Page 11 of Ghostmaker

“We have to trust Fitz. He’ll make sure Strickland has everything he needs for this audit and will prove that this department is not only feasible but necessary to the department and the city.”

“What’s going to happen to me, Ronan?” Jude asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Eventually, we’re all gonna be dust in the wind.”

“Fuck you!” Jude pushed angrily away from the table. “You’re not the one with his head on the chopping block. You’ve got your badge and can be reassigned to another department. Me, I’ve only got my PI license. I’m here thanks to Cisco being the chief. What the hell do I do when I’m pushed out of the Salem Police Department? I don’t want to go back into the PI business, spending nights away from home in the hopes of snapping pictures that will end a marriage or prove insurance fraud. I like my life the way it is, working with my best friends and helping the people of this city.”

Ronan ducked his head down. “Jude, I’m sorry. I’m an asshole. I didn’t realize you were this scared about your job. Like Fitz said, if it’s recommended that this unit be cut, we won’t go down without a fight. We’ll hold a rally on city hall plaza and with the election only two months away, I can’t imagine there are going to be any local politicians who would vocally support the dismantling of our team. We’ve solved cases and helped people. We bring peace to our city, Jude. The citizens here are not going to want to give that up. The police and fire departments seem to be the places that taxpayers don’t mind paying into. We’re gonna figure this out. I promise. We’ll talk to Ten and Cope tonight about what they see.”

“Fuck,” Jude muttered. “We’re supposed to invite Mr. Personality in there to dinner.”

“Let’s leave that to Fitz.” Ronan shook his head. “To be honest, I’d rather eat with barnyard cows than him, but if it helps him to see who we are and what we’re fighting for, I can stomach a night with him. I’d like to see him go up against Everly!”

“He wouldn’t stand a chance.” Jude sniffled. “Everly looks up to me. So does Wolfie. They say I’m their hero. What happens if I’m not a hero anymore?”

Ronan pulled Jude into his arms. “You’ll always be their hero Jude, no matter what job you hold.” He pulled back and looked Jude in the eyes. “Let’s get the hell out of here. We’ll go get ice cream or something.”

Jude nodded and followed Ronan down the stairs. He was relieved when he didn’t run into Cope. Ordinarily, Cope was his soft place to land. His port in every storm, but right now he wanted to get the hell out of the shop so no one would see his heart breaking.

6

Cope

After the morning Cope had dealing with Jonas Crawford and Aurora having to cleanse him and the others, Cope had been looking forward to a low-key night at home with takeout. Jude had called an hour ago to say they were having a guest for dinner and that he’d stop by the supermarket to pick up food to cook. Jude didn’t say who this guest was or why he was coming in the first place.

Cope had his phone in his hand, ready to call Jude, when the door alarm sounded.

“Babe? I’m home.”

Rushing into the living room, Cope helped Jude carry bags into the kitchen. He could see boxes of pasta, crushed tomatoes, ricotta cheese, and sweet Italian sausage. “This looks like the ingredients for my baked ziti.”

Jude nodded. He reached for Cope’s hands and pulled him into a hug.

Cope was instantly on alert. What the hell was going on? Why was Jude crying on his shoulder? Did this have anything to do with the mystery guest coming for dinner? “What’s wrong, Jude?” He’d been worried about his husband’s reaction to what happened with Jonas Crawford, now he was even more worried over what his husband was about to tell him.

“Something happened at work today and I’m not sure how to tell you about it.”

“Okay, have a seat, and I’ll get you something to drink.” In all the years Cope and Jude had been together, he’d never seen his husband act like this. If Cope didn’t know better, he’d think Jude had some kind of falling out with Ronan and Fitz and had lost his job. That couldn’t be it, could it? He went to the fridge and grabbed a can of ginger ale and set it in front of Jude.

Jude cracked open the can and took a long sip.

“Whatever is going on, we’ll handle it together. I promise.” Cope took a seat across from Jude and waited for his husband to compose himself enough to tell him what happened at work.

“It started with Cisco.” Jude took a deep breath. “We all thought Ronan had done something stupid, again, but that’s not why the chief wanted to see us. Apparently, the mayor refused to sign off on the police budget for fiscal 2027 and he ordered an audit of the entire department. The mayor told Cisco in not so veiled terms that he wants to axe the cold case unit.”

“Sweet baby cheeses,” Cope muttered. His worst fear was about to come true. “What did Cisco have to say about that idea?”

“He thinks it’s bullshit, like the rest of us do. With the midterm elections being two months away, Cisco thinks axing our team would look bad for any local politicians who go along with the idea. He says that if it comes to it, we’ll have a rally at City Hall and let public support speak for us all.”

Cope was going to throw up. Thanks to being the sole heir of his father’s estate, they had plenty of money to make it through any storm. Hundreds of storms, actually. It wasn’t the financial side of this that worried him, but what being off the job would do to Jude. His husband was a strong man and so much of that strength came from his sense of self-worth, pride in a job well done, and spending every day working with men he considered brothers. Cope couldn’t help but wonder what this would do to Jude’s mental health. “When does this audit happen?”

“It’s happening now. We met the asshole auditor after lunch.”

“That skinny guy with the beat up briefcase?” Cope asked. He hadn’t been impressed with the man or his attitude.

“Yeah, did you meet him?”

“Sort of, I was in the shop when he came in looking for Fitz. I was the one who showed him to the stairs.” Cope remembered back to the moment he saw the man. “He’s in a world of pain. It was a mix of grief, rage, and inequity, I guess. He feels like life isn’t fair. Anyway, after the day I had, I didn’t want to waste precious energy getting a full read on him, but there’s something going on with him for sure.”