Page 49 of Innocent Intent

Instead of entertaining the threat, Davis left his captain’s office and decided to find a better use for his time. He was equally frustrated that there wasn’t much else he could go on. No leads that amounted to anything, nor had he discovered anything that brought him closer to clearing Cassidy’s name. At present, she was still the only suspect, and that bothered him more than anything.

A few hours later, Davis was exhausted from combing through details connected to the Williams case, only to come up short. He decided to call it a day and start fresh in the morning. With the planned trip to New York to prayerfully chase down the one lead he did have, his mind traveled back to the person who’d provided it.

Cassidy.

As he stepped into the humid night air, Davis removed his phone from his pocket to call the woman who had his mind wrapped up for most of the day. Before he could get her on the line, Harper stepped out of his car, slamming the door behind him.

Davis’s eyes darted from Harper to his partner Gary Richards, who paused his steps as if trying to decide whether he should stay and be the voice of reason between the two. The friction between Davis and Harper wasn’t foreign to any of them.

“You coming inside?” Richards asked as he eyed the two detectives.

“In a minute. I need to have a word with Davis.” Harper glared at his target, not bothering to acknowledge his partner visually. Richards issued one last weary look before releasing an annoyed sigh but walking away from whatever was about to happen. The two could engage in a complete brawl right there in the parking lot for all he cared.

“You want to tell me what the fuck that whole scene was about, Davis?” Harper pushed forward, stepping into Davis’s personal space. Davis didn’t move. He only lowered his chin and angled his head slightly to the right, looking down on Harper. The smug grin that appeared seconds after only intensified matters between the two.

“You know your partner much better than I do, so maybe you can tell me what that was about?” Davis noticed the pulsing vein at Harper’s temple and smiled more arrogantly.

“You know gotdamn well that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then what are you talking about?”

“You and Cass. You make a habit of spending time with suspects at their homes?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but when necessary, yes.”

“You two cozy now? She more than just your suspect? Because if that’s the case—”

“If that’s the case, it’s not your concern, so fuck off.”

Harper’s eyes narrowed further, expressing his anger. “Fuck off? Right. Seems to me like that’s more your forte. You’re wasting a lot of time on this case and possibly for the wrong reasons. You might want to think about your clearance rate versus using the job as a way to add a few notches to your belt.”

“I thought you and Cassidy were friends.”

“We are.”

“Then act like it. Show some gotdamn respect. You talk about all your friends that way?”

“In what way?”

“Unjustly condemning them for their personal choices? If you do, seems like I’ve made the right decision keeping things professional where you’re concerned.”

“Professional? You don’t know the meaning of professional, or you wouldn’t have taken your ass down to Police Palace questioning Chief Trent. You like pissing people off, don’t you? Might want to be more selective about who you piss off. Just a word of advice.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m fully capable of handling my life and my career. You stick to your cases, and I’ll stick to mine.”

“My clearance rate is not in question. It’s well over 80 percent. Can you say the same?”

“I can. In fact, your clearance rate might be 80 percent, but how many cold cases do you have?”

The acknowledgment and anger flooded Harper’s expression in a matter of seconds.

Davis stepped closer, locking his arms over his chest. “You seem to be struggling to come up with a number. I’ll help you out. Last I checked, it was twenty-two. I have none.”

With his final word, Davis turned toward his car, leaving Harper fuming behind him. “I’ve been on the job a lot longer, you arrogant son of a bitch. You think you’re that much better—”

“No. Never said I was better. Just making sure you understand I’m good at what I do. I don’t need you or anyone else worrying about how I handle myself on the job. Especially when that attention can be better utilized handling your own shit.”

After making his point, Davis settled into his car, immediately starting the engine. As he pulled out of the parking space, Harper remained affixed to where Davis left him, glaring at the vehicle through a haze of anger. Another day, another fucking pointless argument.

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