The Nick Spinelli Romance Mystery Series

Chapter 8

Spinelli paced the squad room. He ran his sweaty palms over his thighs, his heart raced and sharp pains danced through his head. He desperately needed to be in the interview room. He needed to know what Shannon knew about the murders, if anything. He couldn't imagine how anyone so sweet and thoughtful could be tangled up in anything as sordid as murder.

Finally, the door to the interview room swung open and Spinelli saw Shannon step out. Marsh and Walker followed. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to her and wrap her in his arms. She looked exhausted. She blotted her teary red-stained eyes with a tissue, smearing the mascara further down her cheeks.

Spinelli had witnessed a lot of performances by the accused in his day but he knew deep down that she wasn't acting. He knew she didn't have anything to do with the deaths of Roland Hudson and Aaron Reed; she was just too pure.

Shannon stepped toward Spinelli and looked up at him through her long thick lashes with her big tear-filled emerald green eyes. She sniffled, "My friends...my friends were murdered."

Spinelli stepped toward her, closing the gap between them. He reached for her but she stepped back. "I'll be in my office, Detective. I won't need your services until later this afternoon."

He stared after her as she walked away. For the first time ever, he felt rejected. But he found the rejection bothered him less than the fact that she hurt. He wanted to help her. He wanted to hold her and comfort her. Marsh slapped Spinelli on his shoulder blade. "Ooh, that was cold, buddy. You're not kidding. She hates you."

"Shut up. Just shut the hell up!" Spinelli barked.

Spinelli turned to Walker. "Did she provide any insight as to who murdered Hudson and Reed?"

"I don't think she has a clue and Marsh verified her alibi while I talked with her."

A blanket of anger fell over Spinelli and he got in Walker's face. "Her alibi! You can't possibly think she's got anything to do with this!"

Walker took a step back. "Hey, pal, she knew both the vics and she worked with them where they were murdered. I'm only doing my job."

Spinelli pinched the bridge of his nose. He squeezed his eyes shut briefly and drew in slow deep breaths before dropping his hand to his side. "Sorry, Walker, I understand. You were right to take that approach. Out of curiosity, what's her alibi? How does she spend her evenings?"

Marsh cut in. "Well, your sweet little thing is exactly that. Both nights she was at St. Mary's church helping the Sisters with their Christmas Toys for Tots Program. Sister Mary verified that Shannon was there from 7:00 p.m. until shortly before midnight."

A wide smirk grew across Marsh's face. "What, what's that smirk for?" Spinelli asked.

Marsh chuckled. "She is so not your type of woman."

****

Shannon tossed her tear-dampened tissue into the garbage can and retrieved another from the tissue box on her desk. She pressed the tissue to her eyes to absorb the remaining tears.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew her attention causing her to look up and glance at the doorway. "Hi, Anna."

"My God, are you okay? I heard what happened to Santa and the Elf, and I heard they just questioned you downstairs. Is that true?"

Shannon's emotions ran rampant throughout her causing her body to quiver. Her anger, hurt, and grief all jockeyed for placement. Anger won. "That son of a b***h, he did this to me!"

Anna c****d her head to the side. "What? Who are you talking about?"

"Spinelli, that jerk!"

"Shannon, just calm down and take a breath then tell me what you mean."

Shannon stared into Anna's warm eyes and took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm her racing heart. Her mind wrestled to place her thoughts in order.

"Detective Spinelli, he did this on purpose. For some reason he hates me. He's been an absolute jerk since he walked through my doorway. It's because of him Detectives Marsh and Walker questioned me about the murders of Roland and Aaron. I don't know what his problem is, he's just a d**k!"

Anna sat down in the chair opposite Shannon's desk and leaned forward aligning her eyes with Shannon's. "Are you hearing yourself? I'm sure Detective Spinelli is not doing this just to make you miserable..."

"He is, Anna. You don't know him. He completely defies me when we're on a call. He doesn't know s**t about what we deal with every day yet he keeps overstepping his bounds and screws everything up! If you would have witnessed his behavior on the Washington and Smith calls you would understand what I'm talking about."

Anna leaned back in her chair and raked her hand through her graying hair. "Shannon, I think there's something you should know about Detective Spinelli."

"What, that he's really not human and his heart is made of stone?"

Anna shook her head. "Wow, you are torqued."

Shannon could feel her cheeks heating up. She suddenly felt embarrassed about the accusations she made about Spinelli. "I'm sorry, I am upset, but it's no reason for me to spout off to you. What is it I should know about Detective Spinelli?"

Anna leaned forward in her chair. "I just spoke with Captain Jackson in regard to getting a replacement for him, and well, he's all they have to spare right now. Jackson's not happy about it either, loaning out her best homicide detective to any other department, but apparently, his partner just retired so he's the only one flying solo right now and all the others are loaded with open cases..."

"Can't they just shift him around and free up someone else?" Shannon interrupted.

"I asked the same question and apparently it's just not that simple."

"Oh."

Anna glanced about the room as she nibbled on her chapped bottom lip.

"Is there more? You look like you want to say more," Shannon

asked.

Anna met Shannon's gaze and gave a slight nod. "Yeah, there is more I think you should know. You see, Detective Spinelli is actually quite aware of what we deal with day in and day out in our department."

"What? You could have fooled me," Shannon interrupted as she rolled her eyes.

"Shannon."

"Sorry."

"He's lived it, Shannon. Detective Spinelli grew up in the system. When he was young, he'd been passed around from foster home to foster home when he wasn't living with his drug-addicted mother who supported her habit by prostituting herself."

Shannon's lips parted to speak but she closed them before any words escaped.

Anna continued. "When Detective Spinelli was sixteen his mother died of a drug overdose. He doesn't even know who his father is. Anyhow, he lived on the streets for a while making a living by card sharking and pool hustling until he woke up one day and decided to change his life. He finished high school and put himself through college all on his own." Anna offered a slight smile and shook her head. "Maybe this assignment is just a little too close to home for him."

Shannon placed her elbows on her desk and rested her head in her hands for a few moments, absorbing what she'd just heard. She lifted her head and met Anna's gaze again. "Is there more?"

"Well, I can tell Captain Jackson favors him a bit, maybe even mothers him a bit. She kept telling me over and over again what a great detective he is. She also mentioned that his partner, Mad Dog Maxwell, retired this week. I guess Mad Dog's been somewhat of a father figure to him."

Shannon sighed. Anna's eyes stayed fixed on her. "I feel like such an i***t. I wish I would have known this before. I was so rude to him downstairs after my interview with Detectives Walker and Marsh. He was trying to be nice to me and I totally snubbed him."

"Don't beat yourself up. You didn't know," Anna replied with a soft reassuring smile.

Shannon shook her head. "No, I didn't know but I should have been nicer to him anyway, professional courtesy. But I can't seem to help myself, for some reason he just infuriates me."