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Still, the Boss should have mandated it before bringing her back on. It was a surprising mistake of his to waive that requirement when she rejoined the team. Sure, the situation in Morgan County was urgent, but there were three months between that case and the Weed Killer case and another month between the Weed Killer case and this one. She should be in counseling.
Maybe the Boss was dragging his feet because he feared the counselor would recommend a temporary leave from field work. Despite his own considerable ego, Michael could admit that Faith was the best investigator they had, and he understood the Boss’s reluctance to lose her.
At this point, though, it was a choice between losing her temporarily and losing her permanently. She had been slipping since the Weed Killer case, and it was only getting worse.
He looked over at her again, and a pang of sympathy coursed through him. He still cared deeply for her, and it killed him to see her suffer. Michael understood the urge to suffer in silence. He possessed that same trait. Now, he knew what it was like to be the person on the outside watching someone he loved hurting and knowing that every attempt he made to help would be rejected and only succeed in driving her further away.
He exited the freeway, and as soon as he turned onto Eagle Street, his cruiser’s radio beeped.
“Prince here,” he said.
“Is Bold with you?” Travis’s voice asked.
“I’m here,” Faith said.
“All right,” Travis acknowledged, sounding disappointed. “The address you gave is a medical office. We’re waiting around the corner. As soon as the bastard shows himself, you give the signal.”
“You got it,” Faith said.
“Let’s take a step back,” Michael interjected. “We just want to talk to Doctor Porter right now. At this time, he’s not a suspect.”
“Heisa person of interest,” Travis said, “and in my experience, persons of interest talk more in an interrogation room than they do in their office.”
Christ, was everyone going to be impatient?“Detective, hold your men unless we call for help,” Michael said. “We’re lead on this case, and unless we say so, no one’s being arrested.”
“You sure you’re lead?” Travis asked. “Based on this morning, I would say your handle on the situation has slipped from tenuous to by-a-thread.”
Faith stiffened, and before she could retort, Michael quickly said, “You can be as pissy as you want, but be pissy waiting on my call.”
“Sir, yes Sir,” Travis groused.
He hung up, and Faith said, “What an asshole.”
“Can you blame him?” Michael retorted. “Let’s be honest, Faith, we haven’t exactly made their lives easier."
"Yeah, I know,” Faith said.
They pulled into the parking lot and waited. It was eight a.m. According to the medical office’s website, Doctor Porter saw patients between the hours of nine a.m. and six p.m., with an hour-long break for lunch at one-thirty. He would arrive before his patients did to review the cases of the day and prepare for eight hours of hearing people whine about their problems and fight every piece of helpful advice he gave them, so Michael expected him any minute.
That minute happened to be the twenty-first minute after they arrived. A late-model Lexus pulled into the lot and parked in one of the reserved spaces. The gentleman who got out was portly, middle-aged, and possessed of the quiet superiority that all counselors possessed. He matched the image on the medical office’s website.
Michael radioed Travis. “All right. He’s here. We’re moving in.”
“Roger that,” Travis replied. “It’s go time, boys!”
“What? No!” Michael shouted.
It was too late. Four police cruisers came peeling around both sides of the building, quickly surrounding a surprised Doctor Porter.
“Goddammit!” Michael shouted.
He got out of his own cruiser and slammed the door behind him. A moment later, he heard Turk’s growl as the dog rushed to follow the officers.
When Doctor Porter saw the massive dog sprinting his way, his surprise quickly changed to fear. He shrieked and leapt backward, holding his briefcase in front of him.
“Turk, heel!” Faith called.
Turk stopped five yards from Doctor Porter, but the fear didn’t leave the man’s face. Considering that no fewer than eight police officers now trained weapons on him, Michael wasn’t surprised.
