Three Shirt Deal

Chapter 23.

WHEN I GOT HOME, IT WAS AFTER ONE A. M. ALEXA WAS IN BED, but her eyes were wide open. She sat up as I came through the bedroom door. "How come you're still awake?" I asked. "Can't sleep. Gonna get sunk at this review tomorrow. I've got everything set up, ready to go, but I can't remember anything. I can't just be reading facts off a page, I'll look like I don't know anything." She hugged her knees. "Maybe I should just cut to the chase and resign." "Don't say that. That's not what you should do." Then I added, "You want a beer?" "Everything in life can't be fixed by a beer, Shane." "Come on, get up." I handed her the heavy robe and walked out of the bedroom to get the two beers. I met her in the backyard and handed her the can. The canal was dead still. Like glass. As we watched, a lone mallard duck paddled by, breaking the flat mirrored surface and sending a tangle of messy water to both sides of the canal behind him. "You're gonna do fine tomorrow," I told her, but deep down I knew she was headed for a disaster. She had lost her command presence and Tony would pick up on it. "I can't hold it together, Shane. This isn't me, but it is me. It's who I've become. I fired Ellen today." "Oops." "Over nothing. Over not bringing me my lunch on time, which of course she did. It was sitting inside my briefcase with the top closed. Worse still, I kind of remember putting it in there. Jesus. Who puts their just-delivered lunch inside a briefcase? Talk about gimpy behavior." "Did you apologize?" "Yeah. After taking her head off and accepting her resignation, I begged her to stay. She's thinking about it." "After tomorrow, the stress will be off. You'll be better." "By the way, you're not suspended. That's out of policy. I forgot I can't do that until after the Skelly hearing." "I know." "I'll call Cal and unravel that tomorrow." She looked over at me and smiled sadly. "Thank God I still have you." We sat for a minute in awkward silence. Then I asked, "What do you know about Tito Morales?" "Please, not this Hickman thing again." "Did you know he won a million dollars nine months ago in a beer contest?" I held up my can and saluted her. "One of the many benefits of drinking the bubbly. I think he's using the money, or part of it, to fund his current campaign for Mayor. He's renting offices, hiring staff, placing TV ads." "So what?" she said, her voice cold. "Nothing. Just information." I decided to let it drop. "Listen, Alexa. I know Jane is gonna take me all the way to a full B. O. R. Since I have a thick package at PSB, I'll need a great defense." I took a deep breath. "I'd like you to be my defense rep." "What?" "I know the timing sucks, but you'll be out of your review tomorrow and my Skelly hearing is in ten days. I need someone to be there for my supervisor's review. You were the best they ever had down at Internal Affairs. I was wondering if you'd agree to defend me." "I can't defend you, Shane. We're married. I'm your division commander." "Anybody under the rank of captain is eligible." "I'm the head of the Detective Bureau. That makes it an unusual circumstance. I'm invoking that clause." "I just thought…" "Forget it. No way. Not gonna happen." She stood up and looked down at me angrily. "Honestly, Shane, sometimes I wonder what goes through your head. It's inappropriate for a division commander to be a defense rep. Even though I'm only a lieutenant, I'm still the acting head of the Bureau. It would be completely wrong for me to do it. It would skew the entire hearing." "Okay. Sorry I brought it up." "The fact that you even asked with all I'm going through, says so much more than any words could ever say." "You know what it says? It says I still want you on my side. We used to be a great team and I want the team back. I love you, and even though the rest of the department wants to throw you away, I still believe in you enough to put my future in your hands. That's what it says." She stood quietly with her back to me. When she turned, I saw tears running down her face. Then she went quickly inside.