The Echo Killing: A gripping debut crime thriller you won’t be able to put down!. Christi Daugherty

I summing this up correctly? And if I am, how is any of that not your fault?’

      ‘I was improvising.’ Dropping into one of the faux leather chairs in front of his desk, Harper pressed her fingertips against her pounding forehead. ‘I thought they were going to kill that stupid cop.’

      ‘That stupid cop is an experienced officer of the law.’ Smith’s voice rose. Harper winced. ‘He is trained to carry and use a standard, police-issue semi-automatic firearm, and to defend himself in dangerous situations. He was wearing a government-approved bulletproof vest. You were carrying a notebook.’

      ‘True,’ she conceded. ‘But they were about to blow your highly trained officer’s stupid head off.’ His face hardened, but she plowed ahead stubbornly. ‘Lieutenant, he was looking in the wrong direction. It is true that I could have yelled, “Hey, idiotic cop. They’re over here.” And they would have shot at me anyway. So I tried to buy time until your inexplicably delayed backup arrived on the scene to keep the residents of Thirty-Ninth Street safe from three wanted killers.’ She held up her notepad. ‘By the way, do you have any comment on the reason for that delay?’

      The lieutenant opened his mouth and then shut it again.

      ‘Dammit, Harper. How do you always manage to turn everything around so I’m the bad guy?’

      He still sounded a bit heated, but the edge had left his voice.

      Harper flashed him an apologetic half-smile.

      ‘I learned from the best, Lieutenant.’

      ‘Flattery won’t help you today, young lady.’ He shook his finger at her. ‘In all seriousness, you could have got yourself killed. Walker told me everything.’

      ‘That narc,’ Harper muttered.

      ‘He is paid to narc,’ he reminded her tartly.

      Before she could argue, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

      ‘Why’d you do it, Harper? I try to look out for you. But I can’t protect you if you walk into a bullet. You understand that, right?’

      There was no more anger in his voice. Harper’s defensiveness slipped away.

      ‘I’m sorry, Lieutenant,’ she said. ‘It all happened so fast. Believe me, I know it was dangerous. I promise I’ll be more careful.’

      Smith’s expression softened.

      ‘I don’t want you to get hurt.’

      ‘I know,’ Harper said, adding remorsefully. ‘And I didn’t mean what I said about Luke. He was great out there. He saved my life.’

      ‘Luke’s one of my best,’ Smith said. ‘And he didn’t come here to “narc”, as you say. He came here because he was concerned.’

      Harper said nothing, but the idea of Luke worrying about her was curiously pleasing.

      ‘Well.’ Smith’s brow creased. ‘Were you injured? You look pale.’

      ‘I went out drinking with Bonnie last night.’ She rubbed her temples remorsefully. ‘Overdid it. I feel like crap.’

      ‘Ah.’ His expression changed to one of almost paternal indulgence. ‘Were you at that hippy bar where she works?’

      ‘It’s not a hippy bar,’ Harper said, although it kind of was.

      ‘I hope you didn’t drive home.’

      She rolled her eyes. ‘Of course not.’

      It was always like this. He talked to her like she was a teenager and before long she started acting like one.

      He picked up his pen from the leather desk blotter.

      ‘Before I forget, Pat’s after me to get you to come to dinner.’ He glanced at her. ‘You free on Sunday? It’d make her happy.’

      Harper brightened. His wife was an amazing cook. ‘If there’s any chance she might make her chicken and dumplings, I think I can be free on Sunday.’

      ‘She’ll be happy to hear that,’ he said gruffly. ‘I always tell her you’re fine, but she likes to see you for herself.’

      He grew serious again.

      ‘Now, look, Harper, can I tell the deputy chief that the crime reporter from our esteemed local newspaper has agreed to stop impersonating an officer at crime scenes for the foreseeable future? Will you at least give me that?’

      ‘I suppose I can agree to stop breaking that particular law,’ she agreed. ‘I really am sorry. I had to think fast, and I wanted to keep Officer Dumbass alive.’

      The lieutenant’s eyes held a look that was equal parts affection and exasperation.

      ‘Well, Officer Dumbass owes you one, and I’ve made sure he knows it.’ He flipped open a file on his desk and put on a pair of wire-framed glasses. ‘Now then. Get your pen out. The official statement is as follows: Backup was delayed because they required a helicopter in an effort to locate and isolate the suspects. Officers approached on foot from the first crime scene in an attempt to ascertain the location of the suspects, and in an effort to avoid loss of innocent life. Undercover officers arrived first on scene, but awaited arrival of all parties. Said undercover officers have been investigating the three suspects for several weeks, as part of a project to curtail drug dealing in the area.’

      After jotting this down, Harper glanced at him. ‘You got enough evidence to throw the book at those guys?’

      ‘Off the record?’

      She nodded.

      ‘Oh, yeah. We’ve got them.’ He closed the file. ‘That will be all, Officer McClain.’

      ‘Oh hell.’ Harper stood up. ‘I’m never going to live this down, am I?’

      His smile told her everything.

      ‘I believe they’re having a badge made for you upstairs.’

      It was nearly five by the time Harper left the police station, half-running to her car. She’d have to hurry to make it to the newspaper’s offices in time to file for the early edition.

      But five o’clock is a bad time to be in a rush and, as she pulled out onto Habersham Street, she immediately found herself trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

      Swearing under her breath, she hit the brakes and fell into line.

      As traffic inched along, she replayed the meeting with the lieutenant in her head.

      She wasn’t surprised Luke went straight to Smith. He knew how close she and the lieutenant were, and he’d wanted Smith to put the fear of God in her.

      Harper’s own father wasn’t really in her life anymore. They spoke a few times a year, and that was more than enough for her.

      Now that he lived up north and had a young family, it was easier than ever to forget he even existed.

      Besides, Smith had filled that role for her for many years. Together with his wife, he’d helped her through her teens, fed her when the money ran short and remained close to her even now. She was grateful for them both.

      No matter how old she got, Smith still saw her as a child in need of protection. In part because the day they’d met was seared on both their memories forever.

      He was the cop who took the phone from her hand the day her mother was murdered.

       Chapter Seven

      When Harper arrived at the newsroom twenty minutes later, the day shift was already wrapping up their final articles. Editors were making the usual demands, issuing low-key threats. In the bustle, no one paid any attention as she made her