Love You More (Tessa Leoni, #1)(62)

“Not all women feel like doing the paperwork.”

Hamilton didn’t like this assertion. His face shuttered up, he looked intimidating, harsh even.

“At the barracks level,” he stated crisply, “we encouraged Leoni’s commanding officer to create more opportunities for her to feel included. Let’s just say it met with mixed results. No doubt it is difficult to be the lone female in a dominantly male organization. On the other hand, Leoni herself did not appear inclined to bridge the divide. To be blunt, she was perceived as a loner. And even officers who made an effort to befriend her—”

“Such as Trooper Lyons?” D.D. interrupted.

“Such as Trooper Lyons,” Hamilton agreed. “They tried and failed. Teamwork is about winning the hearts and minds of your fellow officers. In that regard, Trooper Leoni got it half right.”

“Speaking of hearts and minds.” Bobby sounded apologetic, as if sorry to reduce the LT down to the level of gossipmonger. “Any reports of Leoni being involved with another officer? Or perhaps an officer who was interested in her, whether she returned the interest or not?”

“I did some asking. Trooper Leoni’s closest associate seems to be Trooper Shane Lyons, though that relationship is more through the husband than Leoni.”

“Did you know him?” D.D. asked curiously. “The husband, Brian Darby? Or her daughter, Sophie?”

“I knew them both,” Hamilton answered gravely, surprising her. “At various cookouts and family functions over the years. Sophie is a pretty little girl. Very precocious, that’s my memory.” He frowned, seemed to be wrestling with something inside himself. “You could tell Trooper Leoni loved her very much,” he said abruptly. “At least, that’s what I always thought when I saw them together. The way Tessa held her daughter, doted on her. The thought …”

Hamilton looked away. He cleared his throat, then clasped his hands on the desk before him. “Sad, sad business,” the LT murmured to no one in particular.

“What about Brian Darby?” Bobby asked.

“Knew him even longer than Tessa. Brian was a good friend of Trooper Lyons. He started appearing at cookouts a good eight, nine years ago. Even joined us a couple of times to see the Boston Bruins, attended poker night every now and then.”

“Didn’t know you and Trooper Lyons were so close,” D.D. stated, arching a brow.

Hamilton gave her a stern look. “If my troopers invite me to a function, I always try to attend. Camaraderie is important, not to mention that informal gatherings are invaluable for keeping the lines of communication open between troopers and the chain of command. Having said that, I probably join Trooper Lyons and his ‘posse,’ as he calls them, three or four times a year.”

“What did you think of Brian?” Bobby asked.

“Followed hockey, also liked the Red Sox. Made him a stand-up guy in my book.”

“Talk to him much?”

“Hardly at all. Most of our outings were of the male-bonding variety—catching a game, playing a game, or betting on a game. And yes,” he turned to D.D. as if already anticipating her complaint, “it’s possible such activities made Trooper Leoni feel excluded. Though from what I remember, she also follows the Red Sox, with the whole family attending many of the games.”

D.D. scowled. She hated it when she was so transparent.

“And Trooper Leoni’s alcoholism,” Bobby asked quietly. “That ever come up?”

“I was aware of the situation,” Hamilton replied just as evenly. “To the best of my knowledge, Leoni had successfully completed a twelve-step program and remained on track. Again, no history of incidents or complaints.”

“What about that whole matter of her shooting and killing someone when she was sixteen?” D.D. asked.

“That,” Hamilton said heavily, “is gonna bite us on the ass.”

The bluntness of his statement took D.D. by surprise. She had a moment, then got it. The press digging deeper into Boston’s latest femme fatale, demanding to know what the state police were thinking, hiring a trooper who already had a history of violence …

Yep, the LT would have a lot of explaining to do.

“Look,” the commanding officer said now. “Trooper Leoni was never charged with a crime. She met all of our candidacy requirements. To refuse her application—that would’ve been discrimination. And for the record, she passed the Academy with flying colors and has performed exemplary in the line of duty. We had no way of knowing, no way of anticipating.…”

“You think she did it?” D.D. asked. “You knew her husband, her child. Think Tessa killed them both?”

“I think the longer I stay in this job, the less I’m surprised by all the things that should surprise me.”

“Any talk of marital problems between her and Brian?” Bobby asked.

“I would be the last to know,” Hamilton assured him.

“Noticeable changes in behavior, particularly the past three weeks?”

Hamilton tilted his head to the side. “Why the past three weeks?”

Bobby merely studied his superior officer. But D.D. understood. Because Brian Darby had only been home for the past three weeks, and according to his personal trainer, he’d returned from his last tour of duty not very happy with life.