The Rookie's Assignment. Valerie Hansen

miserably. “Oh, yes. The only death I remember ever seeing up close was a pet hamster I had when I was a kid.”

       She paused, swallowed and licked her lips, making Nick slightly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom.

       “I refused to look in the casket at my mother’s funeral,” Keira continued. “I wanted to remember her when she was happy and full of life.”

       “I’m sorry for your loss, but having to deal with tragedy is part of this job. Surely you knew that when you chose a career in law enforcement.”

       That observation brought a smile back to Keira’s face and a twinkle to her bright blue eyes. “Yeah, well… I’m afraid I pictured my job more as that of an understanding friend, kindly suggesting that lawbreakers behave themselves instead of having to exert authority over folks who have known me since I was a kid.”

       “Sometimes there are far worse problems to deal with, as you found out.”

       “I sure did,” she said with a nod. “The hard way.”

       Keira appreciated the inn’s welcoming beauty more every time she visited. Victoria Evans had kept the flavor of the old building when she’d returned to Fitzgerald Bay to take over the business, and most of its clients openly complimented her on the ambience of the inn and the delicious food served in the café.

       Some locals had predicted that the long-ago sins of Victoria’s father would keep away customers but that hadn’t happened. Other than a few folks who still mourned for Patrick Fitzgerald, Keira’s cousin, whom Victoria’s father had killed while driving drunk, Victoria seemed to have overcome her dad’s heartbreaking history. Even Patrick’s most defensive kin seemed to have mellowed during the past ten years, although there was still a lingering touch of animosity that saddened Keira.

       As Nick started up the gracefully carved stairway to the second floor, she called after him, “I’ll wait right here.”

      And I hope I don’t look half as uncomfortable as I feel, she added to herself. This was one of those times when she would have given just about anything to be free to turn on her heel and stalk out the door—without her new partner.

       Unfortunately, it was her job to stick with the guy, to babysit him, so to speak. She could do that. She might not like it but she could do it. What was it that the Bible said in the book of James about withstanding adversity? Something about testing bringing maturity, if she remembered right. Admittedly she was only twenty-three and pretty inexperienced. Maybe this was the Lord’s way of making her better at her job.

       A shout and a heavy thud from above startled her out of her reverie. While other guests and employees froze and stared at the ceiling, Keira sprang into action.

       Her boots thudded up the carpeted steps. What was going on? And why did it seem as if the whole inn was holding its breath?

      I am, too, she realized, gulping air. The heel of her hand rested on the grip of her .40 Glock but she didn’t draw it. No sense brandishing a gun if calming words would do the trick.

       She reached the top of the stairs in time to hear another crash. And another. Then glass breaking.

       Inching her way down the hallway she tried to pinpoint the source of the sounds. There? No. Down there. One more door? Maybe.

       Pressing her spine against the wall she stood to the side, out of the line of fire, just as she’d been taught at the academy, before readying her gun and knocking. “Police! Open up.”

       The door swung in. A man’s shoulder and foot stuck out the opening for such a brief time they were hardly more than a blur.

       Before Keira could swivel fully to confront him, he was jerked backward. The door slammed. She wasn’t certain who or what she’d seen but she was positive one of the colors involved had been the sea-green of Nick Delfino’s pullover sweater!

       Hoping the door was unlocked she grabbed the knob. It turned! She was in. Almost.

       Someone or something crashed against the door on the opposite side just as she was easing it open. The sudden jolt staggered her. By the time she’d regained her equilibrium, the door had bounced against the cracked frame and was standing ajar.

       Keira gave it a shove with her free hand and peered inside. The room was a shambles. Its occupant didn’t look as though he was in very good shape, either.

       She didn’t need police training to tell that Nick had gotten the worst of the brief altercation. He was half sitting, half lying on the polished hardwood floor, while examining the back of his head with one hand.

       She directed the gun’s barrel at the ceiling as she crouched next to him. “What happened?”

       “Prowler.” Acting groggy, he pointed to the open window. “That way.”

       “Will you be okay if I leave you?”

       “Just get him,” Nick ordered, rapidly regaining his senses and with them his air of authority. “Be careful.”

       A quick trip to the window let Keira scan the snow- covered alley, then lean out just enough to see what lay directly below. There was no one visible.

       She raced downstairs, scanning the area and seeing no one but concerned residents. She ran around back. No one. With a final assessment, Keira rushed back upstairs.

       “He got away,” she told Nick as she holstered her automatic and reached for the radio clipped to her belt.

       By the time she’d made her report and was ready to quiz Nick further, he’d gotten to his feet and was in the bathroom, washing his face and peering into the mirror.

       Keira stood behind him at the open door, unable to keep from smiling. Except for a few bruises and a possible shiner, it looked as if her new partner wasn’t badly injured. That was a relief.

       Frowning, he met her eyes in the mirror. “What are you grinning at?”

       “Just glad to see you’re okay. How did he get the best of you, anyway? You look like a guy who can handle himself in a fight.”

       “A fair fight. He conked me when I opened the door. It would have been a lot easier to hit him back if I hadn’t kept seeing two or three versions of him coming at me at once.”

       Nick blotted his face with a towel, then turned to her and crossed his arms. “Which reminds me. When you went to school, didn’t they teach you to assume there’d be more than one perp at every crime scene? You came in here blind and didn’t even bother to check the closet or the bathroom.”

       “I don’t believe it,” Keira said, astonished and more than a little chagrined when she realized Nick had a valid point. “I chase away a prowler and rescue you, and all you can do is chew me out for how I did it.”

       “I’m trying to keep you alive,” Nick said flatly. “You can’t let your emotions get in the way of common sense and training when you’re on duty. The next time, that kind of carelessness might get you killed.”

       “I told you before. We don’t have serious violence in Fitzgerald Bay. It just doesn’t happen.”

       As Nick raised one eyebrow, he winced. “Oh, really? Tell that to Olivia Henry.”

       “That was a low blow.”

       “No,” Nick said, shaking his head. “It was a fact. One you seem to be forgetting. If I were you, I’d be on edge every second until her killer’s caught.” He paused, staring as if he could look right through his new partner. “Unless you happen to know who the murderer is and you’re not afraid of him.”

       “Why would I not…?” Keira’s jaw dropped. “Oh, no, you don’t. Forget any rumors that may be floating around town. My brother Charles is not only a doctor, he’s a kind, loving man. Olivia was his children’s nanny. That’s all. He didn’t have a thing to do with her death.”

       “Then prove it