Dancing and drinking at Octavia had been a good decision, but the morning after, my head was pounding a whole different decision. Coffee, coffee, coffee. I needed all the espresso shots I could get in, and still, six shots later, it wasn’t enough.
Parking my state-issued sedan, I was walking in when I heard from the side, “Incoming, Montell.”
I ignored him. If I couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see me. I was using my four-year-old reasoning.
Unfortunately, he started walking next to me. “Stopped at Cleo’s, huh?”
I groaned. “Go away, Travis.”
“Why didn’t you get me anything to drink? I could use coffee. Was up late covering your ass, after all.”
Those were fighting words. I ground to a halt and faced him. “What are you talking about?”
The same Derek Travis I texted last night. A PO for the last three years, and I was so beyond his gripes. He was decent with others, so I had to give him that credit, but he went out of his way to make my job difficult.
His smirk was next level. He was wearing shades and his usual work attire: khaki cargo pants and a black long-sleeved shirt under the vest we all wore. “One of your parolees violated last night. He got picked up, tested positive for cocaine and meth. You messed up, Montell.”
See. Busting my balls. I had nothing to do with what my parolee did. “How’d you find this out?”
“I was here when he was brought in. Team Leader wanted an update for the board. He’s doing a call with them, right about now.” He said that so casual and slow as he was pretending to look at his wrist, the one without a watch.
I cursed because this guy. It was none of his business, and our team leader knew that.
Leo should’ve waited for me to let him know what was going on.
I tossed my things in my office and walked right into our team leader’s. “Hey.” A quick head nod to him and I sat down, grabbing the file he had open on his desk.
Leo, short for Leland Aguila, was my boss, but also like a father-slash-mentor to me. He was the reason, or one of the reasons, I came into this line of work. There was a time I needed guidance and I needed the world to make sense again. Leo gave that to me. Because of that, I didn’t like seeing the thin line of disapproval on his flat mouth. Or how the wrinkles on his forehead were pushed together.
He was a big man, over six feet. Two eighty. Bald, because he said this work didn’t allow him to grow any hair, but he kept himself mostly in shape. A solid lineman.
He was putting his phone away. “What are you doing?”
“You’re calling about my guy, right?”
Leo paused, his big head tilting to the side. His eyes gentled. “No. That’s for you to do. You got time. Why are you asking?”
Oh.
I gave a tight shrug. “Travis.”
Understanding dawned. “Ignore him. You know how he is. He wants to get a reaction from you.”
Yeah. I didn’t appreciate it.
Leo gave me a grin and motioned for the door. “Get out of my office, Montell. Go find Officer Hartman and do whatever you both need to do today.”
I gave him a mock salute, which he snorted at, and did just that.
Hearing Val’s tone, hearing the irritation from her, I knew exactly where she was and headed over to her office. She was on the phone but just setting it down. Seeing me, she wheeled back her chair. “Ready?”
Home visits. Not fun.
I clipped my head in a nod. “Ready.”
