Help Me Heal

Chapter 51

"Kalinda!" Sergeant Gonzalez called through to the bullpen from her office. That was her usual method of summoning someone, and there was never much of a clue as to whether the summons was for a good reason or bad.

As far as she was aware, Kalinda hadn't done anything that she might deserve grief for, so she took off her reading glasses, got up from her desk and went through to the boss's office without feeling any trepidation. Once inside, she closed the door and sat down opposite Gonzalez. Those instructions no longer needed to be given as the team were now used to how their sergeant wanted the little things done.

"You ran into a YouTuber a few days ago," Gonzalez said. It was a statement, not a question. She waited for a response anyway.

"I did," Kalinda said neutrally. There was nothing about that interaction that had gone wrong. "The gentleman was an auditor. They go around filming..."

"I know what they do, Kalinda. The one you encountered has published the video, and it has been brought to my attention. Why don't you tell me your version of it?"

Remind me not play poker with you, Kalinda thought. Gonzalez's face was giving nothing away regarding her opinion of what she had seen.

"It went pretty well, sarge. The two uniforms on the scene clearly didn't know about auditing. All parties were hot under the collar when I came across the encounter. Since I figured out what was going on, I got them separated and calmed down. I then ascertained some information from the auditor, confirming that was indeed what he was doing. Once I knew no laws had been broken and there was no need to escalate, I moved the member of the public along and got the uniforms back in their squad car to cool off. No harm, no foul."

Gonzalez nodded in appreciation. "That's how I saw it too. Excellent work, Kalinda. That's why you're so important to me in this unit. You bring experience, leadership, discipline and common sense to the table."

Outright praise from the new boss was rare. In fact it was the first time Kalinda could recall getting any. She had been a little unsure how she and her work were perceived, so what she had just been told was a big confidence boost.

"Thanks, sarge," she said, keeping her response understated.

Gonzalez nodded. "You'll find the video on a channel called Austin's Audits. Some of the comments might amuse you."

"I'll have a look later."

BREAK

"Some of the comments might amuse you," Kalinda said to Hank, directly echoing what Gonzalez had said earlier in the day. They were on the couch in the living room, comfortable in the afterglow of a nice dinner and a couple of glasses of wine each. She had just given Hank an account of how the video he was about to watch had come about.

Hank gave a single laugh. "I'll be sure to read them."

"I'll leave you with that while I go to the toilet," Kalinda said, getting up and leaving the room. It wasn't lost on Hank that she left him with her phone to use. There was absolute trust and there were no secrets in their relationship, and he greatly valued that.

He skipped past most of the video because it contained the lengthy altercation between the auditor and the two uniformed officers. The only part he was interested in was when Kalinda showed up. He smiled with pride when his beautiful fiancée appeared on the screen, looking sexy as hell as always in her predominantly leather attire. The way she dealt with the situation was remarkable, he thought after watching it all play out. Calm, well-spoken, efficient, professional. Frankly, his main reaction was continued annoyance that he couldn't get her to come work for VDS, as Erin was starting to call the detective agency. Hank wasn't entirely convinced that didn't sound like a sexually transmitted disease.