Page 1

chapter 1

Catching up on neglected admin work was always a killer, but Ellie James had volunteered to tackle the latest growing pile for her partner. It seemed only fair since she was about to cash in on a couple of years of previously ignored vacation time and jet off to Europe for a two-week break with her girlfriend. If, that is, the paperwork did not bury her completely.

“There. It’s the last folders.”

Ellie glanced up as Cody Miller dropped a bunch more files on her desk.

“Huh,” she grunted. “Better be, or I’ll never make it out of here alive.”

“It’s not that bad.” Cody optimistically snatched a folder off the top and tossed it onto her own desk. “Here, I’ll do some. You hungry? I think we’ve got some pizza left over.”

The small office they shared, located on the first floor of the Lewiston Police Department building, used to be Cody’s alone. Now it also included Ellie’s desk, slotted in to face hers at an awkward angle that seemed to defy the laws of regular three-dimensional space. A single metal file cabinet was squashed in the corner, as well as a tiny fridge, and Cody’s personal coffee machine, a treasure they both enjoyed. On the bare wall facing the only window was a rectangular corkboard they used to pin information relevant to ongoing cases. Cody was a perpetual disaster when it came to filing paperwork, but her board wasalways meticulously organized. On this late Friday afternoon in June, she had just cleared away the scene photos and names of persons of interest involved in their latest investigation. This case was now closed.

“We should get a microwave in here,” Ellie remarked.

“No space for it.” Cody shrugged. “And I like cold pizza.”

With a sprinkle of chili flakes and mayonnaise, which the detective with otherwise impeccable credentials liked to‘collect’from fast-food outlets like MacDonalds or Pizza Hut.

“Here you are, El.” Cody handed her a pepperoni slice on a paper plate, along with a can of Coke and two sachets of stolen mayo. “Enjoy.”

Having missed lunch earlier, a regular occurrence in their work life, Ellie knew she would, no matter what. She watched Cody sit behind her desk with her own plate, open the file folder in front of her, scowl at it, and reach for the chili flakes instead. Delaying the inevitable.

“What is your driving license renewal letter doing stuck in the middle of an autopsy report?” she asked.

“Ah, you found it!” Cody looked pleased as she reached for the letter. “Been looking everywhere for that thing.”

Ellie rolled her eyes for effect, but she was amused. As far as she was concerned, being assigned as Cody’s partner was like striking gold. Only four years older, Miller’s years as a detective with the NYPD had shaped her into a talented investigator. She was a tough cop with solid experience and an innate talent for the job. With her lean, slender body, blond hair in messy layers that just brushed the nape of her neck, and a pair of sparkling, intelligent blue eyes, Cody was the sort of cop Ellie no doubt would have had a major hero crush on when she was still a rookie. Same way she used to feel back then about Quinn Wesley, the lieutenant in charge. A year into her own career as a member of the special crimes task force, and with a stringof excellent results to her name, she was no longer quite so green, of course. Not so susceptible to being dazzled by her more experienced colleagues. Still, Ellie recognized a true model of excellence when she saw one, the sort of woman she could learn from and emulate in the best ways. Cody Miller was definitely one of those.

“Are you going to miss me?” she prompted.

Cody shot her a cool, steady look from behind her desk. “Hmm. Yeah. I might, actually.”

In spite of herself, Ellie experienced a flicker of pleasure and pride at the admission.

“Not just because I handle the paperwork?” she insisted.

“Not just. You pull your weight. You’re smart, thorough. A good cop.” Cody’s full lips curled in a wry smile. “Besides,” she added, “you don’t take care of admin work often enough for me to miss you for that reason.”

“True, that’s why it is in such disarray.”

“Hey, don’t offer to do the work and then complain about it, alright?”

Ellie chuckled. “Yeah, fair enough.”

Cody squeezed another sachet of mayo onto her pizza, took a bite, and sighed in obvious contentment.

“I wasn’t so hot about having a partner,” she reflected. “As you know, I’ve always worked alone before, and it suited me just fine.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“That was until I met you, kid.”

Well. Way to go to ruin a good compliment, Ellie decided, calling her‘kid’like this. Then again, she’d learned early on in their partnership that Cody loved to banter and tease. The glint in her eyes said it was the case now too.

“Thanks, grandma.” Ellie replied in kind, earning herself a chuckle.

At least Cody had not come up with a worse nickname. The lieutenant still called her‘rookie’from time to time. Once, after a slightly irritated Ellie asked her when she might grow tired of it, Quinn smirked in reply.