Troop 18 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  By the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  About the Author

  Books Available from Bold Strokes Books

  Troop 18

  Andy can’t seem to stop worrying about Kate. Instead of obsessing over things she can’t control, Andy takes on a unique case involving a troubled troop of cadets from the RCMP training academy. The troop is tightly bonded, especially since the recent death of a fellow cadet. They are also hiding a secret, and Andy has been tasked with uncovering it. When Kate unexpectedly shows up as part of the team supporting the troop, Andy has to find a way to balance her job and her heart. As the conspiracy is exposed, a medical emergency brings Kate and Andy closer together even as the troop begins to fall apart.

  Troop 18

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  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

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  Troop 18

  © 2017 By Jessica L. Webb. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-935-8

  This Electronic book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.,

  New York, USA

  First Edition: March 2017

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Jerry L. Wheeler

  Production Design: Susan Ramundo

  Cover Design By Melody Pond

  By the Author

  Trigger

  Pathogen

  Troop 18

  Acknowledgments

  A big thank you to my readers for loving Kate and Andy as much as I do. It’s a huge gift to know that people have connected with these characters and keep coming back to find out more about their story.

  Thank you to everyone at Bold Strokes Books for helping Kate and Andy find a home.

  As always, special thanks to my editor, Jerry. Your insight makes me a better writer.

  Dedication

  For my wife, Jen. Your gift to the world is living a life full of confidence. I am happy I get to witness it every day. I am learning.

  Chapter One

  Andy walked into the diner, the bell on the door jangling its unacceptably cheery welcome. She shrugged off the momentary dip in conversation as a half dozen diners looked up to see who had joined them at this late hour. Andy sensed mostly curiosity. A few people shifted in their seats in an unnecessary effort to show their good behaviour and lack of guilt. Andy normally found that response amusing, but right now she didn’t care. Right now she just needed somewhere to sit and something to eat.

  Andy walked to the back corner near the windows, one hand resting deliberately on the belt at her hips. She sat down, placing her RCMP hat on the opposite seat. It didn’t matter, she was eating alone. Again. Andy pulled the menu out from behind the ketchup, sugar, and vinegar and fought the urge to put her head in her hands, to feel the pressure of the pads of her thumbs pressing on her eyes. Instead she scanned the menu quickly.

  She knew they were out of Vancouver because they didn’t have artisanal bread, a gluten free section, or an organic stamp of approval. Just sandwiches, burgers and fries, two fifty extra for a side salad. Andy slid the menu back and looked out at the headlights of cars coming down off the highway, most of them too fast on this bend, so close to Vancouver, so close to home. She’d parked her car so the drivers could spot the reflective letters of her cruiser. She didn’t have jurisdiction to pull over a speeder, but she hoped it would pull their foot off the accelerator, even just until they were off the mountain.

  “Hey there, what can I get for you?”

  Andy had heard the waitress approach, but she’d kept her eyes turned until the last possible moment. The waitress was in her early twenties with short, spikey, unnaturally black hair, and a smile she was working to the best of her late night diner waitress ability. Andy felt the girl’s slick look of approval. The waitress cocked one hip in Andy’s direction, her eyes widening with interest, the curled corners of her black eyeliner making her look especially young. Andy wanted to sigh, stand up, and walk out. She wasn’t sure she had the patience for this.

  “Club sandwich on whole wheat and a coffee, thanks,” Andy said, her tone polite and completely unengaged.

  “Sure thing,” the waitress said, still trying. She wrote down the order, pushed the notepad into the back pocket of her too tight jeans and headed to the rear of the diner. If Kate were here, Andy would have bet her money the waitress was right now sauntering back to the kitchen, showing off her inked back, a suggestively placed tramp stamp showing just above the waist of her jeans.

  Kate.

  Against her will, Andy’s shoulders slumped slightly. No one would notice, but the momentary lapse of control made Andy feel weak. She deliberately squared her shoulders again, clenched her jaw, and watched the headlights on the highway descend the gradual slope of the mountain.

  Seven weeks. Forty-six days since Kate had walked out of the hotel room in Hidden Valley where they had just solved their second case together. Kate had asked for time, and Andy had given it willingly because she had seen Kate struggling—the nightmares, the uncertainty, how she avoided certain topics. How she continually pushed herself for everyone else, including putting her life in danger. But she never paused to think about how it impacted herself. Kate never thought about Kate.

  Andy did. All the time. She’d never stopped, really. From the moment she’d walked into Kate’s ER almost seven months ago, Kate had taken up residence in Andy’s thoughts and in her heart. She’d moved in so easily, so unconsciously Andy had almost been unaware of how quickly she had fallen for Kate Morrison.

  Andy wished she could smile and feel comforted by the memories of their first few weeks together. How Andy’s heart had hammered in her chest every time Kate came anywhere near her, how she’d seen the same reaction in Kate’s wide, brown eyes, and how hard it had been to resist touching her. Andy wished she could close her eyes, sink into the thought…

  The waitress intruded on Andy’s thoughts. “Here you go. Club sandwich on whole wheat and a coffee.” Andy berated herself for not hearing the waitress approach. She hadn’t had time to bring herself back together. “Sugar’s on the table, and I’ll bring you some cream. Though I’ve decided you aren’t exactly the cream type,” the waitress said, flirting shamelessly now.

  Andy’s anger kicked her in the stomach, but she tightened her muscles against it. Control. “This is fine, thanks.” Polite, aloof, not a hint of a smile.

  The waitress hung around a few seconds too long, waiting for Andy to look up. She didn’t, dismissing her with absolute silence and hoping to God she would get the message. Andy’s patience was thin these days. Her anger was consistently too close to the surface, triggered too quickly by too trivial things.

  It wasn’t hard to figure o
ut why. Andy knew she could give Kate all the time and space in the world if only she could be sure Kate would come back to her in the end, forgiving Andy for all the things she had done to push her away. Andy’s certainty slipped a little more with each day that passed. She had initially thought it would be a few weeks, a month at the most. And here she was, December first, staring down the holidays, and Andy had been sure she would have heard from Kate by now. Something. Anything.

  Andy bit into her sandwich, not tasting it. Fourteen hours into a ten hour shift, and her body was hungry, empty. She was out on the edges of Vancouver closing up a domestic assault call which had turned into a drug bust that rippled over into the outer boundaries of Vancouver. Andy had been on the first call and was waiting around for the initial evidence gathering at the crime scene so it could be officially handed over to the Greater Vancouver Drug Enforcement Section. She should have given the job to a less senior officer. In fact, the look on the constable’s face as she told him she’d stay up here and wait was nothing less than incredulous. Andy didn’t care. She had her reasons for not wanting to go home.

  The last bite of sandwich sat on the plate, surrounded by a pile of pale fries Andy had no intention of eating. She picked up the coffee, staring blankly out the window, counting cars and wondering how long she could sit here with herself.

  Her cell phone rang. Andy immediately clenched her stomach muscles again, preparing to not see Kate’s number on the screen. It was her boss, Staff Sergeant James Finns.

  “Wyles,” she said into the phone. She pushed back her plate, hoping the waitress would come to clear it while she was on the phone so she had an excuse not to engage.

  “Where are you, Sgt. Wyles?” Finns sounded angry, which was uncharacteristic. Her supervisor was usually even-keeled, no matter what Andy threw at him.

  “Half an hour north-west of Abbotsford, waiting to hand over the investigation to the DE guys,” Andy told him.

  “And may I ask why Constable Jones is enjoying a night off while you’re working overtime? Again?”

  Shit. This wasn’t good. “Thought I’d be nice,” Andy said.

  “Nice would be if you could put in a regular work week so I don’t have to keep submitting reports to explain your time extensions.”

  Andy didn’t say anything, waiting for the directive she could sense coming.

  “Constable Jones is on his way back. You’re off the case, you’re off shift. I don’t want to see you until Monday morning, Wyles. Got it?”

  “Sir…” Andy wanted to reason with him. The thought of two days off was awful.

  “Don’t argue, it won’t get you anywhere. You haven’t had a weekend off in almost three months.” Andy heard him take a breath. His voice had lost the edge of anger by the time he spoke. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, Andy, but take these two days and come back for a new assignment on Monday.”

  Andy hated that he could see through her, that he was changing her schedule based on her personal life, not on the merits of her work. Andy wanted to shift against that feeling of weakness again. She sat perfectly still. Just one more try.

  “Let me wrap this up, Staff Sgt. Finns. It’s just a few hours—”

  He cut her off again. “No, you’re off shift. Make me repeat it again, and I’ll write you up.”

  Andy was shocked. Her supervisor had never spoken to her like this, but she’d never given him a reason to before.

  “You have two choices. Take the weekend off and meet me in my office at eight o’clock Monday morning or keep pushing and meet the staff psychologist at eight o’clock Monday morning.”

  Not really a choice, then. “See you Monday,” Andy said shortly. She couldn’t make a graceful exit from this conversation.

  “See you Monday.” The phone went dead.

  Andy hit the disconnect button and spun the phone in her hands a few times, a habit she hadn’t gotten around to breaking yet. Then she stood and walked directly to the cash register near the front door, deciding not to wait for her cheque. The owner himself came out to serve her, smiling ingratiatingly, shifting uncomfortably. Andy paid in cash while the man fidgeted, his cheap white button-up shirt stained and frayed at the edges. Andy looked around out of habit more than interest until she saw the liquor license in its plastic frame behind the till. Expired six months ago. The owner handed Andy her change. She wanted to explain to him exactly how little she cared about his expired liquor license, how it barely registered on her radar. How so little mattered because Kate had been gone for forty-six days.

  Weak.

  Leaving a tip at the register, Andy pushed her hat back on her head and left, the bells jangling her exit. As she walked to the car, she unconsciously scanned the parking lot, probing the night beyond the pools of light surrounding the diner. Nothing moved except the cars down the highway. Andy pulled herself into the cruiser, jammed her keys into the ignition and sat. Where to go? Not home, not back to her apartment. She checked her watch. Already half past midnight. She thought about phoning Jack, knew he’d still be awake trying to hack the universe. But Andy wasn’t sure she could handle his unabashed optimism. No matter how much Andy glared at him, she couldn’t shake his certainty that Kate would be back. It drove her crazy, but it was also a relief. Andy relied on her partner more than she let on.

  The only other person she knew would be awake at this hour was her best friend, Nic. Brilliant, funny, more energy than three people, Nic. Andy pulled out her phone and thumbed her a text. Nic and her partner Erika had a nine-month-old son, Max, Andy’s chubby, spirited godson. She didn’t want to phone the house and risk waking anyone. Approximately fifteen seconds after she hit send, her cell rang.

  “Andy, what’s shaking?” Nic said as soon as she heard Andy pick up.

  “Nothing, really. Stuck in my cruiser outside Abbotsford, and I needed someone to talk to,” Andy said staring out the windshield.

  “Oooh, want me to Google Abbotsford gay night life? I’m sure I could find you something,” Nic said excitedly and Andy could already hear her tapping at the keys of her laptop.

  “No, Nic, I’m not looking for a bar.”

  “Why not? You’re young and hot and you wear a uniform. I’m disappointed in how seldom you put these assets to good use.”

  “I’m not exactly single,” Andy reminded her with a sharp voice, her fingernail digging into the soft plastic of the steering wheel. Nic knew about Kate, and she knew how Andy felt about her. Andy had never introduced them though, having been protective of Kate and their time together.

  “You’re not exactly not.”

  “Look, I’ve already fended off one baby dyke tonight, I’m really not looking for a repeat. I just…” Andy had no idea how to finish the sentence.

  “You’re just wallowing.”

  “I don’t wallow.”

  “Yeah, well I said I’d never produce offspring. Love makes us do crazy shit.”

  “I thought you taught political science, not philosophy,” Andy said. Nic was an associate professor at UBC and had been a graduate student and assistant coach for the women’s basketball team when Andy was on the team as an undergrad.

  “You’re a funny girl, Andy. Now, get off the phone, find a radio station that will drive you absolutely mad, preferably something with a gyrating bass, and then drive home.”

  “That’s the last place I want to go, Nic.” Andy hated how vulnerable she sounded, but surely it was allowed with her best friend.

  “I meant your parents’ place. You’re less than an hour away, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then go! You know your dad will be thrilled to see you, and your mom will love nothing more than to spend a few hours using her x-ray vision on you all the while cooking the most incredible food and spoiling you like the youngest and favouritist child that you are.”

  Andy cracked a smile. It wasn’t a bad idea, really. “Fine, I’ll go.”

  “Good. Say hi to the folks. Come over when you’re
back in town. We’ve got a bottle of wine with your name on it.”

  “Okay—”

  “Wait! Hang on.” Andy could hear her moving through their loft apartment, opening a cupboard, then muttering quietly under her breath. “A…N…D…okay, wait…there! Now the Bin 50 shiraz has Andy, Queen of Wallowing written on it. So you know which one to open when you come over.”

  “Nic…” Andy said, only half pissed off.

  “What? You prefer king? Chancellor?”

  “Bye, Nic.”

  “Be good to yourself.”

  Andy turned the key in the ignition, checked the traffic both ways and pulled onto the highway, heading towards her parents’ house. Nic may be a pain in the ass, but they’d been friends a long time, and she knew her almost better than anybody. Nic had always looked out for Andy without babying her, something Andy detested.

  Andy didn’t take Nic’s advice about the radio, instead turning up the heater and opening her window halfway, creating a natural white noise. This stretch of highway didn’t have much scenery—mostly subdivisions and small towns, but a few early Christmas lights shone optimistically into the night. As she often did, Andy remembered Jack driving Kate home from Hidden Valley while she had stayed through the painfully long process of booking their suspect. Andy had quizzed Jack relentlessly after, wanting to know if Kate had said anything on the drive, how she looked, any indication how she was doing. As if Jack could predict the trajectory of Kate’s breakdown any better than Andy could. Apparently Kate had done almost nothing the entire two hour drive except cry, not letting Jack talk or comfort her. As Jack had pulled up outside her apartment, Kate had looked stricken, and she’d asked him to drive to her mom’s place. Then, she asked Jack to have Andy find her sister’s silver ring, the one Kate had accidentally left in an on-call room at Valley General Hospital.