Page 18 of Ghostmaker

“Ten mentioned something about teaching at the academy if worse came to worst, so I’ll keep that idea in mind.”

“The two of you, plus Fitz, are the pre-eminent cold case experts in the state. If you guys started a teaching program, I’m sure you’d be booked solid.” Faulk grinned and tapped a file on his desk. “Onto the reason the two of you are here. I spoke with Malcolm Proctor, the chief of the Cambridge Police Department. When I mentioned the Alice Strickland case, he didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed that the chief was unaware of a fifteen year old homicide.”

“No wonder West has lost all confidence in the department to solve his mother’s murder.” Jude felt sorry for the young man. He’d feel a lot more sorry if he didn’t have Jude’s fate in the palm of his hand, but he understood how frustrating it must be for there to have been no movement on his mother’s case in fifteen years.

Faulk nodded. “The good news is that the chief knows who you are and how good you are at your jobs. Proctor remembered working on a case with you several years ago, Ronan, and has never forgotten your drive to solve that case and what a fun detective you were to work with.”

“He must have caught me on one of the rare days where I wasn’t an asshole.”

“When the hell do those days come around?” Jude asked.

“Every leap year, so you’re out of luck until 2028.” Ronan laughed.

“Proctor is confident the two of you can move this investigation along, if not solve it outright.” Faulk tapped a finger on his desk. “He was so confident, in fact, that he had the case file couriered over this morning.” Faulk pointed to two bank boxes sitting at the back of his office. “The case is yours to work. You’ll be issued provisional badges from the Cambridge Police Department, so you’ll need to stop by the 6th Street precinct house to get them and meet with Chief Proctor. You’re welcome to use our third floor conference room to work out of. Just make sure to mention me during your press conference when you solve this case.”

“Thanks, Faulk. We’ll get right on this.”

“I’ll do what I can to make sure the unit stays together. After all, I’m a citizen of Salem too. So is my husband, and our girls.”

Ronan got out of his seat and grabbed one of the file boxes. Jude grabbed the other. “Thanks, Faulk. We owe you one.”

“Yeah, you do. I seem to remember Ten making one hell of a pot roast.”

Ronan laughed. “We’ll be sure to invite you over for dinner. I know Everly would love to see Macy and Isla.”

“Good luck!” Faulk called as they walked out the door.

“Let’s head to Cambridge and then back to Salem,” Jude said. “I want to be home when Wolf and Lizzie get off the bus.”

“Me too,” Ronan agreed. “You know, this could be the start of something new. Offering our services to other departments to help solve these kinds of cases.”

Jude nodded. He wasn’t too keen on the idea of the travel that would be involved. Hell, the ride into Boston was too long. When did Jude get so old? So settled?

The happy work/life balance he’d achieved had spoiled him. The cold case team set their own hours and picked which cases they accepted and which to leave on the shelf for the time being. If they couldn’t manage to keep the unit funded, there were going to be some major life changes in store for Jude and the rest of their family. Changes Jude wasn’t sure he was up to facing.

One thing was for certain, if the Alice Strickland case was the last one he worked with Ronan, Jude planned to go out with a bang.

10

Cope

Cope couldn’t tell if he was jittery from the five cups of coffee he’d had to drink that morning or because of the situation with West Strickland, Jude, and the rest of the cold case team. He supposed it was a mix of both.

The rest of the evening had gone well after Everly spoke with Alice Strickland and the detectives agreed to look into her murder. Cope had gotten a text from Jude saying he and Ronan were being given the case to work and had been given provisional badges from the Cambridge Police Department. At the very least, this case would keep Jude so busy that he wouldn’t have time to worry or give in to anxiety over the future of the cold case unit in Salem.

Apparently worrying and being riddled with anxiety was Cope’s job. He hadn’t slept well last night, while Jude had been out cold the second his head hit the pillow. Cope had tossed and turned and grabbed about two hours of broken sleep before he gave up the ghost—metaphorically— and got into the shower.

Now, Cope sat in his office with a bad case of the jitters hoping the caffeine would wear off before his next client reading. A knock on his office door pulled Cope out of his head. “Come in, Carson.”

“Hey.” Carson popped into the room, checked the hallway, and shut the door behind him.

Obviously Cope wasn’t the only one supercharged on coffee. “What’s up?”

“Jonas Crawford, that’s what’s up.”

“Fuck me blue, don’t tell me he’s here.” The absolute last thing Cope needed was a visit from Crawford. He’d rather have a root canal minus the Novocain, get audited by the IRS, and fly on a plane filled with screaming babies, all at the same time, rather than having to see Jonas Crawford again.

Carson shook his head. He ran to the door and peeked out into the hallway again. “You’re not going to believe this,” he whispered. “but one of Crawford’s free reading clients is here.” Carson looked positively giddy.