me. I could think of a much better way to end the meeting, involving my fist and his face.
“Looks like we’re off to church then,” I said, heading toward the elevator with Tanya in tow. Maybe I could confess my eternal need to beat the shit out of Fernando while I was there. “Your car or mine?”
“You kidding me, Alex? You’ve seen my car, right? Big old heap of rusty junk. I’m still finding bits of dirt all over the carpet from when I took my boys to football practice last month, and the air conditioning needs fixing too. So, hell yeah, we’re taking your car.”
I chuckled quietly to myself as I called the elevator.
“Beckman, my office before you leave,” a voice shouted down the corridor.
Shit. The captain .
“He did not look pleased.” Tanya said, shaking her head. “Go on, I’ll wait for you in the garage.”
I walked to the end of the corridor, let myself into the large office and closed the door behind me. The captain sat in his chair, elbows resting on the desk in front of him and hands clasped. Scattered in front of him were numerous files and reports, the only mess in an otherwise immaculate room that would have been fit for a military inspection. He nodded to the screen to his left, showing a still frame of me with Vince at Gidden’s Park during the middle of my statement to the press.
“Care to explain?” Captain Blake asked, his eyes boring into me.
Somehow, I got the impression my answer wouldn’t be good enough for him. “Sorry, sir. I lost my cool with them. It won’t happen again.”
“You’d better hope so, Beckman.” He unclasped his hands and leaned back in his chair. “I have high hopes for you, but we cannot tolerate this kind of behavior in public. The department is getting enough bad reputation over the Slasherazzi case as it is, and we could do without outbursts like this on top of that.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll stay clear of making any more statements.”
“Good. Now, before you go, I want to talk about your relationship with this journalist. I can’t stop you from seeing him, and I trust you’re holding your tongue around him, but it does not look good for us when you’re caught on camera with him.”
I choked back a groan, feeling an unbearable heat rising upward from my gut. “You want us to keep our relationship a secret? With all due respect, sir, I’m not going to sneak around trying to hide my relationship with Vince. If anyone has something against it, that’s their problem, not mine.”
Captain Blake stood and moved to the window, his hands clasped behind his back as he rose onto his tiptoes and then back down again. “You’re a smart man, Beckman. You know as well as I do our job is as much politics as it is police work. We have a public image to maintain. If people don’t trust us, it makes it a damn sight harder for us to do our job.”
I wanted to argue, to spew some idealistic crap about how I shouldn’t have to hide, but whatever I said wouldn’t make a difference. Ever since graduating from the academy, I’d known my sexuality was going to be an obstacle to my career. Maybe one day things would change, but until then, I would have to smile and bear it.
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir. Was there anything else?”
“No. Just do me a favor and catch this bastard already, will you?”
I nodded and left the room quickly, heading straight for the elevator. First Fernando, now the captain. The place was stifling. I needed to get outside, and fast. The doors opened, and I stepped in, hitting the button for ground floor. A young, uniformed officer slipped in through the doors as they began to close, panting and huffing.
“Thought I wasn’t gonna make it there,” he said, taking off his hat and wiping his brow. He leaned back against the railing and gave me the onceover. “Hey, it’s you! I saw Detective Medina giving you grief upstairs. Man, that guy’s a jerk. The look on his face when you stood up to him, though, that was priceless. Someone
“Looks like we’re off to church then,” I said, heading toward the elevator with Tanya in tow. Maybe I could confess my eternal need to beat the shit out of Fernando while I was there. “Your car or mine?”
“You kidding me, Alex? You’ve seen my car, right? Big old heap of rusty junk. I’m still finding bits of dirt all over the carpet from when I took my boys to football practice last month, and the air conditioning needs fixing too. So, hell yeah, we’re taking your car.”
I chuckled quietly to myself as I called the elevator.
“Beckman, my office before you leave,” a voice shouted down the corridor.
Shit. The captain .
“He did not look pleased.” Tanya said, shaking her head. “Go on, I’ll wait for you in the garage.”
I walked to the end of the corridor, let myself into the large office and closed the door behind me. The captain sat in his chair, elbows resting on the desk in front of him and hands clasped. Scattered in front of him were numerous files and reports, the only mess in an otherwise immaculate room that would have been fit for a military inspection. He nodded to the screen to his left, showing a still frame of me with Vince at Gidden’s Park during the middle of my statement to the press.
“Care to explain?” Captain Blake asked, his eyes boring into me.
Somehow, I got the impression my answer wouldn’t be good enough for him. “Sorry, sir. I lost my cool with them. It won’t happen again.”
“You’d better hope so, Beckman.” He unclasped his hands and leaned back in his chair. “I have high hopes for you, but we cannot tolerate this kind of behavior in public. The department is getting enough bad reputation over the Slasherazzi case as it is, and we could do without outbursts like this on top of that.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll stay clear of making any more statements.”
“Good. Now, before you go, I want to talk about your relationship with this journalist. I can’t stop you from seeing him, and I trust you’re holding your tongue around him, but it does not look good for us when you’re caught on camera with him.”
I choked back a groan, feeling an unbearable heat rising upward from my gut. “You want us to keep our relationship a secret? With all due respect, sir, I’m not going to sneak around trying to hide my relationship with Vince. If anyone has something against it, that’s their problem, not mine.”
Captain Blake stood and moved to the window, his hands clasped behind his back as he rose onto his tiptoes and then back down again. “You’re a smart man, Beckman. You know as well as I do our job is as much politics as it is police work. We have a public image to maintain. If people don’t trust us, it makes it a damn sight harder for us to do our job.”
I wanted to argue, to spew some idealistic crap about how I shouldn’t have to hide, but whatever I said wouldn’t make a difference. Ever since graduating from the academy, I’d known my sexuality was going to be an obstacle to my career. Maybe one day things would change, but until then, I would have to smile and bear it.
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir. Was there anything else?”
“No. Just do me a favor and catch this bastard already, will you?”
I nodded and left the room quickly, heading straight for the elevator. First Fernando, now the captain. The place was stifling. I needed to get outside, and fast. The doors opened, and I stepped in, hitting the button for ground floor. A young, uniformed officer slipped in through the doors as they began to close, panting and huffing.
“Thought I wasn’t gonna make it there,” he said, taking off his hat and wiping his brow. He leaned back against the railing and gave me the onceover. “Hey, it’s you! I saw Detective Medina giving you grief upstairs. Man, that guy’s a jerk. The look on his face when you stood up to him, though, that was priceless. Someone
Similar Books
Across to America: A Tim Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 9)
Richard Testrake
Reagan's Revolution
Craig Shirley
Twins
Francine Pascal
A Secret Vow: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Romance
Zoey Parker
Hard Mated
Jennifer Ashley
Ultimate Escape
Lydia Rowan
Wicked And Wilde: Immortal Vegas, Book 4
Jenn Stark
The Last Coyote
Michael Connelly