The Marriage Beat. Doreen Roberts

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ police work to the people who are qualified to do it.”

      She started to say something, bit back the words, then said carefully, “I’m afraid I don’t have time to fill out your reports. You can drop me off right here, thank you.”

      He could just imagine the effort it had taken her to control her temper. He almost felt sorry for her. “Well, Ms. Summers, I’m afraid I’ll have to insist. A crime has been committed and it’s my duty to do everything I can to apprehend the suspect. If you have any hopes at all of recovering your property, I suggest you cooperate with me. I promise you I’ll be just as quick as I can.”

      She slumped back against the seat so hard she jarred his shoulders. She kept quiet, however, and he pursed his lips in satisfaction. First round to him.

      Megan was still fuming by the time they reached the station. Officer Jackson, she decided, had to be the most arrogant, patronizing, overbearing cop on the force. Trust her luck to be stuck with someone like him. She followed him into a noisy room filled with desks and people, resenting every step. It was really too bad that a man with his looks should be so downright domineering.

      He wasn’t all that tall, about five-ten she figured, but he had the kind of athletic build that took lots of strenuous work to maintain. She couldn’t help noticing that the pants of his uniform fitted snugly across his hips, and his waistline was firm above his belt.

      She let her gaze travel up his back to his straight dark hair. He’d worn sunglasses in the car, but she knew his eyes were a kind of silvery-blue. She could still remember the way he’d stared up at her when he was sprawled on the floor.

      She felt bad about that now. She’d been in such a hurry to find a cop to help her she’d raced around the corner without stopping to think that someone might be coming the other way. She’d just about slammed all the breath out of her lungs when she’d smacked into his hard chest.

      His feet had slipped on the polished floor and helped by her weight, they had both gone crashing down. She’d landed on top of him, and heard his grunt as her elbow dug into his stomach. The memory of his solid body underneath her was still vivid in her mind. In fact, thinking about it now sent a tingle down her back.

      Officer Jackson led her to a desk in the corner of the room. “Take a seat, Ms. Summers.” He pointed to one of the office chairs facing the desk.

      “Thank you.” She sat on the edge of the chair, her gaze drawn to the framed certificates on the wall behind the desk. There were photos, as well...and she spotted a picture of Officer Jackson shaking hands with another police officer.

      “Now, let’s see.” He sat down at the desk and opened a drawer. “We’ll start with your name, address and phone number.” He pulled his notebook from his pocket and dropped it on the desk.

      She gave him her address, realizing as she did so that all her identification had vanished along with her purse. Driver’s license, social security card, credit cards... “I have to put a stop on my credit cards,” she said, interrupting his next question.

      “All in good time. Where do you work?”

      “I’m a travel agent at the Starways Travel Agency. Or I was as of this morning.”

      He ignored her wry comment and scribbled something down on his notepad. “What time did this incident occur?”

      “About an hour ago.” She glanced up at the large clock on the wall above his head. “He’s had plenty of time to max out all my cards by now.”

      “You won’t be held responsible for the charges,” Tyler Jackson murmured.

      “I’m responsible for the first fifty on each one. That’s going to add up.”

      Relenting, he waited impatiently while she made the necessary calls.

      As she finished the last one, a disturbing thought occurred to her and she looked at him in dismay. “How am I going to get in my apartment without my keys?”

      “I’m sure the manager will have a spare. Can you repeat the description you gave me one more time?”

      She did so, rapidly and with rising resentment. He was taking this all very calmly, she thought, considering she’d been attacked in broad daylight on a downtown street. It was all right for Officer Jackson, he hadn’t just had his most valuable personal possessions stolen, with apparently little hope of getting them back.

      The questions seemed endless, and for the most part pointless. With one eye on the clock, Megan answered them, feeling more and more frustrated with each passing minute. She’d be real lucky to have a job to go back to, she thought sourly, if this idiot didn’t quit with his ridiculous questions.

      It was hard to concentrate in the noisy room, where several people seemed to be talking at once. Phones rang constantly, and the big burly cop standing by the door kept throwing glances her way, as if he were trying to listen in on the conversation.

      “How much cash were you carrying?” Tyler Jackson asked, his pen poised above the notepad.

      Her patience finally expended, Megan threw up her hands. “What difference does it make? It’s all gone by now, isn’t it? Is all this going to get my purse back? Or what’s left of it?”

      “Probably not.”

      “Then why are we wasting time? We could have found the man by now if we’d stayed out there looking for him, instead of filling out all this useless information.”

      The silver-blue eyes regarded her with faint hostility. “This may seem useless to you, Ms. Summers, but every tiny detail is important. Even if we had found the man, there’s no guarantee I could have arrested him. We have to follow procedure in these cases.”

      The enormity of her loss was just beginning to make itself known. Her bank accounts were probably empty by now, which meant bounced checks, embarrassing explanations, more endless forms and phone calls. She glared at Tyler Jackson as if it were all his fault. “I just don’t think you fully understand what it means to lose all your identification, not to mention a sizeable chunk of your finances.”

      “I understand that you’re upset, but unfortunately once in a while stuff happens. Don’t you have any family who can help you out for the time being?”

      “My mother lives on the other side of town and has her own problems. I’m not going to burden her with mine.”

      “Well, you’re lucky. Lots of people don’t have that much.”

      Including him, she guessed, sensing the bitterness behind that comment. He looked down at his notepad and gave his head a slight shake, as if disturbed by his own words. “I’ll get the mug shots,” he said, and pushed his chair back.

      Megan sent another harried glance at the clock. “What are my chances of finding him in there?”

      He shrugged. “Maybe one in fifty.”

      “That’s what I figured.” She stood up, feeling empty-handed without her purse to hang onto. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

      His mouth tightened. “I’m sorry, too. I’d be a little more careful in future, if I were you. If you hadn’t been walking around the city streets with your purse hanging СКАЧАТЬ