Free I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

a snowball’s chance in hell with a woman like that. If he had swapped more than six words with her since she started patrolling last week, he’da been surprised. He just wanted… to admire her. And to think that when she happened to look at him, she wouldn’t think he was a complete geek.
    “… with Kevin,” the chief was saying.
    He jerked to attention.
    “You think that’s a good idea?” MacAuley said. “I mean, isn’t that like the blind leading the blind?”
    “It’s a routine traffic patrol,” the chief said. “And I want Knox to get as much time behind the wheel as she can. Eric can’t take her, he’s working the Christie break-in.”
    “Paul?” MacAuley asked.
    The chief gave him a look.
    “Ah,” the deputy said. Kevin figured Paul Urquhart had made yet another dirty joke about the new recruit. Or did something inappropriate. Whatever it was, the dep had gotten it.
    Everything that’s happened between the chief and MacAuley
. It was a waste and a shame, as his dad would have said: two old guys who worked so well together they could have a whole conversation with a word and a look. Now, those were the only conversations they had.
    “If Kevin runs into anything heavy while he’s out with Officer Knox, he’ll call it in. Right?”
    In like Flynn
. “Yessir.” Kevin glanced toward her again, this time smiling reassuringly. Her face, looking back at him, was blank. What did that mean? Was she nervous about riding with him? Pissed off because she wasn’t going with one of the more experienced guys?
    “Eric, catch us up on the Christie B and E.” They were up to the current investigations. Kevin returned his attention to his notebook.
    McCrea flopped open the case folder and began to recite. “Saturday, April six, at five thirty P.M., Bruce Christie reported returning home to find his trailer in the Meadowbrook Estates trailer park had been broken into. The interior had been trashed, as near as Noble and I could tell”—there was some snickering on this—“but he
said
nothing was missing. The manager reports seeing a vehicle speeding out of the park entrance at approximately five thirty P.M. No description, other than it was ‘big and expensive.’ ” He glanced up from his notes. “That might mean any pickup or SUV with more steel than rust. Christie suggested it might be someone his two brothers owe money to and gave us a list of names.” He pulled a short stack of papers from the file and tossed them to Kevin, who took one and passed it on. “The manager suggested it might have
been
the two brothers.” McCrea looked up. “I tend to discount that. Whatever else you can say about the Christies, they hang tight together.”
    “If that’s what you wanna call it,” MacAuley said, under his breath.
    “What do you think they were looking for?” the chief asked McCrea.
    He shrugged. “Money? Pot? Neil Christie was up for distributing a few years back. Got it knocked down to possession.”
    “Sheep?” someone said. There was a snort of laughter, stifled.
    “Why did he report it?” The question was out of Kevin’s mouth before he remembered he was trying to appear cool and knowledgeable in front of their new officer. “If the intruders were looking for something illegal, I mean.” God, he sounded lame.
    The chief swiveled toward him. “You tell me.”
    “Um… he’s genuinely clean?”
    MacAuley snorted, but the chief gestured for him to go on. Kevin thought furiously. “He was lying about nothing being missing. He’s counting on us to lead him to the guys who took whatever it was.”
    The chief tapped his nose. “Something to consider, isn’t it?” He looked at McCrea. “And, of course, it could be someone with a grudge, looking to beat the crap out of Bruce Christie and settling for wrecking his place. Between the three of ‘em, the Christie brothers have a record as thick as the Cossayuharie Directory. Assault, possession—” He glanced at MacAuley. “Didn’t