All a Man Is. Janice Kay Johnson

has been leaked that the mayor blacklisted Captain McAllister as a candidate for the position of police chief. Were you aware of his action?”

      Alec flicked his captain a sidelong glance. McAllister spread the fingers of one hand in a subtle what the hell? gesture.

      “I was aware,” he said.

      “And yet you and he both have endorsed Captain McAllister for county sheriff,” Henning said.

      “That’s correct.” He looked from face to face. “May I ask who leaked this information?”

      The stringer from the Oregonian answered. “The tip came from Sheriff Brock’s campaign manager.” He sounded slightly sardonic. In not quite three months on the job, Alec had already heard plenty of stories about the incumbent sheriff, who was certainly incompetent and very probably corrupt.

      “I see. As I believe Captain McAllister has already suggested, you might want to take your questions to the mayor.”

      “You must know Mayor Chandler’s reasoning,” Jim Henning shot back.

      Damn it. He hesitated, debating whether to stonewall the question or not. “I do know,” he said finally, “and I can tell you honestly that if I had been in the mayor’s position, I would have hired Captain McAllister. I have only the highest respect for his expertise as a law-enforcement officer, his leadership ability and his integrity.”

      He smiled crookedly. “I’d have been the loser, of course, so I can’t altogether regret the decision. That said, I’m aware of the frustration many sheriff’s deputies feel with inadequate equipment and salaries, a substandard crime lab and a lack of support from the top. It’s my belief Captain McAllister is exactly what this county needs to upgrade the department. As chief of the county’s largest city, I look forward to working closely with him once he becomes sheriff.”

      He held up a hand. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, the two of us are currently employed by the city.” He eyed them. “Since I assume you’re heading to city hall next, I wouldn’t want you reporting to the mayor that we’re doing nothing but hanging around chatting with all of you.”

      There was general laughter. Ignoring shouted questions that were more of the same, he and McAllister entered the building.

      “Why don’t you come on up to my office?” he suggested.

      Without saying a word, the captain stepped onto the elevator with him, got off with him and accompanied him down the hall to the door that said Police Chief in shiny gold script.

      His assistant greeted them and brought two cups of coffee before Alec had even sat down behind his desk. The moment the door closed behind her, McAllister growled, “That son of a bitch.”

      “Brock?”

      “Who else?”

      Alec felt a spark of humor. “You might have been talking about Chandler.”

      Colin sprawled into a chair. “That works, too.” He brooded for a moment. “He’s okay.”

      “Your sister seems to have mellowed him some.”

      He grunted.

      “Do you think there’s any chance Chandler’s responsible for this leak?”

      “No.” A half smile lifted Colin’s mouth. “I didn’t ask for his endorsement, you know. He offered it.”

      “He could very easily give with one hand and then take back with the other,” Alec pointed out.

      Colin gave a bark of laughter. “Cait would geld him if she found he’d done something like that.”

      Alec had to grin.

      “No,” Colin repeated. “I didn’t like his decision not to support me to take over the department here in Angel Butte, but I do understand it. He didn’t try to hide what he’d done or why. No question he can be ruthless, but he’s not underhanded.”

      Alec mulled that over for a minute. He didn’t know Noah Chandler as well as McAllister did, but finally he nodded his agreement. “You’re right. He’s been honest with me. He didn’t want to hire me, either, you know.”

      He wasn’t quite sure why he was telling McAllister this, but the time felt right.

      Colin’s eyebrows rose. “No, I didn’t. Why not?”

      “Apparently he’d chosen a candidate who was already doing essentially this job and wanted to move up to a larger city. Chandler didn’t believe I had the administrative or political experience required.”

      “Guess he was wrong.”

      Alec offered a smile that had been described by his officers as feral. “He was wrong.” Seeing McAllister’s amusement, Alec added, “He was also less than thrilled because I’ll be going back to L.A. a couple of times to testify. One trial in particular may pull me away for as much as a couple of weeks.”

      “Unusual for a lieutenant.”

      “I wasn’t one when I made this bust.” He quirked an eyebrow. “You ever read Bleak House by Dickens?”

      Colin laughed. “The never-ending court case?”

      “That’s this one, but it looks like it’s finally coming to a head.” He hesitated. “The murder was related to drug trafficking. I arrested the head of a cartel.”

      “So you feel right at home here,” McAllister said ironically.

      He lifted a shoulder in acknowledgment. “Back to my hire. I didn’t know it at the time, but I suspect a majority in the city council was seizing the chance to slap our mayor’s hand. They went along with his decision not to hire you, but reveled in the chance to also refuse to give him what he wanted.”

      “Petty, but that’s politics.”

      “Yeah, it is.” Alec took a swallow of his coffee. “It’ll be interesting to see what His Honor the mayor has to say to our press corps.”

      “Goddamn,” Colin growled. “I was looking good in the polls.”

      “Better this came out now than later,” Alec suggested. “If I’d been running Brock’s campaign, I’d have waited to spring it on voters until the final weeks before the election. As it is, you have time to counteract any dip.” Four months, to be exact. Julia had waited until school let out in L.A. to move the kids. Today was only—he glanced at the small calendar on his desk blotter—June 26.

      McAllister rose to his feet. “Thank you for the support out there.” He sounded a little stiff, no surprise for a man who disliked having to depend on anyone else.

      “Early on, I told Chandler he had his head up his ass. He should have hired you.”

      “I’d have liked to be a fly on the wall.”

      “I phrased it a little more circumspectly at the time.”

      Colin was outright grinning now. “You mean, you have some political instincts after all?”

      “Appears so.”

      They were both laughing when McAllister left Alec alone in his office.

      * * *

      “DO YOU MIND if I turn on the local news before we go to dinner?” Alec gestured to the television in the hotel room.

      He’d offered to spend the evening with her and the kids again. Julia was immensely grateful but was also unpleasantly conscious of being the object of his well-developed sense of obligation.

      “Of course not,” she said. She narrowed a look at her daughter, who had already opened her mouth to whine.

      Lately it seemed as if the kids could eat nonstop. Maybe they were both on the verge of a growth spurt. If so, she hoped they’d get it out of the way before she bought back-to-school