Page 17 of Ghostmaker

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s hated psychics for the last fifteen years. Strickland might not have been so fond of them before his mother’s murder, but he sure as hell hated us when he arrived here last night. Listening to him talk, it sounds as though his contempt and loathing for cold case detectives has grown through the years. Last night, he got a glimpse of how those two things could work together to find the answer to his questions about his mother. It’s not easy confronting the fact that everything you thought you knew isn’t as true as you thought it was.”

“You want to run that by me again?” Jude asked, shoving more cereal into his mouth.

“Remember that documentary we watched a few weeks ago about that cult?”

Jude nodded.

“When the cult members finally found out that they’d been scammed all along, they looked like they didn’t know how to move on. Life in the cult was all they knew. Some of them thought the police were lying about the leader and the atrocities that happened behind closed doors.”

“You think that’s what Strickland might be feeling?”

Cope nodded. “I think up feels like down this morning. Tread lightly and do whatever you can to help him without making him feel pressured to rule in your favor. You’ve got charm out the wazoo, Jude. Use it.”

“I’ll get together with Ronan and Fitz and see what they think about a strategy going forward.” Jude slurped down the remaining milk in his bowl. “I’ll go wake the rugrats.” He pressed a kiss to Cope’s forehead. “Thank you for letting me know you wouldn’t think less of me if I lost this job.”

“I could never think less of you, babe.” Cope watched as Jude left the kitchen with a little more pep in his step than he’d had earlier. He’d been telling the truth when he’d said that the future kept vacillating between the department remaining open or being shuttered. What Cope hadn’t told Jude was the majority of time the needle landed on closing the unit.

Cope knew if anyone could change his own destiny it was Jude. In fact, he’d bet the house on his husband.

9

Jude

After a quick meeting with Fitz about the Alice Strickland case, Jude and Ronan were off to Boston to sit down with their old friend Faulkner Hayes. To be honest, Jude was surprised Fitzgibbon gave them permission to run off and chase this case. Fitz had supposed there was no sense in starting another case in Salem until the unit’s future was a little clearer.

Ninety minutes and one accident scene later, Ronan parked the Mustang in the BPD parking garage in South Boston. “There’s no place like home.”

“I’ve always loved the vibe of this city,” Jude said. “I just wish people would stop killing each other.”

“I hear that,” Ronan said.

“Cope mentioned that maybe I should go to college if the department is closed. What do you think?” Jude asked. On the one hand, he wanted Ronan’s opinion, on the other he was afraid to bring the subject up at all.

“Ten mentioned something similar to me this morning. He talked about taking a job as a training instructor at the police academy or something that would take me out of the line of fire. I’d still be working toward my pension in Salem if I worked for their academy.” Ronan sighed. “Just between the two of us, I don’t think I’m cut out to be on the street anymore. I’m over forty. I’ve got two kids at home who need me. The idea of getting shot at again and working crazy hours doesn’t appeal at all.”

Jude nodded. “I feel the same way.”

“I think Fitz does too,” Ronan said, as the elevator opened on the third floor. “We’ll finish this chat later.”

Nodding Jude followed Ronan to Faulk’s office, which, once upon a time, had been Fitzgibbon’s home away from home.

Ronan popped his head into Faulk’s office. “Hey, man!”

“Ronan! Jude!” Faulk got up from his seat and gave both detectives a hug. He shut the door behind them and ushered them into the chairs in front of his desk.

“If I had a nickel for every time Fitzgibbon chewed my ass while I sat in this chair, we wouldn’t have to worry about cold case being shut down.”

“I still don’t understand what the hell the mayor is thinking.” Faulk shook his head. “I know everything is political lately and with only a few weeks until the next election, I think this is a bad move. It’s a bad move anyway, but when you solve the unsolvable cases, they’re front page news. You guys are interviewed on the news and your pictures are in the paper. The officers in vice don’t get that same kind of star treatment. I think we’re going to see some public outcry about this if the decision goes against you guys.”

“Fitz thinks so too. He has a plan, but let’s face it, if the mayor decides to axe the department, it could take an act of god to get it started again. Hell, we needed a grant from the governor to get it rolling in the first place.”

“If memory serves, doesn’t Jude have a friendly relationship with the governor and her second in command.” Faulk waggled his eyebrows.

Jude grinned. “We got along like a house on fire at a fundraiser last year. I don’t know that I have enough of a relationship to prevail upon her to step in and extend the grant or to fund our department with state money. I’ll keep that suggestion in mind if the tide starts to turn against us.”

“I’ll do anything I can to help too. Just between us, I would love to get the two of you on my payroll. I’ve added a lot of young guys to the team who could benefit from the kind of experience the two of you have.” Faulk looked back and forth between them.