She started toward Trueheart, who was looking young, a little pale, and daisy fresh, but Whitney signaled her over.
“Commander. Chief Tibble. It’s a good day.”
“It is.” Whitney scanned the lineup, a broad-shouldered man beside Tibble’s longer length.
“It’s good you could be here, Chief. It means a lot to the men and women being promoted.”
“And to me. Before we get to that, to acknowledging them, I’d like the status on Senator Mira.”
“Detective Peabody and I just got back from interviews at his institute. As far as we can ascertain no one there knew he was missing. He didn’t give the name of the individual he arranged to meet at the property in SoHo to his admin, and dismissed his driver on arrival there. I’ve reached out to Detective Hanson in Missing Persons, and he should be following up at the Institute by now. Peabody and I will begin questioning certain women the senator had relationships with over the past year. I have information he took them, regularly, to the Institute’s suite at the Palace Hotel.”
Tibble’s jaw tightened as he shook his head. “The media’s going to tear into that like lions on an antelope. Not our problem. No ransom demands as yet?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“I don’t have to tell you to dot all the i’s. This will hit the media soon, one way or the other. They’ll rip through him, but they’ll spotlight the department and the investigation.”
“Understood, sir.”
“For now, we’ll honor our officers. I’ve heard good things about your boy, Lieutenant.”
“My boy, sir?”
Tibble smiled, deepening the lines fanning out from his eyes. “Trueheart. You did well there.”
“Detective Baxter trained him. He did well.”
“I’ll make sure to tell him so. Excuse me.”
When Tibble moved off, Whitney turned to Eve, his dark, wide face sober. “It isn’t prudent or professional to tell a former senator’s wife to kiss your ass.”
“No, sir. I apologize for any difficulty my lapse caused you and the department.”
“My wife told her to shove it.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Though his tone remained quiet and serious, humor, bright and unmistakable, fired up in his eyes. “Anna served on a couple of charity committees with Mandy Mira. In general, my wife’s anger is shown in cold disdain.”
“I’m aware,” Eve said before she could stop herself, but Whitney only chuckled.
“However, Mandy Mira flipped the switch, and among other unkind suggestions, Anna told her to shove it. She won’t serve on any committee or function with the senator’s wife any longer. She was delighted when she overheard my conversation with Mandy Mira last night, and enjoyed talking to our own Mira about the incident when Charlotte contacted me about it. Officially, I can’t condone your behavior.”
“No, sir.”
“Consider yourself reprimanded.” His face settled back into commanding lines. “Now, let’s give some good cops their moment, and get back to work.”
—
Eve stood on the stage with other ranking officers and those being promoted. She stood at parade rest through the speeches—mercifully brief—from Tibble, from Whitney. A scan of the audience showed every single member of her division in attendance, and, though she wondered who the hell was manning the ship, it made her proud to know every one of them—detectives, uniforms—took the time to be there for Trueheart.
She picked out Feeney, McNab, Mira, who like Trueheart looked a little pale, and to her surprise, Morris. As each officer’s name was called he or she stepped up to Whitney for the presentation, a few personal words from the commander, the photo op.
She could pick out family members by their glistening eyes during the applause.
“Troy Trueheart, Detective, third grade.”
Applause broke out hard and fast, and she managed to keep her face sober—even through the whistles and foot stomping from her division. She watched him cross the stage, a little flushed rather than pale now, and accept his gold shield.
“Lieutenant Dallas saw your potential,” Whitney said quietly to Trueheart. “Detective Baxter nurtured it. But it’s what you are that’s earned this shield. Congratulations, Detective.”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you, Commander. I won’t disappoint them, or you.”
He held his new shield up for the photo op, and did the right thing to her mind by looking straight at Baxter before he shifted his gaze to his mother and his sweetheart.
Then he turned to take his place at the back of the stage and sent Eve a grin that was Christmas morning, the Fourth of July, and New Year’s Eve all in one.
At the end, the newly promoted officers filed off the stage to more applause, and Eve wondered if the echoes of it would help offset some of the crap they’d have thrown at them daily on the job.
She went back, intending to work her way around, spend five or ten minutes to speak to whoever she had to speak to, then duck out, change, and get back on the street.
But Trueheart waited for her.
“Lieutenant.”
“Let’s see it.” She held out a hand, wiggled her fingers so he gave her his shield. “Nice. Keep it shiny, Detective Trueheart.” She gave it back to him.
“Yes, sir, I will. I just wanted to thank you. I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have this if it wasn’t for you.”
“You got yourself here, with some good training from Baxter.”
“Sir, I hate starting my first day as detective correcting my LT, but I might still be walking the beat in Sidewalk City if you hadn’t taken a chance on me. And if you hadn’t put me with Baxter. Seeing I could do it, well, that’s why you’re the LT.”
“You’ve got a point. Congratulations, Detective.” She held out a hand.
He took it, swallowed hard. “I know you don’t really like this, but . . .” He pulled her in, wrapped his arms around her in a fierce hug.
“Hey. Okay.” She gave his back a pat, considering the moment, and nudged him away with her other hand, considering dignity.
“I wanted to get that done back here, before we were out there with a lot of people. Where you really wouldn’t like it.”
“That’s good thinking. Go see your mother.”
“Yes, sir!”
When she went out, Trueheart was wrapped around his mother with his girl—What was her name?—beaming at them and most of the division surrounding them.
She cut away to grab a minute with Mira.
“How’s Mr. Mira doing?”
“He insisted I come, and our daughter’s with him, so . . . He’s fine, really. He actually planned to go to the university today, but I put my foot down. He needs another day.”
“You didn’t get much sleep.”
“No, no, I didn’t. I have a lot of people I care about who put their lives on the line every day. It’s part of working with the police. I’ve lost some, and seen others injured. You live with it, cope with it. But Dennis . . . he lives a quiet life, and I wasn’t prepared to have him hurt like this.”
She stopped, drew a breath. “Well. I spoke with the governor.”
“Seriously?”
“Mandy’s not the only one with connections,” Mira said, and now her voice was brisk and cool. “He understands the situation and circumstances, and since he knows her . . . suffice it to say there’ll be no blowback from that quarter.”
“Okay.”
“I also spoke with Mandy.”
“You keep busy.”
“We detest each other, but I know how to read her, and how to push buttons. She hasn’t heard from him, there’s been no contact from whoever took him. She’s more angry than worried. If it wasn’t for Dennis I’d advise you to toss this case aside, but—”
“Look, I’m going to keep working this, but Hanson’s in a position to get warrants so he’s likely to get deeper than I can. But we’re on it, and I’ll be in touch. I’ve got to say something to Trueheart’s mother, then Peabody and I are going to have a talk with his current sidepiece.”