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“Yeah, of course.”

“No!” In pure astonishment this time, and Cody chuckled.

“Well, yes! I’m a cop but still human, you know? It’s good to let go with a good cry sometimes. It's totally natural and nothing to be ashamed of. Doesn’t mean I can’t be hard and mean when I have to.”

Anna fixed her with fierce, glistening eyes. “When you’re dealing with bad guys? Then, you’re mean?”

Wanting to bring a real smile back on her sweet little face, Cody told her point-blank.

“Bet your ass, kiddo. I’m a total hard-ass bitch. Every bad guy’s worse nightmare.”

A flicker of a smile flashed across Anna’s eyes at her choice of colorful language.

“Me too. I’ll be a total kick-ass cop.”

“Hell, yeah,” Cody approved with a grin.

Anna flashed her badge. “Detective Brockmann, Lewiston P.D.”

“I like the sound of that, kid.”

“Maybe I’ll be a lieutenant, actually.”

“Awesome, then you can be my boss.”

That did the trick, and Anna beamed in pleasure. “First, I gotta finish school, huh?”

“Yeah, you gotta. Sorry.”

“That’s okay, Cody.” The young girl kissed her lightly on the cheek. “I’ll get it done, and no drama.”

chapter 12

Cody was home and sound asleep when the call came. She rolled over to grab the phone, grunted a terse ‘Yeah’ into it, and came fully awake with her next blink. She was used to being called out in the middle of the night. Sometimes, the request would come from regular dispatch; at other times, it might be her lieutenant. More often than not, this type of wake-up call meant that a dead body, or more than one, loomed large in her future.

“Yes, this is Miller,” she prompted when no one spoke and frowned at the sound of rapid breathing on the line. “Hello?”

Then, it came.

“She’s drowning!”

Okay, then. Not Quinn, who might go with ‘Yo, Miller’, or often no greeting at all, before she gave her an address to get to ASAP and a one-sentence summary of the situation. Also, not dispatch, whose seasoned operators would not sound so out of breath and distressed.

“Who is—” Cody started, then it hit her. “Kim?”

“Yes! Cody, she’s drowning!”

“Who? Where are you?”

“It’s Cassie!” The name came on a gasp. “I see her! She’s not breathing anymore!”

“Are you having another vision?”

“Please. No. You have to come!”

Hard to make sense of what she was saying. Anyway, Cody was already up and pulling on clothes.

“Stay home, Kim; I’m on my way to you now.” She grabbed her badge off the dresser, her car keys, and clipped her Glock-19 in its holster to her belt. “Kim, did you hear me?”