Page 28 of Anchor Point

He puffed up his chest, obviously offended. “The bottom line is, we don’t allow pornographic material in the walls of this high school.”

This was going nowhere.

“Understood,” I gritted out. Beside me, Rosie sniffled, and I knew there was more to this story, but this man wasn’t going to listen. We’d just have to deal with the situation as best we could.

We completed the necessary paperwork, and then I marched her frustrating teenage behind out the door and to my SUV. The department vehicle had broken down on the way in that morning and had made me late. I’d just barely returned after juggling multiple meetings when I got the call to come get Rosie.

And to add to the list of super craptastic things, my mother called, saying she was putting my father in a nursing home because his dementia had gotten to be more than she could handle.

I slammed the door and took a few calming breaths before tackling the next thing on the list. The entire week had been a nightmare. My to-do list seemed never ending. Things were piling up and suffocating me, pulling me in multiple directions.

“Mom—”

I lifted my hand to cut her off. Deep breaths weren’t cutting it. I needed a drink. And it was only noon. God help me, I didn’t know what to do with her, with the school, with my job. I backed out of the high school lot and tried to focus.

“Rosa Nell Hawkins,” I said through gritted teeth, “the next words out of your mouth better be ‘I’m sorry, Mom.’”

“But Mom?—”

“No buts. I want the whole story, but right now, I need a cool-off period. You’re going home, and you’re going to do all your classwork. You will not watch TV, and as soon as I get there, that phone belongs to me. The only reason I’m not taking the dang thing with me is because you need to have it in case of emergency.”

Rosie flopped back in her seat, pouting. When we got to the house, she bolted up the sidewalk and slammed the door behind her before I could even climb out of the car. Fine. It was better if we didn’t talk until we both had time to settle down.

I drove to the station, running through the endless things that I’d had to postpone because of that unexpected trip. Why was it that I couldn’t seem to get caught up in this job? I’d expected to be busy, but there seemed to always be something falling through the cracks.

Cathy was on the phone when I walked into the office. I caught her eye as I passed, and her stunned expression made me pause. She turned to fully face me, saying, “Yes, sir. She just walked through the door. Can I place you on a brief hold?” With the touch of her headset, she stood, twisting her hands nervously, and I knew the day had taken another turn.

“What is it?” I demanded, my voice coming out harsher than I intended.

Cathy grimaced, the look so out of place with her normally chipper attitude. “Mayor Smith is on the line with a reminder about some conference that you must attend. It starts tomorrow. In Savannah. He said the organizer wants to know if you have your presentation ready.”

I stood frozen. What conference? What presentation? It felt like a threat. Like a setup.

Behind me, the door opened, and I felt a familiar presence at my back.

“What’s wrong?” Mac’s grumbly voice was right in my ear.

And suddenly, I couldn’t maintain my calm, cool, collected self. Not in his presence, anyway. I smoothed a shaky hand down my shirt, feeling a boulder of stress building between my shoulder blades. Crap was bubbling over fast, and I needed to get a handle on it. First, I’d figure out what Smith was up to. Maybe by the time I got done with him, I’d be able to face Mac. And then I’d figure out what to do about Rosie.

“Put the mayor through to my office, please. Captain Collins, if you’ll excuse me.”

I hurried to my desk as my line rang. “Chief Hawkins.”

“Chief, I’m surprised I caught you.” The mayor’s jovial voice boomed through my ear. “I heard there was a little hullabaloo down at the high school today.”

His manner was offhand, but something told me he was making a point with his fake friendliness. And why would he have knowledge of anything related to my daughter? Regardless, I was not about to confirm anything, because I didn’t trust the man.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting, sir. How can I help you?” Thankfully, my voice didn’t give me away.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I was just telling your girl that I got an email reminder that the former fire chief was supposed to be delivering a presentation at the ACCG conference this weekend.”

My girl? Cathy wasn’t a girl. And she had a name. I clenched my fist and tried to keep my voice even. “What kind of presentation, sir?”

“Oh, I’m not sure of the details, but I can have my girl send your girl the email, and you can contact them.”

I bit my cheek to keep myself in check. “Thank you. I’ll let Cathy know to expect it.”

“You know, Chief…” During his weighty pause, I imagined him kicking back in his big executive chair, his beefy hands folded over his belly. “Directors within the city government are held to a higher standard, and in this city, the actions of the family members are also under scrutiny.”

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