Dangerous Testimony

“Retired, Dev. You can call me Marco.”

“Once a chief, always a chief.”

Marco smiled. “Got something for me?”

“Yes, sir. Waiting at the Party Palace to brief you.”

“See you in ten.”

“The Party Palace?” Candace said, when he disconnected. “Isn’t it more like a safe house?”

“Dev has a keen wit.”

“Keener than yours?”

“You always say I have no sense of humor whatsoever.”

“Could be I’m wrong about you.”

“Could be.” He was pleased that she could still smile, even after the grenade incident. Candace Gallagher was an incredible woman.

They rolled up the steep drive and he noted the beach house was all but hidden from the road by a grove of enormous trees that had been left to grow without the benefit of trimming. It was a two-story structure, with a basement, and a covered garage so full of his buddy Pete’s boats and Jet Skis that there was no way to get Marco’s truck inside. He didn’t see any sign of Dev’s vehicle, but that did not surprise him. Dev rode a fast motorcycle and it was undoubtedly concealed somewhere nearby.

Tracy had awakened and she and Bear catapulted from the car.

“Where’s the beach? Can we go find shells?”

He laughed. “Let’s get you settled in right now, okay? We’ll talk about the beach tomorrow when it’s daylight.”

Tracy raced Bear to the front door and Dev let them in. Marco introduced them. Tracy went wide-eyed at the sight of Dev, a tall African American with a monstrous beard and a set of shoulders almost as wide as Marco’s.

He greeted them with hearty handshakes. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Gallagher and other Ms. Gallagher.”

Tracy giggled.

Candace smiled. “You can call me Candace.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Gallagher,” he said, still grinning.

“I haven’t had any luck, either,” Angela said. “I’ve talked him down from Captain. Now he calls me Captain Ma’am.”

Dev nodded, eyes shifting to Marco. “Chief, message from Ms. Donna Gallagher at the detective office.”

“What is it?”

“DA needs to go over Ms. Gallagher’s testimony Monday at ten. He’ll be at the county courthouse in Long Beach.”

“All right,” Marco said. “Thoughts?”

“You lead, I’ll follow and check for tails.”

“Recon?”

“Conference room is on the ground floor, six exits. Metal detectors and security checkpoint in the lobby.”

“Got all that already?”

He shrugged. “I’m good. What can I say?”

“Don’t let it go to your head. Tracy?”

“Will stay put with Captain Ma’am. Coastie’s arriving soon. Can he handle himself?”

Marco recalled how Brent had survived a beating and a hostile surf that would have killed most men, long enough to save his sister’s life and probably Donna’s. “Yeah, he can handle himself.”

“I’ll put him on a radio.”

“And Angela can take care of herself, too. She’s navy, after all,” Marco said.

Angela sighed. “A chaplain, but I had the obligatory combat training. I’m probably best at calling for help.”

“Don’t let her fool you, Dev. All the Gallagher sisters are made of tough stuff.”

“I don’t doubt it, Chief. They put up with you, after all.”

“Funny,” Marco said, as Candace and Angela laughed.

“What’s the code name for Ms. Gallagher?” Dev said.

“It should be Gumdrop,” Angela said promptly. “That was her nickname as a kid.”

Candace groaned. “You know how many years it took to get everyone to forget that nickname?”

“Gumdrop,” Dev said. “Got it.”

Candace glared at her sister.

“It’s better than mine,” Angela said. “Behind my back, they called me Giraffe when I was deployed. Something about my height.”

“Gonna tell them your nickname, Chief?” Dev said, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Negative, and if you’d like to keep breathing, you won’t, either.”

Dev laughed. “You’re the boss.”

To preempt the question from coming out of Candace’s mouth, Marco said, “How about I cook up some spaghetti for dinner? I have some supplies in the truck.”

“Men who can cook, not bad,” Candace said. “We’ll go set the table.” She shot him a sly look. “But don’t think I’m going to forget about that nickname. I’ll get it out of Dev yet.”