Free Badge of Honor by Carol Steward

victim. It’s a dog….”

NINE
    N ick thought Sarah was going to collapse when his brother said the word body. Instead, she took a deep breath and walked outside.
    â€œDad, it’s Sarah. Have you or Mom talked to Beth recently?”
    Nick couldn’t hear her father’s response, but it clearly wasn’t what Sarah wanted to hear. Her shoulders drooped and she started trying to gloss over the urgency of the situation. Finally, she gave up and told her dad the truth. It was painful to watch. Even worse that Nick could do nothing to help.
    â€œBeth was attacked after class last week, but she was okay.”
    Nick could only imagine what a father would be thinking and asking, and he wished he were in a position to be there for her.
    â€œI’m not sugar-coating it, Dad. She wasn’t…” Sarah couldn’t even say the word. When she regained her composure, she continued. “Really. Students came out of the building, which scared the assailant off….”
    Her father was apparently fully awake now. Nick could hear his deep voice from ten feet away.
    â€œIt wasn’t my place to tell you,” she said softly, as if she could calm him down. “I’m trying to help her, but she does have a mind of her own. I can’t watch her twenty-four hours a day. Yes, I’m still on the job.”
    He could hear voices, but couldn’t make out the words. “No, I can’t work on the case. Don’t even ask that.”
    Nick could imagine the tension Sarah was feeling now. When his sister had been the target of a drug dealer’s revenge, it wasn’t easy for any of them to give Kira her independence back. It took a strong woman like his sister to stand up not only to their father, but to Nick and his two brothers—all police officers—when the going got tough.
    Nick had only a fleeting minute to question what kind of woman Sarah Roberts was when she replied to something her father said.
    â€œThat was Beth’s choice, Dad. She didn’t want to talk to anyone…” She paused while he responded. “No, I have not changed my opinion, the situation has changed. If you’ll let me explain…”
    Nick hated this part of the job. Especially when family had to be told bad news over the phone.
    â€œShe hasn’t answered my calls, my voice messages, nothing. Tonight, I came to check on her….” Sarah paused again, and the spunky former FBI agent turned street cop showed her feminine side.
    She started sobbing, then turned and walked down the street, toward her SUV.
    Alone.
    Nick fought the urge to follow her and offer his support. But he couldn’t afford to take the chance of showing feelings for his trainee.
    She got inside and lowered her head to the steering wheel.
    God, put Your arms around her. Help her to understand why I can’t.
    Before anything was misunderstood, complicating his career any further, Nick called the shift supervisor and explained the situation, how he’d ended up coming here with his trainee.
    â€œI’ll see if one of the female counselors could meet you there to talk to Roberts,” his superior offered.
    â€œI’m not necessarily saying she needs someone to talk to as much as someone to act in an official capacity should the situation take a turn for the worst. We still don’t know where her sister is.” In the background, Nick could hear dispatch calling in.
    â€œJust a minute,” the shift supervisor said, then put Nick on hold. Seconds later, he heard dispatch over Sergeant Logan’s radio request backup for a gang related shooting of an officer on the other side of town. Nick was thankful that Garrett was here working this case, and that their older brother was vacationing in the mountains with his family this week.
    â€œNick, we’ve got an urgent situation. I’ll need to call you back. I know you’ll handle Roberts professionally. We