Page 45 of Under Fire

She was about to open the door when Detective Tomlin spoke again. “Ms. Calloway?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for letting us know about the watch. We missed that.”

She nodded. “And don’t beat yourself up over the fact that you did.” She paused and then said, “Just to clear the air about something, I don’t think you’re bad at your job. It’s just that we have different priorities. You want to convict the guilty, and I’m all for that. However, I intend to prove that person is not Karl Halifax.”

She then opened the door and walked out.

***

Locke pushed away from his desk, stood, and walked over to the window to gaze out. Several people were out on the bay in their boats. It was a great day to do so. Too bad he was still stuck in here, going over reports instead of out there.

He met with the district attorney after lunch, then spoke with Striker to see how Nyla and Karl were doing. Tomorrow would be Striker’s last day, and Quasar Patterson arrived today to take his place. Nyla was preparing Striker a special dinner for his last day, and he was happy about that, but happier to be going home to Margo and their son, Wade.

Returning to his desk, he leaned against the front of it instead of sitting behind it. If he was going to ask Hollis to attend Orin’s birthday party with him, he needed to do it in the next couple of days, since the affair was next weekend. However, he still wasn’t sure taking her to Atlanta with him would be the right thing to do.

He had no doubt his mother would immediately get ideas. The same ones Shogun and Macayle already had. But then so would Terrence, and the rest of the Jeffries family. It had been years since he’d taken a woman anywhere with him. Did it matter what any of them thought? Yes, it did because they were the people who meant the most to him.

His phone rang. Recognizing the ringtone, he reached behind him to pick it up. The caller was another person who meant a lot to him. “Hey, Shep.”

“How are things going, Locke?”

“They’re going fine. Karl is happy now that Nyla is with him, and Quasar arrived in town today to do the swap with Striker.”

Locke then brought him up to date on the investigation. Afterward, he said, “This is a case where you don’t know who to trust. Especially not the FBI or local law enforcement. Then there’s Barcos’ men who might be out for revenge.”

“Sounds like you have your hands full.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Besides, I have help with that former FBI agent that I hired. She’s as determined to crack this case before it goes to trial as I am.”

“I’m glad she’s working out for you.”

Remembering his conversation with Shogun and Macayle, and their suggestion, Locke drew in a deep breath and said, “I need to ask you something, Shep.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“How could you even think of falling in love again after what your wife did to you?”

Shep didn’t say anything for a moment, and then said, “It was a matter of taking the time to heal from the pain, and people heal in different ways. For me, it was pouring myself into my work and spending more time with my sons. I accepted that Sylvia was the way she was, and I was determined not to let her betrayal destroy me.”

There was a pause, and Locke knew Shep was gathering his thoughts. “I think the hardest thing for me after that was learning to trust again,” he then continued. “While in Glenworth, I had plenty of time to do that. I spent a lot of hours reflecting on what went wrong in my marriage, without placing all the blame on myself. Doing that made me realize what I would need in my life after my time in prison was up, and what I would not accept moving forward.”

Shep chuckled. “I honestly thought when I left Glenworth, all I needed to do was rebuild a relationship with my sons and look forward to one day becoming a grandfather. I honestly didn’t see another woman in my future.”

“What happened?”

“I met Carson, and from that first meeting, I felt something. An attraction, yes, but something else, too. She was a woman I truly admired, and after hearing her story ─ namely, her past and how it helped to shape her into the woman she had become ─ my admiration grew into love. Of course, I didn’t think I had anything to offer her. She was a successful attorney, and I was a man serving time in prison. Then I knew I had to do what I was telling all of you to do.”

“What?”

“To stop making excuses and start making plans for the time when those prison gates opened, and I would walk out as a free man. Once Carson convinced me she was willing to wait, no matter how long it took, then I could see a future with her.”

Sheppard Granger paused and said, “You told me about Sophie, but I believe the experience made you wiser. What you can’t let it do is diminish your self-worth. We all fall down, but the key is not only to get up but to stay up. Believe something better is out there, and that you are worthy of having it.”

“Carson was your attorney, so she worked for you.”

“Yes, but I learned to accept that maintaining a degree of professionalism doesn’t necessarily require emotional distance. You just have to be determined to want to make it work.”