Free Silver Justice by Russell Blake

inappropriate, as was her internal dialogue at the moment.
    He stood and collected his iPad and notepad. “I’m going to go help my analyst get set up. She’s just arrived. Things will go faster once she’s plugged in…” Richard said.
    Silver nodded.
    She ?
    Silver had assumed that the analyst from Washington would be male. Not that she’d devoted tremendous thought to it. She made a mental note to go meet the new arrival sooner than later – welcome her to the team.
    “How long will she be with us? And what’s her name?” Silver asked.
    “Oh, she just came in for the day. I wanted to bring her up to speed personally, and then she’ll be working remotely from D.C.. Maybe come into the city once a week to compare notes. She’s a civilian contractor. Stacy Burroughs. We’ve worked together on a number of cases, and she’s one of the best.”
    “Well, go do what you need to do, and I’ll stop in later to say hello. Good work on the victim’s partner. I just don’t know what to make of it.”
    “I know. Neither do I. But we’ll get to the bottom of things. That’s what I’m here for,” he said, before opening her door to let himself out.
    She watched through the glass panel as he made his way to the cubicles and wondered why she was suddenly so keenly aware of him as a male of the species. That was unlike her – Silver was ultimately all about business, and the thoughts she’d been having during their meeting were anything but. Perhaps it was the season. Spring in the air. Pollination running rampant, and so forth.
    Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to entertain any more of it. Even if Richard did have a bounce to his gait she could have watched all day.
    Silver shook off her musings and returned to her never-ending pile of reports, trying to make headway against the unstoppable tide. As the morning wore on, the drudgery got the better of her, and she found herself drifting off. Anxious for a break, she made a fresh pot of coffee and poured a generous measure, mentally promising herself that this would be the very last one of the day. The phone rang just as she was sitting back down.
    “Cassidy,” she answered.
    “Silver? It’s Frank Erensen from Rochester.”
    “Frank. It’s been forever. What’s going on up in God’s country?”
    “I wish this was a social call, Silver. But I’m afraid I have some bad news. It’s about Andy, and I wanted you to hear about it from me first…”
    “Andy? What happened, Frank?” Silver’s voice caught in her throat. Andy had been her partner until five years ago.
    “Andy was shot and killed in the line of duty this morning.”
    “What? How?”
    “He was pursuing a lead in an investigation, and a sniper got him while he was on a stakeout.”
    “Good Lord. What was he investigating?”
    “Chinese triads. Child prostitution. We’re pulling out all the stops to figure things out, but it’s still early. This just happened, so everyone’s scrambling.”
    Silver shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “How’s Julie doing? And the kids?” Andy had two boys, one about five and the other would be around two by now.
    “I’m headed out to the house right now to see them. Julie is falling apart, as you can imagine. I don’t even want to think about what the next few hours are going to be like.”
    “Frank, I’m so sorry. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
    “I will.” Silver heard another line ringing in the background, and the murmur of voices. “Listen, Silver, I have to run. Sorry to be the bearer of such crappy news.”
    “No problem. It sounds like you have your hands full. Thanks for the heads-up.”
    Silver set down the phone and stared off into space. She hadn’t talked to Andy in at least a year – where had the time gone? He was still a relatively young man. She’d always had a soft spot for him. A big brother type, Andy was funny and engaging, and they’d been through a lot together in their years on the job. And now he was