They were almost to the outer door when a man dressed very similarly to Simon jerked his head in greeting. “Hey, Granger.”
Simon nodded. “What’s up, Hooper?”
“Not much. I heard you’re gunning for a captain position again. Just so happens that I am, too. Maybe with me on board, things like the retired annuitant program won’t be cut.”
“Good luck with that,” Simon said mildly. Nina heard nothing confrontational in his tone, but Hooper reacted as if he did.
“Won’t need it, but can’t say the same for you. You already went that route once before, right? Look how that worked out. What makes you think it’ll work out any better this time around?”
Nina gasped, wondering if she was reading Hooper right. Was the man actually referring to Lana’s murder?
Maybe not, because Simon just chuckled. “Fuck you, too, Hooper.”
Hooper grinned, shot Nina an assessing look, then gave Simon a mocking salute before walking off.
Only when the other man turned his back did Simon allow a sliver of emotion to show on his face. He hid it quickly, but Nina saw the wave of anger wash over Simon’s face as he stared at Hooper.
“Well, he’s certainly obnoxious,” she said lightly, wondering how Simon would respond.
His jaw remained tight but the tension eased a bit from his eyes. “He’s an ass. But he’s also insightful. He’s just telling things the way he sees them. My last stint in management didn’t actually work out very well.”
“Maybe that’s because you left it. Sounds like you won’t be doing that again.”
“Sounds like it. But who knows? Maybe I’ll get there and realize I’ve made a mistake yet again. Maybe I’ll realize running from the streets wasn’t in my best interest, after all.” He closed his eyes in disgust. “Shit. Forget I said that, would you?”
“I’d rather not.” She knew she was pushing, but she added, “It’s okay to move on to something that is safer, if that’s what you really want. It doesn’t make you a coward.” She should know, she thought, but held back from sharing her own situation.
This time, Simon’s laughter sounded harsh, without any forced cheer. “Safe was never my M.O. With work or with women. That seems to have changed and I’m beginning to wonder if I really am a coward.”
“Simon—”
His beeper went off and he glanced down at it. “We’ve got a call. Local SFPD are at the park, dealing with a disturbance between a man and a woman. Let’s go.”
Nina followed him down the hall, perfectly aware that his face had reflected relief when his beeper went off. Saved by the bell, she thought, knowing he’d resent her thinking it. He’d resent the idea that he needed to be saved from anything remotely emotional.
Physical safety was one thing. He apparently thought his need to feel personally safe in his career amounted to cowardice.
She guessed that made two of them.
* * *
AFTER ATTENDING TO the call, which had been a simple drunk-and-disorderly, Nina found herself impressed with how Simon had handled himself. He’d stayed cool and calm as he’d talked to the man and his girlfriend, despite the fact that the man had gotten insulting at one point. Now, however, as she walked side by side with him back to his car, past the Scottish pines in Golden Gate Park, she took note of his intense concentration, of the tightness in his shoulders and how his hands were jammed in his pockets.
“I know you hate it when I try to psychoanalyze you, and I swear that’s not what I’m doing. At least, not more than I can help. But I’m curious,” she said. “How did you feel when you were talking to that drunk couple?”
Hands still in his pocket, Simon shrugged. She had the feeling he was doing all he could not to roll his eyes at her, and she appreciated that. It actually made her smile, in fact. He really was a good guy.
“I felt fine,” he said.
She snorted.
He turned his head and caught her gaze with his, taking in what she knew was her best derisive expression, and then his face softened. The smile lines at the corners of his eyes grew deeper. “All right then, not fine exactly. The call was routine. Seemed minor from the outset. Two people in the park in the middle of the day, hollering at each other, beer cans strewn around them, no weapons in sight and so drunk they swayed when standing.”