Page 45 of Bidding on a Second Chance
The gas station was just down the street. Graham hit the button on his speaker microphone. “Patrol Three. En route from Chambers and First.”
Even before Officers Casper and Hughes confirmed their locations, Graham knew he’d be first on the scene.
As he pulled onto the road, dispatch provided more information. “Be advised, witness states subject is a white male in a dark hoodie, armed with a handgun.”
ChapterTwenty-Eight
“Hughes and I roll up around the same time, and there’s cash everywhere.” Officer Casper spread her hands, hamming up the retelling of the call they’d just wrapped up. The new shift of officers, Cody among them, hung on her every word. “The wind kicks up and bills blow around like in one of those money-grab games. In the center of this cyclone of money, Lockhart is already cuffing the guy.”
As the others clapped his shoulder in celebration, Graham laughed. “It was kind of anti-climactic. He slipped on the ice as he ran from the store.”
If not for that, Graham would’ve waited for the other officers before taking action, but the Lord had been kind. On the drive over, the dispatcher had relayed that the witness had seen the subject enter the store alone and that the vehicle he’d driven appeared empty. So when the lone perpetrator had slipped on the ice and fallen face-down on the pavement, Graham had moved in before the robber could recover the gun that had skidded away.
But of course, Casper wasn’t done with her story yet. “The first thing the guy does when Graham stands him up is try to catch a passing twenty with his teeth.”
“He get it?” someone asked.
Casper scoffed. “No, but halfway to the car, he decides maybe being arrested isn’t his favorite idea in the world and starts putting up a fight in that skating rink of a parking lot.”
“I always thought Lockhart would make a good figure skater,” Cody quipped.
Casper grinned. “Less graceful, but more fun to watch.”
At least someone enjoyed it. The tussle had laid Graham out on his back and whacked his head against the pavement. He had a lump and some bruises to show for it, but thankfully no signs of a concussion. Hughes and Casper had moved in to help, and the rest of the call had gone without incident.
When the story wrapped up and the group moved off, Cody hung back. “Casper’s impressed.”
Was that a flare of jealousy in his friend’s voice? Graham glanced up from the computer. Cody had his arms crossed over his uniform, gaze on Graham.
He shrugged. “I was in the right place at the right time.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“No problem.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed. After a few beats, he asked, “What’d Piper say about it?”
“It’s the middle of the night. I haven’t told her yet.”
And he didn’t want to. She might be taking a more hopeful view of life, but the optimism might not hold up against a handgun. He hadn’t been in real danger this time, but she specialized in what-ifs.
“So tomorrow?” Cody prompted. “You’ll see her at church.”
Graham cleared his throat, but he couldn’t agree to ruin everything. Not when he was just getting her back.
Cody looked at the ceiling, sighed, then returned an unimpressed gaze to Graham. “She’s going to hear. If not through the grapevine Casper’s growing, then from the paper. An event like this will warrant a press release.”
Graham rested his arm on his desk, but the position hit the angry bruise on his elbow earned during the arrest. He shifted. “The press release won’t name the officer. Besides, nobody reads the paper anymore.”
“Plenty of people read the paper, and everyone at the station knows what happened. Like it or not, you’re a hero.”
To everyone but the one person who mattered. “When I tell her something like that happened and I was involved—and especially that the guy got the better of me by knocking me down—I’ll confirm her fears.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Graham scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “I know.”
“Besides, what are you supposed to do? Quit your job? Hide what it entails forever? Even if you could, you can’t avoid or hide every injury, illness, or threat for the rest of your life.”
