Gene slapped the lieutenant on the back, then tossed a wink in my direction. “Sounds like I left you in capable hands. You boys go do what you need to do. When you get back, we’ll go over some final things and get you fitted for a uniform.”
“Thank you, sir…I mean, Gene.”
“There you go.” He reached out and laid a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re really happy to have you on board, son. If there’s anything you need, anything at all we can do to make your transition here easier, well, don’t you hesitate to ask. I think you’ll find that most folks in this town are pretty friendly.”
I swallowed around a sudden lump in my throat. I’d only met a handful of people, but I already felt a stronger sense of belonging after just a few days in this little town than I had over the last year in New York. “Thank you. Everyone’s been great so far.”
“Uh, Mike?” Layla called out, stopping Gene from saying anything else. “Mrs. Bernard wants to know if you’ll go and check things out around her place. Said she heard a strange noise and is worried it might be an intruder.”
Mike shook his head. “Tell her I’m on my way.” He grabbed a set of keys off his desk and looked at me. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You boys take care and tell Margaret I said hello,” Gene said, already making his way back to his office.
I followed Mike through the back exit, the bright sunshine gleaming overhead as we made our way across the lot to one of the patrol cars. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this story than someone snooping around this lady’s house?”
He turned his head in surprise. “How’d you know that just from what you heard in there?”
I shrugged. “It was more than what was said. You looked sad as soon as you heard it was Mrs. Bernard and you don’t seem in any particular hurry. Which makes me think you don’t believe this is an emergency. Do you have a reason to not believe her?”
Mike huffed out a laugh. “Gene was right, you are a hell of a cop. Nah, it’s not that I don’t believe her. I don’t doubt that she probably heard something, but it most likely wasn’t anything more than a racoon or a stray cat. Mrs. Bernard is eighty-eight years old. She lives right outside of town and lost her husband about six months ago. I’m sure she gets a little spooked being all alone out there, but I think for the most part, she’s just lonely.” I nodded my head. I understood more about loneliness than I cared to admit.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Mrs. Bernard was a sweet old lady and after we’d checked everything out and found no signs of mischief, we spent half an hour in her kitchen, enjoying the sweet tea and ginger cookies she’d made fresh that morning. After that, Mike took me on a tour of the town and introduced me to a few of the business owners along Main Street. The slow-paced atmosphere and the familiarity between everyone who lived there was a far cry from the hustle and bustle of strangers back home, but instead of feeling lost, I found myself reveling in it. I just hoped Ellie’s first day was as positive as mine.