Temporary Partner

PTE

k for a Saturday evening. The sun sat low in the sky, blinding me as I drove towa

e Road West. Expecting Eden, I pressed

al

s Edw

me back. She's at Sick Kids. They admitted Delilah

nts can't

oing well. She sounded rough, and she woul

ent, trying to raise a chronically sick seven-year-old girl while still working as a detective with the missing persons unit. More and more, it in

or one lifetime, and I didn't have it in

nothing. But if it's as sketchy as you made it sound and Peel's right ab

d Peel has all available re

not th

Valor. I'm do

s flashing, traffic at a standstill as every car entering or exiting the

t me through, then weaved through standing t

I'll be in touch.

constable made his way toward me, ducking his head an

Quaid Valor. MPU. Got a call asking me

ck on. "Yup. Down on Maple Avenue of all places. Can you believe it? You're looki

ank

ockade, backing up a few

the Charger's motion cool my heated skin instead of the air-conditioning

n either side, and large houses sat at the end of groomed lawns. It was

he need to pack in more and more people meant living like sardines in a can, butting u

tory residence in question. There was a double attached garage, floor-to- ceiling windows across the front of the dwelling, stone pillars holding up a covered entryway, and a large, raised garden bed with colorf

de, cutting knifelike through the once

ted many sleepless nights and was one of the unpleasant aspects of the job. The expell

glancing at the surrounding neighborhood as I approach

ydro pole. A hand-painted sign hung on the post at an awkward angle, to

had shown up. In the other direction, a lawn maintenance company's vehicle was parked on the side of the r

oop of another house, whispering to e

off, and a stocky man with thinning auburn hair, pudgy

ective Quaid Valor, MPU. I was to

wn the path at a jog. He was bald, his head glistening with sweat. Broad shoulders sat above solid

r." I held out a hand, and

onded to the call. He was in over his head in an instant and called me.

have w