Partners Against Crime

Chapter 21

                  Lindsey had been cleared by Internal Affairs the next day, but she had decided to wait until she was healed before she went back to work. It took about a week thanks to or despite Adam's loving care. The bruises were almost gone.  She had felt like her old self when she walked into the briefing room. She got her cup of coffee with only half the sugar this time. Austin and Chance looked at her with raised brows.

          "What? I took a sip of Adam's the other day and it tasted better than mine." She turned and walked into the room.

           "Adam, you are a miracle worker. You actually got here to cut down her sugar intake without telling her to. I never thought that I would see the day." Austin said. Adam just smiled as they walked into the room. The chief was already there, waiting on them.

           "Welcome back, Detective O'Hare. Ok, listen up everybody. Today's meeting is going to be different. Right now Santa Rosa's most wanted list has a new number one. The person of interest is Michael O'Hare." A lot of the officers in the room turn to look at Lindsey, making her shift uncomfortably in her chair.

          "I really need to consider a name change, " she mumbled. Adam overheard and smiled at her.

           "Yes, that would be Lindsey's ex-husband. I'm sure that all of you have heard about the attack on Lindsey last week and the subsequent shooting at her place. It was either kill or be killed. We had discovered that Michael O'Hare was behind the attack. She and Detective Rupp had also discovered that Michael had written the threatening notes. We believe that he is the Cold One. The time frame of the original case and the recent case coincides with the when Michael was in town. The case went cold after he left town a few years ago. I want round the clock surveillance on this guy." Chief Foust passes around photos of the suspect. "He is to be considered extremely dangerous. We don't know how many people he has working for him, either. Here is a picture of his remaining henchman that we have seen." He passes out photos of the dead man's partner. "This man has killed another cop before. That was during the original case. Then we have the attempted murder of a detective last week. Please use, and I mean use extreme caution.  Expect the unexpected with this guy." Tim then dismissed the group.

            When they were out in the parking lot a couple of officers had approached them. These two weren't fans of theirs at all. They didn't normally attend the normal briefing meetings but because this case had become the most important one for the precinct, they had to be there.

          "Good job, Lindsey. You have succeeded in bringing the whole police force into your own personal drama. We don't appreciate having to help you deal with this," Officer Brown sneered.

         "Yeah, thanks a lot," his partner, Officer Penn said.

        Adam, Chance and Austin had stopped talking and turned to look at the two men. Adam didn't know these guys but Austin and Chance did. By the looks on their faces, Adam could tell that they didn't like these two. He went to stand by Lindsey. Officer Brown sneered again.

          "You know, I heard that you were sleeping with the new guy." He turns to Adam. "Congratulations on nailing the Ice Queen. We all had bets going on whether she liked men or women. Looks like I owe somebody $20."

          Adam started to ball is fists. Same with Austin. 

        "Jealous, Officer Brown? After all, Detective Rupp is a very good looking man. I couldn't help but notice the way you were looking at him," Lindsey smiled sweetly. She heard Chance snicker behind her back. Here was the Lindsey he knew and loved. The sarcastic one. "I really don't blame you. He is extremely hot. Don't get me going on how talented he is behind closed doors." Adam and Austin coughed into their hands to hide their smirks. Adam slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a slight squeeze.