give him a hand—but you’d already left for the weekend. On the phone, he told Lilia he’d catch you when you got back Monday. He died before he made it home.”

      Nick felt a twist of pain in his gut. “What are you saying? This fellow officer killed Julio. Shot him with a heavy round of ammo and watched him skid into the ocean?” He didn’t think anything could have made him feel worse. But he was wrong.

      “Maybe you weren’t the target,” Lansky said. “Maybe Julio was. Cantello, didn’t Julio say anything about that information?”

      “No,” Nick said bleakly. “He knew I was in a hurry to catch my charter. The boat doesn’t wait.”

      “Go see Girard,” Lansky said next. “He has more info for you.”

      Nick rose.

      “Cantello…” Lansky said.

      Nick looked at him. “What?”

      Lansky’s eyes were soft, kind. “I hear you and Valdez used to grab a beer after work now and then.”

      Nick didn’t answer. Memories of Julio laughing, Julio dragging him to their favorite sports bar for a cold one flooded him. Nick could almost hear him now, see his twinkling brown eyes warm with friendship.

      “My kids are crazy about you, Cantello,” Julio had often told him. “So’s my wife. No accounting for taste, but she’d have my hide if you ate alone. After this beer, you come home for dinner.”

      Nick had always let himself be persuaded. Lilia Valdez would welcome him with a big smile, while Julio’s two boys greeted him with hugs and excited chatter….

      I hear you and Valdez used to grab a beer after work now and then. Those days were gone now, never to return.

      “What about it?” Nick said to Lansky. He didn’t want to travel down memory lane. He didn’t want to grieve for Julio yet. There would be time for that later.

      Lansky clapped a beefy hand on Nick’s shoulder. “If you ever need a drinking buddy, look me up. I’ll even buy the first round.”

      “I’ll buy—after we find our killer.”

      NICK KNOCKED on the door to Captain Girard’s office and went in. Lara and Sadie were there with the older man.

      “The gang’s all here,” Nick observed.

      “We’ve been waiting for you,” Lara said.

      “Ballistics confirmed the bullet caliber—25 mm,” Girard said. “Antitank, military issue, high velocity. Deadly—and unusual.”

      High velocity was favored by the military. The police used lower velocity