Page 130 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“It’s hard to be patient when you’ve found someone special and the whole world seems to be conspiring against you. Christina and I had been together for like ten minutes when I found out about Alex.” At the time, finding out he had a son he’d known nothing about had been the biggest shock of his life. Alex had since become one of his greatest blessings.

“That must’ve been wild.”

“It was, but Christina… She never wavered. Stuck by me through the whole thing. That’s when I knew she was the real deal, you know?”

“Yeah, for sure. That’s a lot to ask of a new girlfriend. It’s cool that she stepped up that way.”

This was, Gonzo realized, the first time he’d spoken with his new partner as a friend and not just a colleague. They were long overdue for that, and he probably ought to say so. “Hey, so, I’m sorry it’s been such a rough transition into being my partner. I hope you know it’s nothing personal.”

“Of course I do. I can’t begin to know what you’ve been through since losing Arnold.”

“Worst day of my life, hands down.”

“By all accounts, he was a good guy and a great cop.”

“He was,” Gonzo said, smiling, able now to remember his partner with fond affection rather than only raw grief. “He was funny and goofy and often a huge pain in my ass, but I loved the guy. Losing him the way I did was a fucking nightmare.”

“It would be for anyone, Gonzo.”

“Ah, well, I’m just hoping we can get justice for him at the trial. Not sure what I’ll do if that guy walks.”

“There’s no way he’s going to walk. No way in hell.”

Gonzo appreciated having Cam’s support. “From your lips to God’s ears.”

Back at HQ, they walked the still-shrieking Tiffany through processing, including the strip search that nearly took her straight over the edge. The female officer who performed the search returned her to Gonzo and Cam in an orange jumpsuit.

“She’s all yours.”

“Oh joy,” Gonzo said, taking Tiffany by the arm to walk her to interrogation.

“You’re looking at the biggest lawsuit this department has ever seen,” she said, seething.

“Okay.”

“I want a lawyer!”

“Okay.”

He ducked into one of the interrogation rooms and pointed to the landline on the table. “Do you have the number for your attorney? I’ll dial it for you.” That was the least he could do for her, since she was cuffed.

She sputtered as she tried to come up with a name. “I don’t know him. Bryson handles that stuff.”

“Shall I request a public defender, then?”

“Absolutely not,” she said, cringing.

“I need a name so I can put through the call for you.”

“I don’t have it!”

“Then I’ll call the public defender’s office. They’re usually pretty backed up, so it might be a day or two before they can get someone over here. In the meantime, let’s go.”

“Where?”

As he took hold of her arm, Gonzo ignored the question and walked her to the stairs to the city jail in the basement.

Anticipating a struggle, Cameron took her other arm.

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