Catch Me (Detective D.D. Warren, #6)(13)

D.D. bagged and tagged the note on her front windshield. She placed that on the seat beside her. Then, with Charlie in the back, D.D headed to HQ while working her phone in the front. In a matter of minutes, she was able to establish that Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant worked the comm center for the Grovesnor PD and was not listed on any outstanding warrants. Two points in the girl’s favor, she supposed.

Next up, she checked her messages. One from Alex, just seeing about her day. Second was her mother, and D.D. instinctively cringed. Her parents would be arriving in just two days, Thursday night. Her mother wanted to know if D.D. planned on meeting their plane or was going to force them to find their way to Alex’s house on their own. Her voice made her opinion on the subject clear. Also, the way she said “Alex’s house.”

D.D. cleared the message, didn’t immediately call back.

Not too late to panic, she thought idly. Maybe she, Alex, and baby Jack could all run away and join the circus. Personally, she thought Alex would look handsome in clown stripes, and Jack would be adorable in polka dots. And given the choice between confronting her clearly disapproving You had a baby out of wedlock mother and wearing a red clown nose for the rest of her life…well, D.D. thought that choice was clear.

D.D. sighed. Her parents hated coming north. No doubt, they’d been waiting for her to be a dutiful only child and bring their first grandchild to Florida. But Jack had been born almost four weeks premature, in mid-November versus mid-December. He’d had to spend his first week of life in neonatal intensive care, finishing baking, as her obstetrician had said. D.D. hadn’t been capable of dealing with her parents at that time. She hadn’t even called them until ten days after her own son’s birth, a fairly unforgivable sin, she was informed later. But during those first few days…

By the time the crisis had passed, and D.D. had connected with her parents, it had been Thanksgiving. Too chaotic for travel, her mother informed her, voice filled with disapproval and dismay. D.D.’s selfishness had already cost them the first two weeks of their grandson’s life, and now they’d be forced to delay even longer…

More phone calls, more holiday season churn, more guilt. Until here D.D. was, counting down to her parents’ January 19 Boston flight.

Then her parents, who’d never planned on having kids but late in life ended up with her, and herself, who never planned on having a family but late in life ended up with Jack, could all sit together in one room.

If Alex had any sense at all, he’d start running now.

D.D. neared headquarters, started the search for parking. BPD headquarters was situated in the middle of inner-city Roxbury, where parking spots and drug-free neighborhoods were equally difficult to find. She performed her usual loop. Third time was the charm.

She parked, got out, opened the back door, and contemplated the girl again.

Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant simply climbed out and stood up.

“You don’t talk much,” D.D. said.

“You don’t believe me. What’s there to say?”

D.D. nodded. “Fair enough. Want coffee?” She strode across the street, keeping the girl beside her.

“Yes please. Are you charging me with something?”

“Should I be charging you with something?”

The girl sighed. “Have you spoken to the Grovesnor PD?”

“Yep.”

“Then you know I’m not a total fruitcake.”

“Why’d you leave a note on my windshield?” D.D. asked.

“What note? I didn’t leave a note.”

“Note you watched me bag and tag.”

“Not my note,” the girl said. “Didn’t even see it, let alone know that car was your vehicle. Trust me, to us non-law-enforcement types, all Crown Vics look alike.”

D.D. didn’t comment, but thought it was a fair observation. In a street chock-full of police cruisers and Crown Vics, had the author of the note known enough to target D.D.’s car specifically, or a detective’s vehicle generally? Something to consider for later.

D.D. escorted Charlie inside HQ, then upstairs to homicide. The homicide department was a nice space, D.D. always thought. More business suite than gritty cop show set. As a squad leader, D.D. had her own tiny office, complete with a laminated wood desk, laptop, and plush black leather desk chair. Very civilized.

D.D. didn’t take her charge there, but instead led Charlie to a small interview room, where she took the girl’s coat, then plunked her down at the table. D.D. went off in pursuit of beverages. Coffee for the girl, which made D.D. waver, eye the pot. But no, she’d been decaffeinated this long, she could make it another hour.

She’d initially given up coffee during her pregnancy, or rather, Jack had rebelled so insistently she couldn’t stomach the dark brew. Then, she’d stayed off the caffeine as she’d breast-fed for the first six weeks, surprising herself by desperately wanting to nurse, and had only weaned Jack at the six-week mark because she had to return to work and no way her schedule allowed for all that pumping and stuff other working moms heroically endured.

She missed it. Didn’t talk about it, not even to Alex, because what could she say? She had to return to work. So her baby took a bottle and was now being watched eight hours a day by a nice lady down the street. That was life. If D.D. could walk a homicide scene, surely she could handle parenthood.