by the way, reports that his sunny Florida retirement community is chock-full of New York Mafia dinosaurs.” Someone snickered, but Conroy continued, “I’m also interviewing for Ted’s replacement, and will soon be studying each of you under a magnifying glass, looking for the next lieutenant.”
Jessica shifted as though she wanted to raise her hand.
Before either of them could ask why they needed a new lieutenant, Conroy explained, “For several reasons I am not required to explain to you, Mia will be transferring to a position at City Hall where she’ll be a liaison between me and the Mayor. She’ll also be working on community engagement.”
Jessica leaned over to Aiden’s shoulder. “I bet she’s pregnant.”
Aiden figured she was probably right, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of telling her that. He had been the new guy on the force in Last Chance when Jess, a police officer in New York City, moved home. The two of them had worked together ever since. He considered her a good friend, even though she sometimes annoyed him with the way she never ever dropped any matter until she got to the bottom of it.
Mia, currently their lieutenant and the wife of the chief of police, had hearing damage from a suspect who had shot off a firearm beside her head. She’d already been through several surgeries and had been pretty much reassigned to a desk ever since. Her previous career as an ATF agent made her a solid part of the team here. Now they were losing her to city hall?
Aiden had learned a lot from her. After two good lieutenants, he wasn’t excited to have to learn a third. Unless it was Basuto.
Jessica leaned over again. “You should study for the sergeant’s exam.”
He frowned at her. “Why?”
“Basuto gets the lieutenant’s job, right? Makes sense.” She shrugged. “That leaves his sergeant position open. And you know Frees is a lifer as an officer. Sergeant gets you more money, better hours, and more time with Sydney.”
Aiden didn’t quit frowning or considering it as Conroy wrapped up the briefing.
He tossed his plate in the trash and sucked down the rest of his coffee before heading to the parking lot and his black and white small SUV. Snow had been plowed into piles in the corners of the lot. The pure white snow that had fallen from the sky was now marred, practically black with the exhaust and dirt.
Even at midafternoon it was still barely twenty-five degrees out, but completely dry with blue sky overhead. Aiden preferred that it snow in the winter if they were going to have to endure these crisp, freezing temperatures. But not when he was on shift and Sydney would be home from school enjoying the snow by herself with the sitter. Or at Hope Mansion with Ms. Maggie, where she hung out often at their holiday kids’ club with the other residents’ kids.
As he drove through town, Aiden’s phone rang. The screen lit with the word, Mom. He stared at it for a second, then figured he may as well get this over with, so he pulled over into a parking lot and left the engine running so the heater would stay on.
“Hey, Mom. How are you?”
“Aiden. How are things?”
He ignored the fact she’d answered his question with a question. “Did you get my card?”
He’d sent her and his dad a holiday card, inside which had been pictures of him and Sydney at the pumpkin patch a couple of months ago. In return, she’d sent a card for Sydney with a twenty-dollar bill in it.
“Those were lovely pictures of the two of you. How was your Christmas?”
Aiden’s stomach clenched, but not out of nerves. He tried to tamp down the resentment. After all, they’d left town—and Aiden—immediately following his high school graduation and moved to South Dakota to take care of his aunt. Months later, he’d found himself a single father.
“Christmas was good.”
When he’d called to tell them about Sydney, they’d just told him over and over again how happy they were to be grandparents but that he should give the baby to someone else to raise. Never mind that Sydney’s mother was dead and Aiden had been given the chance to finally do something good with this life. Over the six years since, they’d met Sydney twice, during visits back into town.
He mostly figured she was only calling now out of a sense of duty. After all, Christmas had passed days ago.
“And everything is…okay?”
“Sure, Mom.” Aiden didn’t