On his way into the building he passed a woman heading out with a dog. Giving away nothing of his purpose, he nodded at her, but she avoided his gaze, edging away with a tight hold on the dog’s leash. Rowdy glanced back and saw her heading for the sidewalk.
Dismissing her from his mind, he went up to Reese’s apartment. There were two doors on that floor, but he saw no one, so he got out his tools to pick the lock.
“You’d think a cop would know better,” Rowdy whispered as the lock easily gave way. After checking one more time for curious spectators, he slipped into the apartment and closed the door behind him.
Detective Bareden was an orderly guy. That made it easier. He went to the desk and laptop first. He wasn’t a computer expert, and Bareden had a lot of his online files password protected. But he still found plenty.
On him. On Pepper.
And on Lieutenant Peterson.
“Huh.” Strange. Why all the curiosity about his lieutenant?
Every cop he’d ever known kept a hard copy of his records. Since he couldn’t quickly access the computer files, he’d look for the paper trail and hope for the best. Rowdy checked the desk drawers but found only the usual inside. It appeared Bareden had a healthy savings account, plenty in his checking, organized receipts.
Nothing that Rowdy could use.
He left the desk and went into the bedroom. He checked both nightstands without much success and then, on sudden inspiration, removed the drawers to look behind and under them.
That’s where he found the file—taped inside the nightstand behind the drawer. He flipped it open, skimmed it quickly, and then not so quickly.
Sitting on the side of the bed, the file open on his lap, he read over the lieutenant’s history on the force, her rise in the ranks and her efforts to clean up corruption.
He also read other, more interesting accounts. Four in total. It looked pretty damning.
It was not what he’d expected.
The front door opened and closed. On alert, Rowdy considered the window, or maybe the closet—
As if he’d expected to find Rowdy there, Detective Reese Bareden strode in. He was armed but had left his gun in his shoulder holster.
He came right into the bedroom, right up to Rowdy. “Is there a good reason why I shouldn’t beat you into the ground?”
Whoa. That calm was a surprise. Rowdy took his measure, felt no real sense of menace and shrugged. “Might not be as easy as you expect.”
“The way I feel right now, I wouldn’t want it to be easy.” But he rubbed his face as if merely disgusted. “What are you doing here, Rowdy?”
“You know the answer to that already.”
“Right. When it comes to your sister, you don’t take chances.”
Despite Reese’s lack of real aggression, it seemed prudent to get to his feet. “I thought you were at the station.”
“And so you felt free to let yourself into my apartment?”
“Something like that.”
He shook his head and propped his shoulder on the wall in his typical stance. “Alice called me.”
Alice? Who the hell was…the lady with the dog. Damn it. She hadn’t looked concerned. In fact, Rowdy wasn’t at all sure she’d even noticed him. “She’s a neighbor?”
He nodded. “She was taking my dog out for a walk, saw you, and became apprehensive.”
Reese had a dog? He hadn’t counted on that, either. “She must be a suspicious sort then, because I gave her no reason.”
As if that bothered Reese, he murmured, “Yes, she is. Very much so.” To clear away that thought, he shook his head. “Luckily for you, she gave me a detailed description of the intruder—otherwise you might have found yourself staring down the barrel of my weapon.”
So Reese had known it was him? “And…what? You don’t mind me visiting?”
“You have reason to be extra cautious.” Reese loosened his tie and opened the top button of his shirt. “And unlike you, I’m not nearly so mistrustful.”
Rowdy held up the file. “I’d say that’s debatable.”
“You read it?”
“The gist of it, yeah.” Puzzle pieces came together. “Logan doesn’t know?”
Reese worked his jaw. “I won’t demolish a reputation lightly. I wanted solid proof before saying anything. A few secretive visits are nothing more than circumstantial evidence.”
Suddenly Lieutenant Peterson stepped into the room, her gun already drawn. “Would one of you care to tell me what’s going on here?”
Shit. “Dude, you need an alarm system.”
“Apparently so.” Reese glanced at the lieutenant’s gun.
Rowdy considered his options, but the idea of being caught by anyone other than Reese hadn’t crossed his mind. He’d known Reese was at the station, so he thought he’d have time.
He hadn’t counted on his neighbor making that call.
And now the lieutenant had joined them. When the two of them only shared an accusatory stare, Rowdy asked her, “Why are you here?”
“So I need to go first? Fine.” She motioned for Reese to step back. “He’s been cagey, secretive. Before bringing you and your sister in, I thought I’d find out why.” Her gaze went back and forth between the two men. “I didn’t expect to find you here. Are you working with him, then?”
Rowdy didn’t understand her. “Him who?”
“Reese.” She nodded at the file in his hand. “The two of you have joined Morton’s ranks?”