Lifting the Veil (3 page)

Eileen grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Perfect.”

“I didn’t say yes.” The chief narrowed his eyes at Jack before resting his gaze back on his wife. “I’m not sure she’s qualified.”

“I’m not asking you to give her a gun.”

“Weren’t you just saying the other day that you needed some filing and sorting done? I’m sure she

can alphabetize. If she’s as smart as you, she should be able to handle anything.” Jack laid it on kind of thick, ensuring his chance to get the hell out of the office.

“Great, then it’s settled. I’ll have her come in first thing in the morning.” Eileen sat the cookies on a nearby desk and leaned in to kiss her husband on the lips. “Thanks, baby.”

“Anything for you, honey.”

Eileen strolled out the way she’d entered.

The chief snatched the dish of cookies, including the uneaten cookie out of Jack’s hand, before

storming back to his office. He stopped at the door and turned back to Jack.

“Thanks for your help, Jack. You think you’re smart, don’t you?”

Jack grinned. “Extra help couldn’t hurt, right Chief?”

The chief narrowed his eyes, “No, couldn’t hurt at all. Consider yourself on babysitting detail. You can help her clean out the cold-case filing cabinets when she shows up. I’m sure you can show her the ropes. You know how to alphabetize. Isn’t that right, Love?”

“But, Chief, wouldn’t I be more useful in the field?”

His sadistic grin widened. “Maybe next time you’ll learn to keep your mouth shut.”

Sophie arrived back in Easton just in time for dinner. The lights in her apartment complex had just turned on and others were arriving home from work. Older kids were skateboarding on the sidewalks while younger ones drew with chalk. The apartment she lived in may be small, but it was a good

community with barely any crime. She walked into her tiny apartment to find her home just as she’d left it. She dropped her suitcase inside the doorway and plopped down on her cream-colored couch thankful to be back and thankful that Amber’s reading was the last item on the agenda before they had returned.

Her gaze landed on the picture of her and her brother when they were just children. He always took care of her, even when she didn’t ask. He was a good brother, always had been.

Her apartment was presentable. She’d picked up before Amber had arrived for their trip.

Magazines lay scattered on the table next to the bouquet of flowers that Eileen had brought during her last visit. A couch, a chair, a couple pieces of wood furniture and knickknacks. There hadn’t been much to clean. She was glad she hadn’t returned to a mess.

The phone in her pocket vibrated against her hip. Her sister-in-law’s assigned piano melody started to play.

“Hey, Eileen,” Sophie answered.

“Hey, Soph. How was your trip?”

“Ehh. The psychics wouldn’t give me the winning lottery numbers.”

“Maybe you set the bar too high. You should have started with something more generalized like

your next job.”

“Yeah, well, live and learn.”

Eileen laughed. “I’m having a vision.”

“Sure you are.” Sophie rolled her eyes.

“Oh wait…what was that? I see a shield.”

“Have you lost your marbles too? Do I need to reserve you a room next to Amber’s at the state

loony bin? I can arrange that you know.”

“You aren’t playing my game, Soph.”

Sophie let out a long sigh. “Okay, I’ll bite.” Sophie made a wide gesture with her hand. “So tell me, Yoda, what shield do you see?”

“A police shield. The same shield your brother wears.”

“Oh…and why is that significant to me, Obi-Wan?”

Eileen chuckled. “It’s the same symbol you’ll be seeing every day at the temporary job I lined up for you, grasshopper.”

“Are you high? There is no way that my brother is going to allow that.”

“I baked his favorite cookies.”

Sophie laughed and closed her eyes. “They can’t be that good.”

“Oh, honey, haven’t you heard? I’m a baking goddess. He’d do anything for the sweet morsels I can

deliver, in and out of the kitchen.”

“Thanks for the visual. Now I’m going to have to bleach my eyes and my ears.”

Eileen chuckled. “You don’t like to hear about your brother and me getting our freak on?”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Fine…I’ll stop. But they’re expecting you at eight in the morning. It’s just filing and stuff to help pay the bills until you find your dream job.”

Sophie opened her eyes and let out a deep breath. The accounting firm she’d been hoping to work

for had filled the job position right before her trip. She was a failure, an utter disappointment compared to her brother. She couldn’t tell them the truth. Not yet. It should have been her job; she was qualified.

Just the thought of being picked over left a sour taste in Sophie’s mouth. She was born to be an

accountant and punch numbers, unlike her gun-toting brother. It made sense. Eileen’s suggestion didn’t.

“Eileen…I don’t know.” Sophie hesitated.

“Soph…it’s just temporary. You can handle temporary. Just show up with your OCD tendencies and

whip his department in order. You’ll be doing both of us a favor. He’ll be less stressed and you’ll have money.”

“Fine,” Sophie whined. “Just so we’re clear…it’s only temporary.”

“The job is as temporary as your last relationship, sister.”

“Eileen,” Sophie wailed. “You did not just go there.”

“Sure I did, honey. That’s what family is for. Besides, he wasn’t good enough for you. Another

month and your brother intended to run him off.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Bye, sweetie. I’ll bring some cookies up to the office tomorrow to help you adjust.”

“Make it brownies.”

“Brownies it is. Now get some sleep tonight. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

Sophie hung up the cell phone, tossed it onto the table, and closed her eyes.

A picture of her standing outside the precinct popped into her mind. The image changed to her

standing in a room filled with black filing cabinets, and a beautiful man stood tall beside her.

A headache formed over her left brow, the first headache she’d had in a long time. She opened her

eyes, rolled off the couch and plodded into the kitchen. The pounding in her head intensified while she downed some medicine and water. She grabbed her bag, carried it back to her room, and unpacked. Her comfortable bed was calling her name. She set her alarm clock, undressed, and climbed under her

covers, hoping that sleep would help make her headache go away. She closed her eyes and let

exhaustion pull her into sleep.

****

getting dressed. She grabbed a muffin and headed out the door for her first day at her temp job.

Meeting new people wasn’t high on her list of good times, but the job and experience would look pretty on her resume. A way to pay the bills. She continued talking herself into not going back home. She stood across the street looking up at the police station; the flags were high on the pole, drifting in the morning breeze. Armed men and women in uniform walked in and out of the building along with pedestrians in plain clothes. An instant sensation of déjà vu overwhelmed her. She’d been here before but never

stopped long enough to admire the authoritative energy the building represented. The reality of where she was temping hit her like a punch in the stomach. She wasn’t just going to see her brother. She was going to work.

She glanced both ways for oncoming cars before crossing the street.

Sophie jogged up the steps in front of the building and paused at the door being held open by a

man in jeans. A man that looked vaguely familiar. Maybe she’d seen him before while being there to visit but she would have remembered his handsome face and couldn’t recall ever knowing his name.

Was he a new edition that her brother had hired?

“I could ticket you for jaywalking.”

“Excuse me.”

“You broke the law.” He gestured down to the corner where the crosswalk sign flashed. “I could

give you a ticket.”

Sophie tilted her head and let her gaze travel down his jean clad legs and back up over his wrinkled shirt and to the five o’clock stubble on his face. He was tall. If she had to guess six foot. “You don’t look like a cop.”

The man grinned. His green eyes sparkled with amusement as he winked at her. “Lucky for you, I’m

not on patrol.”

Sophie shook off the aggravating man. “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m late.”

He strolled in behind her. “Oh…what are you late for?” he asked from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder. “That’s none of your business.”

She stepped up to the desk where Brenda, the uniformed officer, was perched with a phone

pressed to her ear.

He propped his elbow on the counter. “Are you here to bail your boyfriend out of jail, sweetheart?”

He wiggled his brows. “You can’t do that here. You have to do that downtown at the jail.”

She whipped her gaze to meet his. “I’m not your sweetheart and there is no boyfriend in jail.”

“Love,” Max bellowed from his office. “Get your ass in here and bring Sophie with you.”

Sophie chuckled. “Love….really?” She grinned. “Well,
Love,
seems my brother would like to see us.”

“Masterson’s your brother?” He grimaced and dropped his head forward. “I should have known.”

The guy cursed beneath his breath and held open the partition for her entry into the expansive room.

“After you, honey.”

“I’m not your honey either.”

The room was filled with desks and partitions. Some officers were on the phones, others were

sitting in front of their computers, and several she recognized and knew personally were lingering by the coffee pots and water coolers. A few had some unsavory people sitting across from their desks. Two dark-haired men were in handcuffs, with bruises and fresh blood on their faces. Some of the other

people were there for a different reason. A woman with tangled hair was crying, while bouncing a baby on her lap, as she talked frantically to the officer taking her report.

The guy she now knew as Love stayed close to her with his hand on her back as he escorted her

through the open room. Her brother, Max, tossed his arm around Sophie’s shoulders when she entered his office. “Good to see you, squirt. You’ll have to tell me all about your trip later,” he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and he let her go.

“Have a seat.”

They each sat while Max shut the door. He rounded his desk and plopped down. “Okay, Soph, I see

you already met Love, but let me formally introduce you. Sophie, this is Jack Love. You two will be working together while you’re here.” He gestured to her and looked at Jack. “Jack, this is Sophie

Masterson, my one and only baby sister.”

He gave Jack the look normally reserved for her boyfriends. The same look Max had used on her

dates back in high school.

She took a minute to really look at her new partner. Cute, cocky, and condescending was her first

impression. Not exactly the type of guy she would have chosen to work with, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. She liked her men more refined, educated and less….barbaric.

“Don’t worry. This is only temporary. I’ll be out of your hair before you know it.”

“Yeah, well, let’s get you two to work.” Her brother walked out of the office and left them to

follow.

“Seems it’s your lucky day.” Jack wiggled his brows.

“More like my worst nightmare. Are you always this obnoxious?” she quipped.

“It’s a gift.” He chuckled and followed behind Max.

They entered another side office and Max held his hands out. “Welcome to the freezer.”

The office was a mid-sized room of black filing cabinets stacked side by side covering every square inch of wall space, along with a desk situated in the middle of the room. There were two laptops

opened, screensavers of fields of flowers filling the screen. This was the exact same office she’d seen when her headache struck. She snuck a peek at Jack again out of the corner of her eye. Recognition dawned on her like lightning. He was the guy. How was this even possible? Had she dreamed him up?

“Both of you have access to our online filing system. These are the files that haven’t been uploaded yet into the new database and are currently classified as cold cases. We need all of the info in those files added into the mainframe so we can start scanning the documents for cross-references between other crimes. When you’re done, the files will be secured into storage.”

Her lips parted. Was he kidding? If those cabinets were even half as full as they were big, this job would take forever, even with help from the Neanderthal.

Max stopped next to her on his way to the door and placed his palm on her shoulder. “Sorry, kiddo.

I know it’s tedious, but we really need to get it done.”

She snapped her mouth closed and nodded. “This is a big job…but not impossible.”

She could do this. She would do this. It was going to pay her bills. It meant she’d have food on her table without asking for help. She let out a long sigh, rounded the table, and dropped her purse.

The stale air made her sneeze. She ran her finger over the dust on the top of the cabinets and

wrote her name in it. “Please tell me you have cleaning supplies because this is going to kill my sinuses.”

Her brother grinned. “Yep, let me get them for you.”

She grabbed one of the swivel chairs from the desk and scooted it over to the cabinet before

climbing to stand on top of it.

“That’s not very safe, Sophie.”

She kicked her heels off to get a better balance. “Is this better, Jack?”

He stepped up next to her and placed his hands on her waist. “The chief’s sister isn’t falling and breaking her neck on my watch. Are you trying to get me fired or just wanting me to put my hands on you?”

“You obviously don’t need my help getting fired if you got stuck with me, and as for your hands…I