Page 4 of Dirty Cops Next Door

“That sounds like a plan. Listen, the chief is going to lunch over at Raynell’s Diner, next to the paper’s building. I bet you can catch him over there then and get him to talk.” She gave me a little wink and I sighed a thank you.

“That would be perfect! I’ll see if I can find this woman in the meantime, then.” I waved the piece of paper I’d written the woman’s name down on in the air.

“Who’s that then?” She took the paper from me, and I let her have it. “Ah, Ms. Johnson.”

There was an emphasis on the Ms. part that caught my attention.

“What’s that mean? What’s your name, by the way?” I asked before she could finish.

“I’m Beth Andrews, but everybody calls me Bee, because I’m usually as busy as one.” She gave a roll of her eyes and a wry grin. “Ms. Johnson, as usual, will be glued to Chief Daniels. You’ll find her with him at lunchtime, I’m sure.”

She pursed her lips and her eyes widened to let me know what she thought of that. I gathered Ms. Johnson was chasing a badge of her own then.

“One of those, huh?” I said, hoping I wasn’t being too obvious. I wanted to know about the people in the town I’d moved to, not just because I wanted to meet people but also because I was an investigative reporter.

“She is, but he’s not stupid. He knows the drill. Anyway, I need to get some work done, but if you need anything, you give me a call, you hear? Here’s my card.”

I tucked her card into my bag before I handed her one of my own.

“It was great to meet you, Beth. Bee. I do like that, by the way. Bee.” I gave her a grin of my own and left, heading back to the office. I spared a glance in the direction the men had walked off in. Too bad, they were already gone.

Those two were just too perfect. So was life, I decided.

* * *

Grant

I watchedour cute neighbor walk out of the police station and glanced over at David with a questioning look. He gave a slight shake of his head, his eyebrows knotted, and went back to gazing blankly at our glaring chief.

“I want that man in custody…” the chief droned on, but my gaze went back to the window in the chief’s office. Toni was getting into her car, but the skirt didn’t allow her much room to maneuver.

The unforgiving material stretched across her bottom and I grinned as she looked around before she hiked her skirt up enough to slide into the seat. A view of a rather fine ass and an exceptional pair of legs was my reward for being vigilant.

I waited until she left before I looked back at David again, my left eyebrow perched over gray eyes I knew the ladies loved to drown in. I’m serious, that look said, let’s talk about this.

He glared at me again. Dickhead.

I sighed deeply and looked away. David is my best friend, but sometimes… Sometimes, he’s just too fucking serious.

The chief finally dismissed us and we went back to our desks, David owning the office the minute we stepped into it. I wish I had that kind of presence, but it’s just not me. I’m the more fun-loving kind of guy, the one that gets suspects to talk with my chummy charm and an obsequious smile. David just glares at them, his stare alone enough to intimidate them into talking. Most of the time.

We’d been on the force together for ten years now. We started together and have been partners since day one. We decided to rent an apartment together about the time David’s last serious relationship fell apart five years ago. Since then, we’ve had some wild times together, exploring the very limits of what life has to offer, and I wanted to explore our new neighbor next. She was just too fucking cute to resist!

“I know what you’re going to say, Grant, and the answer is no.” He sat at his desk, looking at me with that glare that should have put me in my place, but never did. He knew it never worked and was prepared for battle.

“Fuck, David, why not? She’s gorgeous!”

“A... she’s our neighbor. We don’t shit in our own backyard, remember?” He gave me that lecturing tone that he knew drove me right up the damned wall. “And B... she has a kid brother to take care of. She doesn’t need her life turning upside down by us two, mate.”

David was a US citizen now, but he’d started life in Australia thirty-three years ago. His parents brought him to America when he was thirteen, and his accent was still tinged with that little something that made women’s knees go weak. I’d seen it happen personally. Sometimes his roots broke through and he’d say something that would throw you, like the word ‘mate’. It drove the ladies wild.

The rest of him drove the ladies wild too. His hard jaw and piercing blue eyes were a combination that was too much for most to resist. We both worked out too, so he—we—had the bodies to back up our game. His straight nose was just a smidgen bigger than it should be, but other than that, David was flawless. It worked in our favor most of the time.

I wasn’t hard on the eyes either, and that usually landed us with a lady that was far more willing to take us up on our offer than most would care to admit. Two for the price of one was our game, and we often left our partner for the night wanting more. We were a one-night-only act, though, so I knew David’s stance on our neighbor was going to stick.

As he’d said, we don’t shit in our own backyard.

“Too bad man. She has my head spinning.” I thought about those blue eyes staring up at me with innocent fascination and felt my body respond. “It’s really too fucking bad man.”

“Good, glad that’s settled,” David said as our phones went off. “Looks like we have work to do. Another drug deal gone wrong.”

We raced to our car, the sound of fire engine sirens already piercing the air.

On the way to the scene, David drove expertly through the small streets, heading out of town to the dying remnants of the industrial park on the outskirts. We could see smoke before we got there.

David brought the car to a skidding halt as we approached the building and I jumped out, taking in the scene. Racing over, I saw a young man on the ground, his skin blackened and his eyes fluttering open and closed. I saw the flash of blue before the lids closed one last time. Eric, Toni’s little brother.