Pursuing Pretenses: Pursuing Pretenses, #1

By Madison Getchell

Kylie Nichols and her father are police officers in Portland, Maine, and when her father is killed on duty, she becomes a part of the investigation to find the killer. But when it's found to be connected to a very powerful, yet elusive, crime boss who goes by the name of Odin, the investigation is put into the hands of the Boston Division FBI.

 

Unwilling to let it go, Kylie requests to continue to be a part of their investigation, but in order to keep her out of their way, they assign her to be a handler for a difficult, yet charming, undercover informant named Terrin, who has made a name for himself in Odin's underworld as a car hacker. Together, they team up to find Odin and end up finding maybe a little more than they bargained for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Madison Getchell
• Release date: Sep 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215252253

Madison Getchell

Madison Getchell is an American author, wife, and mother. Any given day, you can find her writing, daydreaming, eating chocolate, or watching Audrey Hepburn movies. Maybe all at once. She discovered her love for writing when she was quite young and hasn’t stopped writing since. For her, writing is more than a hobby—it’s her passion, and she believes it was put on her heart for a grand purpose. She currently lives in Montana with her husband and two children, and she is continually drawing inspiration from their wonderful life together.

Book preview

Chapter 1

I strummed my fingers against the steering wheel as I peered through the driver window of the police cruiser. The man in my line of sight was in the store, quickly grabbing the items he wanted, oblivious to the serious consequences of his actions. I watched him, wondering how long it was going to take him to finish.

Okay, so the man was my police officer father, and he was picking out a dozen of donuts even though he was supposed to be on a diet. Once he had made his selection, my father crossed the street and opened the passenger door to get into the cop car.

Do you have to be such a walking stereotype? I wondered when he got in.

He gave me a look. What? Why? Because I enjoy donuts? he wondered. Kylie, name one person who doesn’t like donuts. You can’t because everyone does. I just so happen to be a cop who likes them. Is that so wrong? he asked, and he took a huge bite of his maple-glazed donut. Want one? he then offered.

I shook my head.

A voice over the dispatch radio interrupted us.

5-32, dispatch called my radio number. Will you please respond to a 10-96 at the corner of Brighton and Caleb? the woman continued.

I looked to my dad. Your favorite.

He chuckled. Esther again.

Esther was an elderly woman who was living with her son. She suffered from severe dementia and every so often would escape the house. When she was younger, she used to be a crossing guard, so occasionally, she would get it in her head she still needed to help people cross the road.

I picked up the receiver. 10-4. 5-32 responding.

We buckled up, and I started toward the intersection just a few blocks away from Tony’s Donut Shop.

My dad and I were like two peas in a pod. My mom had died when I was six, so it had just been the two of us for a long time. I always knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps of being a cop, so when I turned twenty-one, I attended a police academy and then, shortly after, was hired on at the Portland Police Department in Portland, Maine. Sometimes, I got to work alongside my dad, who had worked for the Portland PD for thirty years, compared to me who had only been an officer for about seven years.

We always made a good team, though my dad always felt the need to remind me he was retiring soon. He was aging, but I still thought he made a great cop—able to keep up with even the younger recruits. Still, I knew he was getting tired of the day-to-day, but he treated every call we got like it was the most important one of his career. Today was no different.

We arrived at the scene to find Esther halting traffic so she could usher her imaginary friends across the road.

Better give Tom a call, my dad said as he got out to try to convince Esther to come with him. He usually had better luck than I did with the woman. I guess you could say she had a thing for a man in a uniform.

I did as my dad said and called Tom, Esther’s son. I let him know that his mother was fine and would be home shortly, but from the looks of the grief Esther was giving my father, I didn’t know if she’d be home as soon as I’d thought. He was trying to convince her to get out of the street, but she kept fighting him.

I got out of the car to assist my father, taking the box of donuts with me. I decided to try out my father’s theory and see just how much everyone actually loved donuts.

I went up to the crosswalk that Esther was manning and stood at the corner of the sidewalk.

Esther, donut break! I called to her.

She looked to me in confusion, but when she saw the box of donuts, she consented and came to me willingly.

My father exhaled in frustration and then laughed slightly as he followed behind her. Once she was out of the street, traffic was able to move freely. I let her pick out a donut and then led her back to the cruiser. I guess my dad was right. Maybe everyone did love the sweet treat.

We returned her to her home where my father proceeded to lead her up to her front door. This was where it always got interesting. I sat in the car giggling as I watched Esther try to grab my dad’s butt. The woman was out of her mind. She always made a pass at my dad when he took her home, as if he was taking her home after a date.

Her son, Tom, finally came to the door to tear his mom away from my dad but not before she blew him a kiss. My dad uncomfortably said a few things to Tom and then returned to the car.

I was still giggling when he sat in the passenger seat.

Stop, he told me, but I knew he wasn’t truly upset.

What? I asked innocently. I think you two would make a nice couple, I let him know.

You worry about your own love life, he replied.

What love life? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t say anything back. Sure, I had dates. Occasionally. You know, when I wasn’t working and when I actually found a guy who wasn’t threatened by a woman cop.

Yeah, okay, I hardly ever dated. It wasn’t easy trying to date when I had a police officer for a father and I also worked with that said father. It didn’t make finding a nice guy easy, that was for sure, but it definitely weeded out the bad ones pretty quickly.

Once we were finished making our rounds that day, we went back to the station to fill out paperwork on the events of our day. This was every cop’s least favorite part of the day. Well, excluding the part of chasing bad guys who didn’t comply.

Hey, Sweeps, a fellow policeman, Bobby, said as he approached my desk.

I looked up from my computer and smiled at him. I had long ago gotten used to my nickname around the station, though I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Shortly after joining the force, I had been doing drills with the guys. We were to take down our assailant, and to be funny, our Chief of Police, Jake Montgomery, paired me up with the biggest guy on the force. Unbeknownst to the other officers, I was a black belt in both Ju-jitsu and Judo. I had taken him down by sweeping his leg, hence the nickname Sweeps. I supposed I couldn’t complain. After that incident, the entire force actually started to take me seriously as a cop.

You’re looking especially nice today, he then commented.

I gave him a look, not hiding the fact he was being ridiculous. We were all wearing our uniforms, but Bobby was always trying to come up with some girl-grabbing lines. Unfortunately, I was only one of three women who worked at the station, and the other two were around forty.

I spent all morning deciding on this outfit. It’s about time someone noticed, I joked dryly while I filled in information about a domestic dispute call we’d responded to as I grabbed a pickled plum from my desk and popped it into my mouth.

I was half Japanese, half Caucasian, but I looked more like my Japanese mother than my white father. It seemed my taste buds had followed after her as well because I found myself with hankerings for the strange things Japanese people ate. Like raw fish and pickled plums. Not that I didn’t appreciate a cheeseburger as much as the next person. I just embraced the Asian side of myself too. I had been given the best of both worlds.

My father had met my mother while on vacation in Japan, and they had fallen in love immediately. And though it was not considered correct, they eloped, and my mother followed my father to the United States. She had once told me that she would have followed him anywhere. I tried to imagine that kind of love but had yet to experience anything like it in my own life.

My sarcastic comment didn’t seem to faze Bobby, and he got to his point. So, there’s this great sushi restaurant I’d love to take you to, he offered as he leaned up against my desk.

I didn’t want to be rude because it wasn’t that Bobby wasn’t a nice enough guy. I just didn’t really want to date him.

Thanks, Bobby, but— I started, but I was interrupted by, none other than, my father.

Is he getting fresh with you? he asked me.

I exhaled in annoyance. I loved my father, but sometimes he treated me like I was still fifteen instead of twenty-nine.

No, sir. I was just asking if she wanted to go out to dinner, Bobby replied.

My dad looked to me. Well? he asked.

Please go away, I begged him.

He nodded. Right. I am on coworker mode, he agreed.

A long time ago, we had set boundaries for each other. At work, we were merely coworkers. Outside of work, we were family. It was the only way I was able to stay sane.

He started to walk away again, but he made a motion to Bobby letting him know he would be watching him.

Bobby didn’t even seem fazed. So? he pressed.

Look, it’s sweet of you to ask, but I’m just not looking to date right now, I let him know. What I really meant was that I wasn’t looking to date him right now.

He took my refusal quite well but told me to let him know when I was ready to date. I was then free to finish my work in peace, but I only got a few more words typed before Amber, my best friend and fellow officer, approached me. She was about ten years older than I was, but we got along really well.

Did Bobby just ask you out? she asked. She was divorced and spent her free time trying to get everyone else happily married off instead of focusing on her own dating life.

Yeah. How’d you know? I wondered.

She gave me a smile. He mentioned something to me earlier. People talk to me, you know. Anyway, I can’t decide if he’s really brave or really stupid asking you out with your dad around.

I’d say a bit of both, my dad said as he came up behind Amber, and we both looked to him. He had his things in hand on his way out of the station.

Oh, I didn’t realize you were right there, Travis, Amber said in surprise.

Just on my way out, he replied. Jake’s letting me go a little early because I’m on call tonight, he clued me in before he noticed the pickled plums sitting on my desk. Talk about stereotypes, my dad teased me. You rag on me for liking donuts, and here you are eating umeboshi, he pointed out.

I waved his comment away. Yeah, yeah, I said and held up a plum. Want one? I offered.

He shook his head and made a face. He hated them. No, thanks. But are we still on for dinner tomorrow night? he asked me and then added, "And by that, I mean, are we still on for you making your old man dinner?" he wondered.

Sometimes I swore the man was helpless, and I wondered what he’d do without me. But I knew it went both ways. As much as he frustrated me, I loved him, and I felt like it was my duty as his daughter to help take care of him. Especially since my mother wasn’t around. He had never put that pressure on me. I had done it to myself, but I didn’t mind.

I smiled and rolled my eyes, but I assured him I’d be there. We had a tradition. On Friday nights when we weren’t called out, we (meaning me) would cook a Japanese dish. When I was younger, it had been a way my dad made sure I connected with my Japanese roots, but it was also a way to remember my mother.

After my shift was over, I returned home to my apartment. It wasn’t anything special—just a one-bedroom, one-bathroom place that was perfect for a single cop who was destined to be a spinster. The good news was: my landlord did allow cats. Bad news was: I wasn’t a cat person.

My home life was quite boring compared to work. Most of the time, I just came home, cooked a meal for one, and watched some television before I went to bed. That night was no different. My job was basically my life, and as I fell asleep that night, I began to wonder if I should have accepted Bobby’s offer for a date.

Chapter 2

The ringing of my phone woke me up in the middle of my deep sleep. I groggily looked to my clock to see it was a little after three in the morning. I didn’t even have to look at my phone to know it was the police station calling. They were the only ones who dared call me at this time.

I answered it, my voice scratchy from sleep. Officer Nichols.

Kylie, you better get down to the Port, a voice I recognized as Jake’s told me. The tone in his voice alerted me that something very bad had happened.

What’s going on, Chief? I asked, rubbing my eyes.

He paused as he searched for the right words. It’s your father. He responded to a call tonight to the Port and...well... he struggled with what he was trying to say next. I’m so sorry, Kylie, but your father is dead, he told me, his voice full of regret.

I sat up in bed, trying to determine if this was reality or a nightmare. What? I asked in shock as I hopped out of bed to get clothes on. I was on autopilot as I attempted to process the news.

We are still trying to figure out the details. We aren’t exactly sure what happened yet, he said.

I’ll be there as soon as I can, I replied and hung up the phone. I put on my uniform so no one would argue with me being at the scene and quickly grabbed my keys to hurry to the Port of Portland. It was the main hub for Portland’s docks for the city’s major shipping business.

As I drove, I tried to make sense of what was happening. We didn’t normally have too many problems with violent crimes lately. The crime rate was definitely rising, but we mostly dealt with theft. Cop killing wasn’t a huge problem in the city of Portland. Or had he had an accident? I supposed the only way I was going to find out was to see for myself.

I reached the Port quickly, traffic not a problem this early in the morning. There were three police cruisers already blocking off the area, and I put my car in park and hurried through the barrier to find Jake. The crime scene unit was already there, picking through evidence and documenting the scene. I was thankful that the coroner had already loaded my father into the van. I didn’t know if I could mentally handle the image of him dead for the rest of my life.

Kylie, Jake said as he approached me, looking haggard and solemn. I am so sorry.

My eyes scanned the area but didn’t focus on anything in particular. What happened? I asked him, at the moment having a sort of out-of-body experience.

He shook his head. We’re not sure right now, but it looks like it was homicide. He was shot twice in the head.

My hand flew over my mouth, as if trying to keep myself from crying out. I tried not to cry, but the daughter side of my emotions overrode my cop side, and I couldn’t help the tears that began falling as I started to sob.

This was difficult on Jake as well. He was one of my dad’s closest friends, and he looked away from me a moment to collect himself. Harry, the harbormaster, is at the station for questioning, Jake continued quietly. He was the one who made the 911 call about suspicious activity happening here at the port. Apparently, he noticed a motor yacht dock and men immediately start to unload the contents when he had no record of one scheduled for that time.

I was trying so hard to focus on his words, but the pain in my heart was louder. I knew Jake understood.

Why don’t you take some time off, Kylie? I think that would be the best thing for you to do right now, he spoke gently.

I knew what he said was probably the smart thing, but I couldn’t help the side of me that just wanted to help get to the bottom of my father’s murder. What were those men doing at the docks? What motivated them to kill my father?

Jake allowed me to look around the crime scene, but so far, it seemed like a dead end. The yacht and the men who had unloaded it were gone. There was no evidence of them even having been there. Except, that is, for the wonderful man they had killed while doing whatever it was they were doing.

Finally, Jake ushered me away and told me he would call me with any updates in the case, but I was to take the week off to grieve. I wanted to be thankful for the time off, but I felt like I needed to be working, trying to figure this thing out. Still, I was aware I was in no mental condition to investigate tonight. So, I went home and finally allowed myself to cry out my pain.

I knew I needed to call family and let them know. I didn’t know most of my mother’s family. I had met my grandparents and my uncle at my mother’s funeral, but we were anything but close. They all lived in Japan, and they had basically disowned her when she eloped with my father and had become an American Christian.

Honestly, even if they got to know me, I had a feeling they wouldn’t like me very much. In Japan, I would be considered a hafu—it just meant half Japanese. Which was considered trendy in Japanese pop culture, but in traditional culture, I would be an outsider. Especially as a follower of Jesus. Not saying they completely discriminated against Christians in Japan, but going against the regular Shinto and Buddhist beliefs meant I would be disrupting the normal order of things.

So, I had grown up only knowing half of my family, but I couldn’t complain. My dad’s side were all very sweet people, and they mostly lived along the east coast in various places, so they were comparatively near for holidays and reunions. Or now, in this case, for a funeral.

When it was late enough in the morning, I called a funeral home to begin making arrangements for my dad’s funeral. Then, I called my dad’s two sisters. My aunt Janice lived in Albany, while my Aunt Nancy lived in Philadelphia with her husband. It was difficult to tell them the news, especially when we didn’t have any answers. We cried on the phone together, and they both let me know they would make sure to be here for the funeral.

That week, my mind was occupied with funeral arrangements and making sure I had everything taken care of. My aunts came a few days after our phone call to help me get everything organized. The funeral was set for that weekend and would be very traditional. He was to be buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in the presence of his family and the police force. Afterwards, we would all go to our church for a nice reception for whoever could make it.

My dad was going to be a well-missed person of the community. He was one of the best men I knew. The Bible always described David as a man after God’s own heart, but I had a feeling my dad was a close second for that title. It just didn’t seem right that this world was robbed of another good man. They were few and far between as it was.

Keeping his word, Jake made good on his promise to keep me updated. Unfortunately, the limited information Harry had been able to give wasn’t enough to figure out who was responsible. The men were too far away for him to describe with much detail, and the yacht was unnamed and had disappeared. Even the contents they had unloaded were completely gone. We were at a total standstill.

The day before the funeral, Amber called me to see how I was doing. I let her know I was surviving, but I really just wanted to know if she had any other information on the case. I didn’t know how much more I could handle talking about funeral arrangements.

Any leads on the investigation? I asked her. It was killing me to not be there. I knew my duties as a daughter trumped my duties of a cop, but they were so intertwined that I didn’t know which way to let myself be pulled.

Nothing yet, she replied sadly. But did you hear what happened with Harry? she asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what she possibly meant by that. No. What? I asked impatiently.

He was found dead in his house last night, she told me sadly. They’re thinking it’s linked to your father’s murder. He was killed in the same way. Two shots to the head. But, uh, someone cut out his tongue before they killed him, she finished forlornly.

The gruesome news shocked me, and my detective mind began reeling. These men were no amateurs, and they were sending a message that anyone who talked would be killed. They had something to hide and were willing to go to any length to do it. But why? What had they been moving that night? It was becoming clear that this was a bigger operation than we had initially thought. What had my dad stumbled upon that night?

My father’s funeral was as nice as any funeral could have been. We buried him on a sunny day and then went back to our church so that people could say kind words about him. Everyone was so supportive through it all, making sure to let me know that if I needed anything, they’d be there. I honestly wished my mother was there to hold me and comfort me, but I rested in the knowledge that my mom and dad were together again in heaven. I had to settle with the comfort of my aunts.

As I went through the day, I couldn’t help but think on my mother’s funeral so many years ago. Death was never easy. I had experienced great loss at a very young age when I had lost my mother to cancer, and now all those awful feelings of loss were fresh once again. And as I cried and really thought on life that whole day, I knew what I needed to do. I was going to catch the men who did this and stop this awful experience from happening to anyone else because of them.

Chapter 3

When I returned to work after my father’s funeral, there were still no updates to the case. Harry’s death marked another dead end. Whoever had killed both men were not sloppy, and they knew how not to get caught. Still, after my week off, I felt like I had ample time to clear my head, and there was a fire burning inside of me to bring down the men who were involved. I decided to try a gutsy move and attempt at getting Jake to agree to letting me be a part of this investigation. I was not going to be content sitting on the sidelines while I waited for someone else to find the answers.

About six months ago, I had taken the detective exam, but I had decided to wait to accept the promotion until my dad retired. We made a good team, and I hadn’t wanted to break that up so close to his retirement. He never knew I had passed the exam because I knew if I told him, he’d push me to take the promotion. My dad had never really wanted to be anything other than an officer. He enjoyed the work, and he had done it for so long that he knew it was where he belonged. But now that he was gone, I had no reason not to move forward, and if the promotion allowed me to get to the truth behind his and Harry’s deaths, I wanted it now more than ever.

So, when Jake had a free moment, I went to his office.

How are you doing, Kylie? he wondered considerately.

As well as I can be, I told him and then decided to go for it. But there is something you can do for me.

He gave me a curious look.

I want you to promote me to detective so I can be a part of the investigation on my father’s and Harry’s murders, I stated bluntly.

He gave me a pained look and exhaled. Kylie, it’s not that you aren’t qualified, but you are too emotionally involved with this, and I really don’t think it would be a good move on my part to give you a homicide case right out of the gate, especially not one that deals with the death of your father. Look, I have no reason not to promote you to detective, but I just can’t give you this particular case, Kylie, I’m sorry.

Jake, what would you do if you were me? I asked him.

He exhaled, and I knew what his answer would be if he didn’t have to follow protocol. I need someone with a clear head on this. It’s too touchy of a case, he told me.

I’m aware, but I can’t just sit back and wait for answers. I need to do this as his daughter, Jake. I’m asking you to put a little faith in me, and I won’t let you down, I pleaded with him. I had never let him down before, and he was fully aware of how stubborn I was. If he thought he was going to talk me out of this, he was sorely mistaken.

He looked away from me, and I could tell he was really weighing the options. When he looked back at me, he had a stern look on his face. You really think you can handle this? he asked.

I nodded definitely.

Well, I can’t say I didn’t see this conversation coming, he then remarked and sighed in defeat. All right. You’re on this case, but I’m putting Danny on as supervising detective, got it?

I nodded in agreement, not about to argue with any of his terms. Danny was a good detective with over fifteen years on the job. I knew the murders were in good hands and that I was about to learn from a respectable mentor.

"Please, don’t make me regret this, Detective Nichols," Jake then beseeched.

The title had a nice ring to it, and I didn’t plan on letting him down. I was given the complete files collected on the case so far, and I began to study them like I was going to be tested on all the details. Harry’s statements were basically all we had, and that wasn’t much. He noticed a yacht unloading crates at the harbor when none were scheduled, so he called 911. Around a dozen men had begun to unload crates onto semi-trucks carrying shipping containers, and then my father had showed up. Harry had stated that he had heard gun shots but didn’t see who did the shooting, but my father had made a call to dispatch for backup before he had been shot. By the time they had showed up, he was dead, and the men were gone.

The men had been smart enough to take out cameras, and none of the information in the files was going to get us any closer to answers. Harry was dead, so our witness to what had happened that night was gone. I was vaguely aware of the danger I was heading into, knowing that if these guys were willing to kill a cop and then get rid of the only witness, then they were not men to be trifled with. But I couldn’t let my fear hold me back. I was not going to let these men get away with this.

Danny and I decided to go back to the starting line. The department had swept the entire area already, but we went back to the Port to see if there was possibly something we had missed. These guys had to have left some sort of evidence of their presence. People didn’t just disappear into thin air.

But going back to the Port was more difficult than I wanted it to be. The mess from that night had been cleaned up, but I could still picture the crime scene over-taken by investigators and yellow tape.

Initially, I hesitated, wondering if I was the right person for this job, but I pushed those thoughts aside by replacing them with thoughts of doing this to find justice for the two good men who had died because of these men.

When we reached the Port, Danny turned to me. First things first, let’s go talk to the current harbormaster and see if he’s noticed anything else odd on his shifts.

I unbuckled my seat belt. If it’s all right, I’d like to take a look around the harbor.

He shrugged. Okay with me, but you realize we’ve already searched this place with a fine-tooth comb, right?

"Maybe, but I haven’t."

Fine, Sweeps. Go do your thing.

So, while Danny went to talk to the harbormaster, I began combing the area again, not really sure what I was looking for. There wasn’t much in the area but a few buildings and a few large shipping crates. Danny had already been through those and had come up empty. I had a feeling the answer wasn’t going to be in those anyway. These men had wanted whatever they were unloading out of the area as fast as possible. They wouldn’t be dumb enough to leave something behind on purpose.

I walked down to the main dock. There was no ship there at the moment, so I walked to the edge and looked down at the water lapping against the wooden dock, finding myself wishing boats left tracks in the water. I continued along the edge, not really sure what I was hoping for, but I said a prayer to God to help me. There was no way I was solving this on my own, even if I did have the Portland PD backing me up.

As I neared the end of the dock, it branched off in two parts, leaving a gap in between. I glanced down at the water and noticed some garbage that had been caught on one of the wooden posts. It was a long sheet of paper swaying with the waves, and I wasn’t sure why it intrigued me. I supposed I could have found a gum wrapper and I would have studied it at that point. Paper wasn’t exactly an oddity around this area. Maine was a known exporter of paper and pulp products, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I needed to grab it.

I put on gloves to prevent transferring my fingerprints just in case it turned out to be something of importance. I got down on my stomach and reached into the water to pull it out. I was expecting it to be a flimsy sheet of paper but was surprised to find it was quite sturdy and not tearing in the least despite the fact it looked as if it had been in the water for some time. Honestly, there was nothing inherently odd about it except for the fact it wasn’t disintegrating in the water, but it could have been a number of things. Still, something told me it was important. The material felt familiar, but I couldn’t place it. It definitely wasn’t the usual paper and pulp material I had seen being shipped out, but I was far from being an expert on paper.

I folded it up and put it in a bag for evidence just in case. I honestly doubted these guys would kill someone over paper products, but who knows? Maybe they were running low on toilet paper on their boat.

I did another sweep as I backtracked, but the area was completely clean, and by that time, Danny had finished with the harbormaster.

Is paper a suspect now? he asked as he approached me, his eyes on the evidence bag in my hands.

I gave him a look. Laugh all you want, but I’m not taking any chances. I was going to take it to the lab and have it analyzed.

Can’t hurt, I suppose, he agreed as he led me back to the cruiser to head back to the station.

Any information from the harbormaster? I asked as we drove.

He shook his head. Nothing that’s going to help us. They still haven’t gotten the cameras fixed, and he wasn’t there the night of your father’s murder. You better hope your garbage turns out to be something because we are at a stalemate.

It was disheartening to hear him say that, but I wasn’t going to give up. If there was one thing I had learned from working with my father, it was that persistence paid off.

Do you want to come with me to take this to Roy? I asked Danny when we returned to the station, a bag of wet paper in hand. Roy was the guy I usually dealt with in the station’s forensic lab because my dad had always said he was the most knowledgeable. He had been there the longest and was no amateur.

Danny shook his head. You found it, you take it.

I shrugged. Okay.

I had a feeling he didn’t believe it was going to be anything important, but I headed to the lab with my paper anyway, feeling a little like an idiot. Still, call it a hunch, but I had a feeling I wanted to know what it was made of, so I took it directly to the expert.

Hey, Kylie, Roy greeted me. He was a friendly-looking man in his late fifties, but he looked tired today, the bags under his eyes making him look older. How are you holding up? he asked as he put down the results he was studying.

I’m all right. Thanks for asking, I answered him. He had been at my father’s funeral, so I knew why he was so concerned, but I held up my evidence bag to change the subject.

He gave me a look. What do you have there? he asked as he took it from me.

That’s what I want you to tell me, I replied. I found it at the docks, and I have no idea what it is. I don’t think it’s regular wood-pulp paper, so I’m just curious. I know I’m grasping at straws here, but stranger things have led to the truth, right?

He chuckled and nodded. You can say that again. He gave it another look. I’ll run a test to see what it’s made of. I should have something for you in a few hours, he let me know.

I thanked him and left him to do his job.

I went to my desk to do what I had been putting off: listening to the call to dispatch my father had made. I put on headphones and looked around to make sure no one was paying any attention to me just in case I teared up.

This is Officer Nichols. We have a possible 10-31, and I need backup to the Port of Portland. Possible—

He was cut off by the sound of guns fired, and I ripped off the headphones. I felt my throat closing up, but I refused to cry while I was at work, so I grit my teeth in an effort to stop my body from producing tears. Instead, I focused on his words. The code 10-31 meant crime in progress. But what crime? It was another loose end that was seeming impossible to tie up.

I was so focused on trying to figure out another lead that I didn’t even realize a few hours had gone by when I was interrupted by Roy. I found it a little unsettling because he didn’t normally leave the lab.

Kylie, I think we should talk, he spoke seriously.

I gave him a look. Was