Free Night Shield by Nora Roberts Page B

trace one single piece of stolen property.” She knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “There’s no news on the street. Even Hickman’s bottomless sources are dry. Whoever’s pushing the buttons on this is smart, private and patient.”
    “You’ve been inside Blackhawk’s for a week.”
    “Yes, sir. I can’t tell you any more than I could the first day. Between the security tapes and my own in-the-field observations, I’ve tagged several regulars. But nobody pops. On the upside, my cover’s secure.”
    “Fortunately. Shut the door, Detective.”
    Her stomach sank a little, but she did so and stood in the glass box of his office with the noise from the bull pen humming behind the clear wall.
    “On the matter of Dennis Overton.”
    She’d known it was coming. Once she’d made the complaint to the D.A.’s office, it was inevitable that some of the flak would scatter into her own house.
    “I regret the incident, Lieutenant. However, the way it ultimately played out added to my cover rather than detracting from it.”
    “That’s not my concern. Why didn’t you report his behavior previously to the D.A.? To me?”
    They both heard the unspoken
To your father.
    “It was personal business and, until this last incident, on my personal time. I believed I could handle it without involving my superiors or Dennis’s.”
    He understood the defensive stance because he understood her. “I’ve spoken with the district attorney. In your complaint to him you state that Overton has, over a period of time beginning the first week of April, harassed you with phone calls both here and at home, has staked out your apartment, followed you on and off duty.”
    “He didn’t interfere with the job,” she began, then wisely closed her mouth when her lieutenant stared at her.
    Kiniki set aside a copy of her written statement, folded his hands on it. “Contacting you against your stated wishes when you’re on duty, as well as when you’re off, interferes. Are you unaware of the stalking laws, Detective?”
    “No, sir. When it became apparent that the subject would not desist in his behavior, could not be discouraged and could potentially interfere with this investigation, I reported his behavior to his superior.”
    “You haven’t filed charges.”
    “No, sir.”
    “Nor have you, as yet, requested a restraining order.”
    “I believe a reprimand from his superior is sufficient.”
    “That, or being knocked back by Jonah Blackhawk?”
    She opened her mouth, closed it again. She hadn’t mentioned that part of the incident to the D.A.
    “Overton claims that Blackhawk attacked him, unprovoked, in a fit of jealous rage.”
    “Oh, for God’s sake.” The words, and the disgust in them, were out before she could stop them. She yanked at her hair once, then bit down on control. “That is completely inaccurate. I didn’t detail the incident, Lieutenant. It didn’t seem necessary. But if Dennis insists on making trouble here, I’ll write out a full report.”
    “Do it. I want a copy on my desk by tomorrow afternoon.”
    “He could lose his job.”
    “Is that your problem?”
    “No.” She blew out a breath. “No, sir. Lieutenant, Dennis and I dated for a period of three months.” She hated this, bringing her personal life into her superior’s office. “We were … intimate, briefly. He began to display— Hell.”
    She dropped the copspeak, approached the desk. “He got possessive, jealous, irrational. If I was late or had to cancel, he’d accuse me of being with another man. It got way out of hand, and when I broke things off he’d come by or call. Full of apologies and promises to be different. When I didn’t go for it, he’d either get nasty or fall apart. Lieutenant, I slept with him. Part of this situation is my doing.”
    Kiniki waited a moment, pulling on his bottom lip while he studied her. “That’s one of the few stupid remarks I’ve ever heard you make. If a victim came to you describing