Page 29 of Love at First Rep

Garrett had to keep his guard up and be ready for anything. If it came to his worst-case scenario and somehow Rafe was the bad guy in all this, Garrett didn’t think he could hurt him. Unless Rafe hurt the other people closest to Garrett, or interfered with the life he built here in Cherrywood. He wouldn’t let Rafe ruin that.

The municipal building sat next to a big green area with a walking trail, gazebo, playgrounds and basketball courts, and was typically busy all day, especially on a sunny day like this one. Outside, a chill filled the air, but it would dissipate by the afternoon. Spring was fighting to make its way to Jersey.

The sounds of traffic and children playing drifted away as Garrett entered the building, making his way to his desk on the second floor. He waved to the receptionist, Cheryl, who was busy helping someone, but she managed to throw him a smile in return.

After trudging up the stairs, Garrett entered the bullpen. Desks were scattered across the room, with higher-ups sitting behind office doors. Captain McHugh’s office door stood wide open, like usual, Justin Bieber’s music pumping from inside. It wasn’t loud enough to wash out the sounds of his coworkers shuffling around and completing their tasks, but it was loud enough to cause a distraction. Garrett hated distractions.

McHugh was the biggest distraction of all. Garrett liked to call him Captain McUseless, and he thought the name suited him perfectly. Most of the people under him, including Garrett, assumed he got his job just because his brother was their governor. If it wasn’t for that, Garrett knew the guy would have been fired by now.

McHugh ran meetings like the host of an awards show, except his jokes sucked and no one ever won anything. He presented cases as fun opportunities, like solving crimes was some kind of game. Doing the bare minimum was his specialty, and otherwise he considered himself more of an entertainer than a police captain. At least Garrett never got bored at work.

When Garrett reached his desk, he could see McHugh practicing his dance moves through the windows of his office. Garrett rolled his eyes as he pulled out his chair and took a seat, powering on his computer in preparation for a day of research and paperwork.

Garrett was lucky that this week was a pretty quiet one and he mostly had to prepare for upcoming trials. Thanks to Rafe, he had enough on his plate.

Thinking about Rafe had him glancing around the bullpen at his coworkers. Any one of them could be the mole and it would take some real investigative work to figure out who it was. Good thing he was a damn good detective.

His eyes caught on Robbery Detective Jay Wilson. The guy was a complete douchebag, making borderline offensive jokes about Garrett’s pansexuality. If there was one thing Wilson excelled at, it was skirting the line. Well, that and sucking up to McHugh.

Wilson breezed past the desks in his crisp suit, his dark brown hair gelled back and his wicked grin on display as he bumped into people’s chairs to annoy them. The guy always looked like he was hiding something, but was that something the thing Garrett and Rafe were searching for? Only time would tell.

Garrett’s eyes moved to the entrance, where his friend Casey Campisi was walking in. Like Jay, he was also a robbery detective. Otherwise, the two couldn’t be more different. Casey’s curly brown hair was neatly styled, his suit presentable and classic. He’d had a baby with his wife the year before and operated on little sleep. Garrett had no idea how he did it.

Campisi made his way to the desk across from Garrett and sat, placing his simple messenger bag on the surface. His face lit up with a kind smile when he met Garrett’s eyes.

“Morning, Pearson,” he said jovially. “How you doin’ today?”

“Hey, Campisi. All good so far. How’s the baby treating you these days?”

His entire face softened at the mention of his kid.

“Grace is my little angel. I can’t believe how fast she’s growing, although I’m excited for her to sleep through the night. One day, anyway. Mornings are rough for Siobhan and me, but we’re getting there.”

“Glad to hear it. If there’s anything I can do to help let me know,” Garrett said. Campisi would never take him up on it, but it didn’t hurt to remind him. He’d never wanted kids himself, but he enjoyed other people’s children. The best part about them was being able to hand them back to their parents, but they were cute and fun in small doses.

For a second, Garrett wondered if Campisi could possibly be the mole, but he shut the thought down immediately. Campisi did not have the time to hide something like that, especially with a one-year-old. There was no faking the bags under his eyes and the hundreds of pictures he always had, ready to show off. Plus, Garrett had been to his house for dinner and never noticed anything amiss.

“Thanks, man. How’s the McGregor case going?” Campisi said, referring to one of the trials Garrett was preparing for.

“Sewn up pretty good. I think it’s a slam dunk thanks to the security footage, so I’m just triple checking everything.”

Campisi smiled, powering on his own computer. He opened his mouth to respond, but Captain McUseless cut him off.

“Hey, everyone,” he shouted across the room so they all could hear. “I’ve got great news. I’ve restocked the blue flavor of cotton candy in my office, so help yourself if you need a pick-me-up today.”

Garrett wondered if any other police captains kept a cotton candy machine in their office for their staff. It was a nice thought for morale, but McHugh ran this place like a circus instead of a police department. The popcorn machine and jukebox in the break room didn’t help. Garrett supposed it could have been worse, like having a complete asshole for a boss. He wanted to consider himself lucky, until McHugh kept talking.

“And later today, you won’t believe who’s coming in.” He held his breath as he gazed around at everyone, trying to build suspense. Instead, they probably all wondered, like Garrett, how much this surprise would disrupt their work. It turned out they were right to worry. “A balloon animal man! I’m so excited for it. I’m gonna get a hat, or maybe a giraffe…”

McHugh’s voice drifted off as he considered his balloon options while walking back into his office. Garrett could likely rule out McHugh as the one responsible for smuggling the drugs through their department. McHugh wouldn’t even understand how to do something like that, much like he didn’t understand the rest of his job.

Garrett rolled his eyes as he turned his gaze to Campisi.

“How does he get away with this shit?” Garrett asked.

Campisi snorted. “He pays for it himself. I’ll probably get something for Grace that she can destroy later.”

Garrett chuckled as he turned to his screen.