Free Critical Pursuit by Janice Cantore

by Dr. Bell and he needs a change of scenery. Policy says all you need to do is bring him up to speed on everything new in patrol.”
    Sergeant Rodriguez added, “If he doesn’t hold up his end, let me know.”
    “Oh, I will.” Brinna rolled her eyes. “In two weeks I’ll be able to work with Hero again?”
    Hoffman and Rodriguez exchanged glances. “That’s what I’m hoping,” Janet said after a minute.
    “You’ve been a cop long enough to know the drill.” Hoffman blew out a breath and fixed his gaze on Brinna.“While we don’t believe you’ve done anything wrong, you need to stay under the press radar for a while. No one can say how long that will be.”
    “But I will get Hero back eventually? We’ll get to work cases still, right?” Brinna hated that her voice sounded whiny.
    “That’s up to the chief. Right now I’d say yes, eventually.” Hoffman stood and walked back to the other side of the desk, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I know your rep, Caruso. You’re a hard worker. Relax and concentrate on helping Jack get back into the swing of things. I can’t promise anything, but maybe the situation will cool down after the shooting board issues official findings.”
    “You can still train Wednesday afternoons with the K-9 detail,” Rodriguez said, “to keep Hero sharp. That should make the pill go down a bit easier.”
    Brinna blew out a breath. “I don’t have a choice.” She stood to leave. “I’ll make the best of it.”
    “I knew you would. By the way   —” Hoffman smiled as he stopped Brinna at the open door   —“congratulations on finding that kid in Utah.”
    Brinna cleared her throat and kept her eyes on the lieutenant. “Thanks. Hero found him wedged between some rocks in a ravine. Found him just in time too. He was very dehydrated.” She shrugged and decided to broach another subject bothering her, turning back to Janet. “What about all the lies Clark keeps spreading about me in print? Is there anything I can do about that?”
    Rodriguez sighed. “Right now the circus seems to have the upper hand. These things take on a life of their own, andit will get worse before it gets better. But the truth will come out. Don’t read the paper.”
    “Wait it out patiently,” Hoffman added. “No one on the PD is saying it was a bad shooting, but it’s political football and it will be messy for a bit. If you remember, last month a cop in LA was on the hot seat after he shot a kid in a stolen car.”
    Brinna nodded; she remembered the protests and the press. The officer had thought he was going to be run over and emptied his gun into the car. The driver turned out to be a twelve-year-old kid who could barely see over the steering wheel.
    “It seems our suspect, Lee Warren,” Hoffman continued, “used to be a good kid before he went right rudder. Shockley has lined up a sob story of family members to testify what a sweet, nonviolent brat he was.”
    Brinna gave a shake of her head and leaned against the door. It never failed. After a creep was killed by the police, everyone had a story about how he wasn’t really a bad creep.
    “Jack O’Reilly was once sued by Shockley. He may help you out on that score. Besides, he had a great reputation when he worked patrol,” Rodriguez said. “He isn’t a bad guy.”
    Small consolation. “Maybe so, but I’d rather have a partner who barks and drools than a partner I’m not certain I can trust.”

13
    ONCE A GOOD COP.
    Messed up a murder case because he couldn’t concentrate.
    Investigator of the year two years ago.
    Five fries short of a Happy Meal.
    All the snippets Brinna had heard about Jack O’Reilly buzzed through her mind like banners pulled by planes. She worked hard to accentuate any positive. There was positive in the mix. Several old-timers had high praise for Jack when he worked patrol. The burnout nickname only came into being in the last year, since his wife died.
    How long did it take someone to get over