Blood's Desire (Book 1 of Blood Ties Novels)

Post Situation

Once Gabriel was out of sight, I counted to three before turning back to the two gentlemen in the room with me. “Ms. Bell, please have a seat. We would like to brief you on your new post,” Robert said as he held a chair out for me. Seth had already taken a seat across the table from my chair. He seemed to appraise me as I took my seat. I felt very self-conscious as he leaned forward to look me fully in the face. I noticed his eyes as the light reflected on them. His once green eyes had a slight cloudy film over each, making him seem much older than his seventy-three years.

Robert seated himself closer to me, but still far enough away to make me feel like a teen called into the principal’s office. “Ms. Bell,” he began.

“Please, call me Andrea or Andi,” I interceded.

“Andrea, then. We have our work set out for us this week. You need to understand why you were hired over someone here and you need to understand the job at hand.” He shared an intense glance with Seth. This brief silence sent a chill down my spine. I felt my breath catch in my throat.

“Andrea,” Seth picked up where Robert stopped. “Recently, it has come to our attention that some of our attorneys aren’t what they should be.” He must have seen the confusion fill my face. “What I mean to say is we have reason to believe that there are ‘dirty’ lawyers working for us.”

What is he talking about ‘dirty’? Who would even use that description? “What?” I could feel the confusion on my face. I could guess what the two men in front of me were seeing: narrowed eyes, wrinkled forehead, bottom lip being chewed.

“What Seth is trying to say is, we have a problem in our jurisdiction,” Robert cut in.

“Please just explain what you’re trying to say. I’m very straight-forward and I like for other’s to be as well. I’ve never been good at figuring out cryptic messages, so don’t try to sugar coat something unnecessarily,” I interceded again. It seemed like they would never get to the real problem.

Robert pulled a few files out of his briefcase. “We are talking about drug smuggling and sales, drug dealers and gang members going free, and members of the District Attorney’s Office and Savannah Police Force being monetarily involved with the aforementioned criminals.” He handed me the files.

I thumbed through each folder, not quite seeing what I was looking at. What have I gotten myself into? Why didn’t they inform me of this during the interview? Because you, no, NO ONE, would have taken this job. “What exactly am I looking at?” My voice was much calmer than I felt. Inside, I could feel the once butterflies turned jackhammers beat against my stomach. Both men smiled slightly, obviously pleased with my calm demeanor. They probably expected me to quit immediately.

Seth began. “Andrea, you need to understand we didn’t want to lie to you, but we had lost three other candidates after we divulged this information. We didn’t want to lose you too.” He paused, perhaps to let me speak. “You were the best candidate that applied for the position, but we couldn’t afford to lose you immediately, so we tried out every way of delivering this message. We need you. We couldn’t afford to lose your intelligence, bravery, and stubbornness.” My eyebrow rose in disbelief. Those are interesting adjectives from someone who doesn’t know me. “We spoke to your previous boss. He gave me those descriptions.” He looked like a boy who was caught cheating on a test. I flushed at the compliments. I hadn’t realized Bobby had thought so highly of me.

“You have my attention. Tell me what I need to know.” Both men were shocked. And quit looking at me like I’m going to run out of the room like my hair is on fire.

Robert continued, “See Seth, right to the point. As I said before, Andrea, you need to understand why you were hired over someone here and understand the job at hand.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and whipped his balding head. Jeez, how bad is this? “Firstly, we hired someone out of state because we don’t know exactly who is involved with the deceptive game and we couldn’t afford or allow anyone who could be involved with criminals to become the new DA. You came highly recommended for this job. To use Bobby’s exact words, ‘She does everything she sets her mind to, even if it seems impossible to others.’” I smiled, remembering a few cases where I was the only one who would take them. “Did you know he calls you his maverick?”

I was stunned. “No,” I whispered. Wow, I can’t believe him. Why would he even submit my name for this job if I were so important to him?

Seth smiled quickly. “I called in some very old favors.” He must have seen the confusion warring in my head. I smiled back. That’s why.

Robert continued. “Secondly, the job at hand.” He swallowed audibly. “We have investigated several ADAs and haven’t found anything,” Gabriel?, “but that doesn’t mean they aren’t involved. We can’t tell you who to trust.” Seth threw Robert a look, an almost evil look. “Seth believes you should be able to trust Gabriel. He’s Gabe’s uncle, really almost a father to the boy.”

“I raised Gabriel to know not to get into crap like this,” Seth retorted angrily.

“I’m with Seth. I think I can trust him.” I tried to mediate the obvious tension between the men. It looked like the two had argued the point many times.

“Trust who you want Andrea. You still have to listen to the situation before I leave,” Robert said through clinched teeth.

“I didn’t mean any disrespect Robert. I just think that he’s trustworthy, but I won’t make any rash decisions. I am staying with him until the weekend, as you know.” I tried to keep my disappointment out of my voice. “I will keep a close eye on him and make an informed decision.” Apparently, I succeeded because his face loosened some and he continued.

“Good, now comes the hard part. You need to find an honest partner in the police station. We know the police are more involved than the ADAs. The ADAs lose cases when a dealer or leader is up because a ‘good’ cop arrested them.” He opened one of the folders in front of me. “But we’re not leaving you to drown. They know we’re looking into them, but they also think we’re two old farts who are looking for one last hurrah. They would never think we’d leave this with you. We want you to clean up the city; not only of the known criminals, but of the criminals inside the legal system.” What does he think I’m made of? Iron? Are they insane?

I opened my mouth, but no words would form. Seth intervened on my behalf. “We know this is a huge request, but our city needs outside help.” When words still eluded me, he added, “However, if you don’t feel up to the job, I’m sure Bobby will welcome you back with open arms.”

“No, I’m taking the job,” I said decisively. He struck a chord. I’m always a sucker for a hopeless case. I thought for a moment. “Can I hire a new officer?”

“I don’t know. They may get wary.” They both looked concerned. “Who do you have in mind?” Seth asked quickly.

“My brother Andy. He’s coming out to stay with me for a while. Family issues.” I smiled to myself because of their sideways glances. “He’s my twin, but he’s also a Little Rock police officer. He is staying for an indefinite amount of time. He’ll need a job.”

Robert was the first to respond. “This is great! She’s already on top of things and she’s been at work for,” he looked at his watch, “oh, twenty minutes.”

Both elderly men grinned, making them look twenty-five years younger. I was pleased that I could impress them so thoroughly in such a short time. “Let’s get to work then. Explain as much as possible.”