Page 30 of Heat of Justice

“Then again, Everleigh might sacrifice me to save his own skin.”

“Some might say you’re the victim here.”

“I’m nobody’s victim,” Quinn grumbled.

“I mean, it might not hurt for the mayor to think so. I’ll do my best to make him see this is a load of bullshit designed to hit at him and damage his re-election campaign. You just happen to be fodder for the fire.”

“Mmm. Or maybe not‘just’.”

“Tell me what’s on your mind, Wesley.”

“Oh, I think it’s bullshit, alright.” Quinn spat the word out. “But if someone specifically wanted to hurt Everleigh’s political career, there are plenty of ways to do it that wouldn’t involve me. The fact that I am fully front and center in this blog cannot just be an accident.”

Wilson sat behind his desk, rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, and steepled his fingers. Better than mustache-twirling, she figured.

“Any idea who might be writing this stuff, then?” he asked. “If it is no coincidence?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Working on finding out, are you?”

Quinn decided not to share that Lia had taken charge of the matter against her best wishes. Her wife had contacted a friend of hers in Boston, a freelance writer for a tech magazine who specialized in online security. According to Lia, he was a proper geek… and proved a useful one, too. In no time at all, he had confirmed that the anonymous blogger was taking measures to hide their location—unless they really sat with a laptop on top of Mt. Blanc in the French Alps.

“You can’t expect me to be idle,” Quinn just said.

“And even if I did, you probably wouldn’t,” Wilson replied.

Since it didn’t sound like a question, Quinn remained quiet. Then, with a rush of impatience, thought better of it.

“Captain, you know this suspension hurts the department more than it does me. My team needs me around and available. We have several active cases on the go. The people of Lewiston are paying for me to do my job, not stay at home and watch Netflix all day.”

She made that last bit up. No Netflix for her; she was using her unexpected free time well, running and training more. But that image of her wasting time and tax-payers money would be good ammo for when Wilson spoke to Everleigh again on her behalf. On Lia’s instructions, Quinn did nothing to try to hide her irritation. It was good advice.

‘I think you should get in there and let ‘er rip a little, Quinn,”her wife had told her.‘I know how much respect you have for your captain, the department, and the chain ofcommand in general. But this is wrong. You know it. So do I. You shouldn’t make it easy for them to keep you off the job.’

“I’ll speak to Everleigh in the next hour,” Wilson promised. “Jeff Mills from Internal Affairs will also want a word with you about this stuff.”

Oh, Jesus!

“It’s like the worst case of Déjà Vu.” Quinn sneered. “Mills had a word with me and Detective James at the time when her actions came under scrutiny. He closed that file right there and then.”

“It’s procedure, Wesley.”

“A pathetic waste of all our time. Sir,” she added, catching his warning frown.

“I agree. Trust me, Lieutenant, I hate these games of politics as much as you do,” he assured her. “I will do my best to have you back on the job ASAP. In the meantime, I expect you to let me know if you discover who is behind these blogs. Not act on your own.”

“Understood.”

“Alright.”

Quinn remained in place as he made a gesture to indicate that the conversation was over.

“Sir. Permission to check on my team,” she asked.

He fixed her intently and seemed to weigh the pros and cons and potential consequences of not rigidly enforcing the terms of her suspension. Then nodded just once.

“Unofficially, Wesley. Go ahead.”

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