Chapter 3

With Bryant shifted to the side, the woman pushed the door open fully and exited.

"Bryant?" the woman asked. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you in a suit and tie."

"You!" Bryant returned.

"Me," she confirmed. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Bryant asked angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," she said, stopping beside him on the landing in front of the doors. "I'm the assistant prosecuting attorney."

"Fuck!" Bryant swore. "Jesus Fucking Christ! No wonder the crime rate is high. The police chief is a moron and Miss 'Criminals are Just Misunderstood' is the prosecutor."

"Bryant?" she asked again. "You're not in trouble here, are you?"

"I'm not in trouble anywhere, Allyson," Bryant answered coldly. His answer was interrupted when Steve Curtis hustled through.

"I caught you! Wonderful!" he said. Allyson turned to him to see what he wanted but Curtis was looking toward Bryant. "It's a done deal, Detective. Or should I call you Chief. We're having an executive session over lunch and we'll vote you in then. When do you want to start?"

Bryant and Allyson simply stared at Curtis. It took Steve a moment to notice the look on Bryant's face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Curtis," Bryant answered. "I'll need to reconsider the job offer. I'm not sure I am willing to work with your assistant prosecutor. In fact, I'm almost positive that I won't be willing to work with her. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"Now wait!" Curtis said quickly. "Maybe you two go off on the wrong foot. That happens. But I've known Allyson for a while. She's good people. I've only just met you but I can tell you're good people, too. Get to know one another and I'm sure you'll agree with me."

He was looking from face to face. He could readily see Bryant was angry — and that was an unpleasant sight. It had been Steve's experience that being near a six-foot-four, 230-pound angry man was a recipe for all sorts of mayhem.

"Oh, I know her," Bryant said. "And if you knew as well as you think you do, you would already know that she is anything but 'good people'. Believe me, I know how easy it is to mistake her for someone halfway decent. But she's a liar and a manipulator. She uses people to suit her needs and forgets about theirs."

"Bryant," Allyson said softly.

"Don't bother denying it," Bryant shot back. "It took me a while to understand it. But you hung me out to dry, Lady. You got everything you wanted out of the deal and then left me to face the consequences alone. I know you, Allyson. I know you all too well!"

Steve Curtis could only watch helplessly as Bryant spun on his heel and hastened down the steps. He got in an SUV and drove away.

Steve was surprised that the encounter made him more impressed with Bryant Hawkins. He could see the man was angry. But Bryant handled his temper. His voice didn't raise and he didn't make a single move that anyone would consider to be threatening physical harm.

He noticed that Bryant carefully checked traffic before pulling away from the curb and left at a reasonable speed. Although it was clear that Bryant had a temper, it was equally clear that his temper was well under control. That wasn't always the case with police officers, Steve had learned.

"Ms. Granger?" Steve asked, turning to Allyson. Her head hung down and there were tears in her eyes.

She shook her head sadly and ran down the stairs. Steve stood there with his hands on his hips. It was clear to him that Bryant had not been fabricating a story. Whatever happened between the two of them had happened pretty much the way Bryant said it had. He started to re-enter the building but stopped. Bryant Hawkins was the best candidate to come through his door since the job had been posted.

In fact, Steve Curtis thought Bryant was perhaps the perfect candidate for the job. Linda Roberts was positive about it.

Steve hopped in his car and plugged in his hands-free cell phone.

"Linda, take an early lunch," Steve said. "There is some history between Allyson Granger and Bryant Hawkins. I need you to figure out what it is."

"Uh, okay," Linda said. "But can it wait? I mean, we'll figure it out when he gets here."

"Right now, I don't think he's coming here," Steve said. "Whatever happened between them, well, I get the impression she somehow used him to further her career — at the expense of his. Can you call that detective back, up there, Jan Elliot? Maybe she knows. Then head over to your sister's place and keep him from leaving."

"Leaving?" Linda asked as she picked up her purse and car keys. "You mean... ?"

"I mean he told me he wouldn't work with her," Steve said. "He meant it. He won't work with her unless we can straighten this out."

"What are we going to do if we can't straighten it out?" Linda wondered. Steve was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Well, I figure we got one decent applicant out of almost a hundred for Chief of Detectives," he said. "Plus he gave us a good candidate for a few months down the road. I also figure there are more than a million attorneys in the world. I'll remove the assistant's salary from the city attorney's budget. I think she would be easier to replace than he would be."

"She's pretty good," Linda advised.

"I know it," Steve said. "That's why I want you to straighten this out. In an ideal world, I'd want both of them here to clean up this mess."

Linda's first call was to Jan Elliot, who proved to be unhelpful.

"Granger?" Jan had asked. "No, never heard of her. It wasn't recent. I've been his partner for almost four years. I don't recall him ever mentioning the name."

"Well, thanks," Linda offered.

"I'll e-mail you my résumé tomorrow," Jan put in.

"You might want to wait to see if Bryant is here," Linda replied.

"He told me he was going to be," Jan said.

"That was before he ran into Allyson Granger," Linda told her. "Now it does not appear he will be."

"I don't know the woman but I know Bryant," Jan offered. "I've never known him to lie about something."

"No, we don't think he lied about anything," Linda told her. "And we don't want to lose Bryant. In fact, I'm on my way to make sure he doesn't flee the jurisdiction."

"I'll call and delay him," Jan said. "That will give you a little time to talk to this Granger woman and see what's what."

"Thanks," Linda said. It was obvious to her that Bryant Hawkins was someone people were willing to go to bat for.

Allyson Granger wasn't in her office, nor was her paralegal. Linda stood in the doorway and looked at the plaques on the wall in the outer office. She saw civic awards from Seattle and Los Angeles. There was nothing from Chicago.

Then her eye caught the item closest to Allyson Granger's door. A diploma from Northwestern University and a juris doctorate from the University of Chicago.

Both had the name of Allyson Granger-Hawkins on them.

"Well, shit," she said as she turned and hustled down the corridor to her car.

Jan Elliot's cell phone went straight to voice mail, so Linda figured she was doing her best to delay Bryant's departure. Linda left a message because she was pretty sure Detective Elliot was on a fruitless mission.

Her next call was to Steve Curtis who was already sitting down with his colleagues. Steve had decided to proceed as though nothing was remiss. He would get the approval and make a formal offer. If Bryant Hawkins turned him down, Curtis would offer to have Allyson Granger removed from her job.

He picked up the phone when he saw Linda's number.

"She's his ex-wife, I think," Linda said.

"You think?" Steve asked.

"She got her degrees from universities in Chicago," Linda said, pleased at her bit of detective work. "Her name was Allyson Granger-Hawkins then. So I'm guessing ex-wife or at least ex-sister-in-law. This is personal to him. It isn't professional."

"Okay, well, I'm prepared to deal with that," Steve said. "We'll have to wait to amend next year's budget until we're in open session. How close are you to visiting with him?"

"I have his friend Jan delaying him," Linda said. "I'll be at the inn in twenty minutes or so. I'll keep him here until Monday if I have to promise to wear a thong to the beach on Sunday."

"Uh, well, I'm not sure... ," Steve stammered.

"Relax, I'm kidding," Linda replied. "I noticed him checking out my hindquarters. You have to admit he's a good-looking guy. I'm sure my husband will be willing to play along if I tell him what's at stake."

She was greeted by silence.

"I'm kidding again," Linda said. "You've got it covered. If he wants the job but doesn't want to work with her, he won't work with her. I'll let him know, off the record."

Linda put down her phone only to have it ring in her hands.

"Hello," she answered. It was a Chicago area code.

"He shut me down," Jan said. "He said he'd stay there through the weekend but I have no idea what the problem is. I don't think he's going to take the job, though."

"I think she's his ex-wife," Linda said.

"Then I wouldn't work with her either," Jan declared. There was real anger in her voice. "He's never mentioned her name. He always just called her that – his ex-wife – but I know that bitch took a huge bite out of him. I don't know the particulars but I guess he paid her way through school and she dropped him as soon as she was out."

"Really?" Linda asked. She had met Allyson Granger a few times. She certainly didn't seem like the type to do that.