Page 13 of More Than a Hero (Baytown Heroes #12)

Pete and Jeremy sat at their desks, frustration thick in the air between them. The case was going cold, and both men hated that feeling.

"I know it sucks," Jeremy said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “But they only got two prints off that old meth trailer. One belonged to a guy already sitting in a Norfolk jail.”

"And nothing on the other?" Pete asked.

Jeremy shook his head. "No match. Whoever it belongs to isn’t in the system.”

“I have a call in to the detective who worked the case when the first guy got locked up," Jeremy added. Just as he finished speaking, his phone buzzed in his pocket. When he pulled it out, a slow grin spread across his face.

Pete smirked. That was not Jeremy’s work grin. “Go on, take your call,” Pete said, waving him off. “If the detective calls back, I’ll be here.”

“Appreciate it, man,” Jeremy said, already pushing out of his chair and heading for the hallway. As he answered, Pete heard the warmth in his voice. "Hey, baby."

Pete shook his head with a chuckle. His partner had it bad. The tough, sharp-witted medical examiner had made Jeremy work for her heart, but Pete knew his friend would guard it like his life depended on it.

Before he could lose himself in his own thoughts, their desk phone rang, jerking him back to reality. He grabbed the receiver. “Detective Pete Bolton.”

“Detective Bolton? I’m Detective Marcus Warner from Norfolk PD, gangs division. I believe I spoke to your partner earlier about Terrence Marley.”

“Yeah, thanks for calling back. And you can just call me Pete.”

"Sounds good. And Marcus will do for me."

Pete pulled out his notepad. "You got anything for us? You already know Marley’s prints were in that meth trailer, but there’s no telling when he was last there. That place looked like it hadn’t been touched in months.”

Marcus exhaled. “Yep. We arrested him five months ago for cooking meth in an old house in Norfolk. Took us a while to pin him down—he was slippery. But we had an informant give us his location, and once we got him, that was it. He’s been locked up ever since.

Sentenced to seven years, but he’ll probably serve four. ”

Pete tapped his pen against his notepad. “So he hasn’t been anywhere near that trailer in at least half a year.”

“Right. You said there was another print, but no match in the system?”

“Yeah, nothing. You have any idea who Marley was working with over here?”

“No names,” Marcus said, “but I can tell you he had ties to the Bloods. That’s not their usual MO—they don’t cook. They move the product and distribute it. If someone else was in that trailer, it might’ve been a transporter, maybe someone Marley was trying to recruit.”

Pete sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “We didn’t have much gang activity over here for a long time. It’s only just started creeping in these last few years. I’ve been in the area for about five years, on the task force for three. And it’s getting worse.”

Marcus let out a dry chuckle. “Yeah, I figured. That highway running straight down the Eastern Shore? It’s a gift to these guys.

If their drivers stick to the speed limit and don’t pull anything stupid, they can get past all the major cities straight into Hampton Roads.

And going north, they’ve got a clear path all the way into Pennsylvania on backroads. ”

Pete blew out a slow breath. “Yeah, we know that too well.” He flipped his notebook closed. “Thanks for calling back, Marcus.”

“No problem. Stay safe out there.”

“You too.” Pete hung up, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. What he really wanted to do was call Angie.

Ever since their time together each day last weekend, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head.

Or off his lips. Her kisses were addictive, but hell, so was everything about her.

The way she laughed, like sunshine cutting through storm clouds.

The way she absently shoved her purple glasses on top of her head when she got animated, only to grab them again a second later and plop them on her nose.

He loved being around her. And damn if that wasn’t a little terrifying.

Jeremy strode back in, looking way too pleased with himself. “All okay?” Pete asked, forcing his mind back to the case.

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah. She’s got a case that’ll keep her tied up till late afternoon.” He flopped into his chair. “Anything from your call?”

Pete filled him in on what Marcus had said.

Jeremy muttered a curse. “Bloods. Fucking great.”

“Yep. We’ll just close the case for now.” Pete checked his watch. “You ready to head to the high school?”

Jeremy groaned. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Jeremy and Pete climbed into their unmarked SUV, the late-morning sun glaring against the windshield as Pete pulled out of the lot.

“So,” Jeremy said, fastening his seat belt, “you’ve been in a good mood all week. Got anything to do with a certain purple-glasses-wearing woman?”

Pete smirked. “Maybe.”

Jeremy barked a laugh. “Damn, look at you. Can’t stop smiling. You’re done for.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pete said, shaking his head, but he couldn’t deny it.

Silence stretched for a few beats before Pete cleared his throat. “Actually… I wanted to tell you something.”

Jeremy glanced at him. “Yeah?”

“I, uh… I asked Angie out. For real this time.”

Jeremy’s grin was immediate. “You finally pulled the trigger.”

Pete chuckled. “Yeah.”

Jeremy leaned back in his seat, smirking. “When’s the first official date?”

“It was last Friday night?—”

“Wait, what?” Jeremy said, his head jerking around to glare at his partner.

“We had dinner on Friday night. And then I was back at her house on Saturday evening. And we had lunch out on Sunday?—”

“What the fuck, man? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

Pete shrugged. “I know, but if it had been a bust or she didn’t want to see me again, I hated to make a big deal about it.”

Jeremy shook his head. “Damn… you and Angie. So I take it you two are dating now?”

“I sure as hell hope so because she came to me with a project.” Pete looked over to see Jeremy’s confused expression.

Jeremy glanced at him. “What kind of project?”

“It’s called Adopt-a-Grandparent. Angie’s got a lot of older people in the community who have some independence but don’t have family close by.

She wants to set up a program that pairs seniors with kids who don’t have grandparents in their lives.

It’s a way to help them build relationships. Kind of like a mentorship program.”

Jeremy let out a low whistle. “Damn. That’s… actually a great idea.”

Pete nodded. “Yeah, I think so too. A lot of these seniors don’t have family close by, and a lot of kids in the foster system or single-parent homes don’t have that older generation in their lives. Angie got me involved because of the kids I mentor.”

Jeremy was quiet for a moment before he said, “That’s a hell of a thing, man. You two working on something like that together? Feels like more than just dating.”

Pete just shook his head with a grin as they pulled into the high school parking lot. He exhaled, gripping the wheel. “Yeah. It does.” And he hoped the words were true.

Two hours later, they were finishing their presentation for teachers in the auditorium and just getting ready for questions.

With a visual presentation, they had covered common tattoos and clothing choices for the major gangs that were slowly making their presence known in the area.

They showed images of gang graffiti painted on stop signs and the sides of buildings.

“Granted, most of our gang infiltration comes down from Baltimore, but we are on the main transportation line from New York, Philly, and Baltimore, down to Norfolk. The Highway 95 corridor from Florida to New York has long been one of the busiest for drug and gang running. They now include guns and human trafficking. By taking the backroads through the Eastern Shore, they can bypass some of the more policed parts of the highway.”

“Is it true that if the police stop a gang member, he has to follow gang code and not deny that he’s in the gang? And then he can get arrested for being in a gang as well as for carrying drugs?” one teacher asked.

Pete took the question. “In the past, gang culture emphasized loyalty to the extent that members were forbidden to deny their association. And yes, that did give the district attorneys the option to also charge them with gang activity. The idea was that they could continue to have an influence while in jail or prison. To deny could be punishable by death at the gang’s hands.

And believe me, a longer prison term for the added charges was preferable to dying at the hands of a gang that now considered the denier to be a traitor. ”

The moans from the educators could be heard easily.

Jeremy continued the response to the original question.

“But now, in some circumstances, especially when dealing with law enforcement or within the judicial system, gang members may deny their gang ties to avoid legal repercussions. This shift is just self-preservation. It’s a pragmatic solution that keeps their ranks strong.

Especially contrasting with previous stances that strictly opposed any denial of their allegiance. ”

“I know I’ve seen some of those drawings on notebooks,” another teacher said. “What should I do?”

“Never, and I repeat, never confront any student about those symbols,” Pete said with emphasis. “You would need to talk to Deputy Lamont Smith, your resource officer. He’s well trained in what needs to be done.”

“Don’t ignore the signs,” Jeremy confirmed. “But take them to the officer here at your school.”

As they finished their presentation, they received a round of applause. One of the teachers stood and said, “I’ve been teaching for twenty-two years. This is the first time I can say that a presentation given on a workday has been so worthwhile!”

Pete and Jeremy grinned, then continued to talk to individual teachers as the assembly slowly dispersed. Along with Deputy Smith, they started a list of students who were of concern to several teachers.

As they were back in the office getting ready to leave, Pete looked over the list. His heart sank as he realized he recognized three of the names.

The young men in question lived in the same apartment complex as the kids he mentored.

He trusted his kids, but knew gang recruitment was up and particularly harsh.

He needed to spend more time talking to them about the dangers of gangs in the area… and prayed it wasn’t too late.