Unauthorized Affair (Unauthorized #1)(10)
Chapter 5
Hunter whipped his chair around to face his partner, Sergeant Dominic Sadler. They’d only been working together a few months now, and he still wasn’t sure what he thought of Sadler. He’d make some final decisions about that when he saw how Sadler performed on this detail.
“Did you look at my finals?” he asked Sadler.
“Mmm.” Sadler grunted, his eyes on his desk.
“What does that mean?” Hunter asked, irritation clearly lining his voice. He did not feel like dealing with crap this morning. They had less than a week to get operational.
Sadler looked up, his eyes saying he was ready to square off. “It means, why are there so many women in your finals?”
“Chief wants us to use women this time. He says if we don’t start offering women undercover slots we’re going to have a lawsuit on our hands eventually. Besides, women are perfect for behind the counter. Most of the perps coming in are going to be male. Having the softer sex behind the counter will put them at ease. And they’ll be less likely to think they are cops. Especially the ones I’ve picked out. Have you even looked at their files yet? Or did you see they were women and just start pouting like a child?”
Sadler grunted again. “I looked. We shouldn’t be using f*cking women though. The chief should f*cking know better.”
Hunter shook his head. He couldn’t believe this. So Sadler was going to be completely useless because they were going live with women? That didn’t make any sense. What in the hell did he have against women anyway? He opened his mouth to chew Sadler a new attitude, but Sadler got up quickly and dropped three files on Hunter’s desk. “I looked. These are the best ones. Spare me the f*cking lecture, OK?” And then he walked out.
Hunter looked down at the files and felt all the breath rush out of his lungs. There she was. The top file. The woman with the pink hair. Even Sadler knew she was perfect. Jennifer Ann Mansko. Even her name was delicate and feminine. Put a lid on it, dirty old man, he told himself. But now he knew she was 26, not 21. Which made him only five years older than her, and not really in old man territory anymore, at least relatively. He put his thoughts away and thumbed through the rest of the files. The petite chick with the short hair and the cowboy. Well, at least Sadler knew what he was doing. Those were Hunter’s top picks too. He pulled the phone towards him and began to make the phone calls.
***
Jen’s phone buzzed from somewhere in the room. She rolled off the bed and hunted for it. There! In the pocket of last night’s jeans. With one half-lidded eye, she tried to look aslant at the phone so its backlight wouldn’t send any spears of pain through her head. She’d drank too much at last night’s celebration. Even Jerry had. They’d had to take a cab home and leave his truck at the bar. Dimly she remembered singing karaoke with his two friends - the FBI agents. They’d both given her lots of tips on being a cop — not that she could remember any of them.
The number on the phone didn’t have an identifier, and she didn’t recognize it. Briefly she considered not picking up. But she knew hiding from phone calls wouldn’t be an option anymore once she was a civil servant. She pressed the answer button and pushed out a painful word. “Hello.”
“I’m looking for Jennifer Mansko.” A gruff male voice. One she didn’t recognize.
“That’s me.” She sat up straight and held a hand to her head, swaying slightly.
“Miss Mansko, this is Sergeant Foley from the Westwood Harbor Police Department. We would like you to come down as soon as possible to finish up the police recruit applicant process.”
Jen’s hand dropped from her head. Her eyes flew open, then found the piece of paper on the wall. “When, today?”
“Yes, if possible.”
“But my paper says the date for my lie detector test is the 24th at 2.”
“There’s been a change of plans Miss Mansko, we’re fast-tracking your application. It will all be explained once you get here. Can you come today?”
Jen considered only briefly. “I’ll be there. Is an hour OK?”
***
“Tell me exactly what his words were again, Jen,” Jerry said as he brought her a plate of breakfast and a large cup of coffee.
“He said my application has been fast-tracked and can I come to the station today.”
“What number did he call from?”
Jen showed Jerry the number on her phone. Jerry picked up his own phone from the table and dialed the number. He looked at her, his eyebrows drawn together, as the phone rang and rang. Finally he hung up. “Why would they fast-track your application?”
“Got me,” Jen said around a mouthful of egg. “But I have to jump in the shower if I’m going to make it on time.”
“Maybe I should go with you.”
Jen shot him a look. “No way! You can’t babysit me Jerry. I’m applying to be a cop, not a kindergarten student.”
Jerry considered, but seemed to know she was right. “If he meets you out front and tells you to get in his car or go anywhere other than the police station, don’t do it.”
Jen rolled her eyes. “I know that. What do you think I am, stu—” She broke off as Jerry gave her a look. Because two months ago that would have been good advice for Jen. But today? She didn’t need it. Warm gladness filled her chest as she realized she’d grown and changed without ever even becoming a cop. She wondered how far it extended. Could she tell a cheater from a non-cheater yet?