The next day, I made sure Waylon was picked up by his wife, and I had to listen to the verbal onslaught she gave him about his behavior, and how she was going to force him to apologize to the Newtons for making both of them look like fools. I took it upon myself to calm her down before they both left, lest she make a domestic situation that really needed me to step in. I could tell why the poor guy drank so much, but it wasn't much of my business.
An hour later, I got another call that made Maud roll her eyes. I could already tell who was asking for my help, specifically.
"Ginerva?" I sighed.
"Ginerva," Maud confirmed. "She won't see any other officers besides you."
I already knew this, and the reminder didn't make it any better. I took my keys and left the station with regret. Ginerva, or Gigi, as she tried to identify as to make herself sound more 'exotic', was a single woman who opened her house to stray animals. Her M.O. was calling me down to her house to look further into which neighbor stole her handmade garden stones, or which roughian knocked off some paneling from her roof. And once that was over, she'd try to coerce me to stay for tea or whatever baked good she'd just happen to be busying herself with.
I always got a lot of flack from the others whenever they got caught up on her latest scheme. It was funny to them, and I could understand why, but it was terribly annoying and somewhat sad every time I look back on it. I've never recovered from Reneé. Ginerva was absolutely not going to fix that for me.
She was already waiting for me on her front step, in a gaudy long dress and her hair curled. She wore her makeup like a washed-up drug store model from the 70s, and she gave me a wide smile, meeting me halfway down her walkway.
"Chief Swan! Oh, I'm so glad you could take time out of your very busy schedule to-"
"What's the problem this time, Ginerva?" I did my best not to be rude, but I did have a rough morning and my patience was already worn thin for the day.
Nevertheless, she brushed it off with what I'm sure she thought was a charming chuckle. It sounded more like a frog's mating call. "Please, you know you can call me Gigi."
I clenched my jaw and gave her a tight lipped smile. "What can I help you with?"
"Well- you see, I know you're probably going to be a little upset." I already was. "There's been a murder most foul. I've been nursing an injured deer, and before you tell me that it's illegal to keep deer, I know. But I was planning on letting the poor thing go!"
"Ginerva, you don't have a veterinary degree or certifications. You shouldn't be doing this." I reminded her.
She looked down and folded her hands in front of her. "I know. You gonna take me down to the station, Chief?"
"Is that what you called me down here for?"
"No. No, not quite. The injury in question- it was a bite on its shoulder, and get this, Chief." She leaned in closer, making the scent of her essential oils overbearing. "The bite mark is human shaped!"
My thoughts reeled back to the small group of deer I found buried near the reservation. So this was an ongoing thing.
"We've been looking into other incidents like this, so you don't need to worry. But you gotta let that deer go." I shifted back a few inches. "If I catch you with it anywhere near your property, I'm gonna call the ASPCA. Got it?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry. I'm remorsed to say that the deer lost its battle not but this morning," she told me.
I nodded. "Well, then, I'll get it out of here for you."
Her eyes lit up with opportunity that made me immediately regret my choice of words. "Well, while you're here, I just put some coffee on and I have a lot of scones leftover from breakfast. Want to come in for a spell? I promise the cats are well-behaved this time."
"I'm still on duty, I can't stay." It was my excuse every time she asked me something like this.
"What about dinner?" She followed me as I made my way into her backyard to take a look at the deer for myself.
Kneeling down beside the corpse, I looked at the bite mark myself. She was right; it wasn't like any animal attack I've seen before. "Oh, uh...I'm sorry. My daughter just came in from Phoenix and I don't want her to be alone."
"Chief, you're so sweet." Her voice oozed with honey. "Well, if she ever needs a good meal, you can always give me a call."
I stood back up and brushed off my khakis. "Thanks, Ginerva. I'll call in a truck and get this taken care of in an hour or so." Before she could say anything else, I got back to my car and drove off as professionally as I could.
On my way back, I thought back to Bella and took a longer route to drive passed my house. I felt guilty that I was leaving her all alone during the weekend, but when I stopped beside the curb, I saw her truck was gone. All the lights were off as well, so I figured she went out with her new friends. She was fine, she was acclimating well and being social. In relief, I drove back to the station.
Monday came with the first snow of the season, and with the snow came someone who thought they could speed through a red light. I drove down to assess the front of a Camry smashed into a telephone pole, making sure the driver involved made it safely into the ambulance. People still stayed around to watch, and some witnesses to the actual crashed were just checked over for shock or any injuries from when the headlights broke and glass flew yards ahead.
I followed the EMTs to the hospital, another patroller staying behind with the tow truck that showed up. I didn't want to get too much in the way, so I opted to stay outside of the ER until the driver was clear to go. I should have expected to be greeted by a familiar face, but somehow I was still surprised to see Dr. Cullen walk up with a clipboard in his hands.
He smiled again at me, and stopped a foot away. "I didn't expect to see you here, Chief," he told me, his tone pleasant. Was he actually happy to see me here?
"Standard procedure," I explained bluntly at first, relieved that I was able to keep a straight face. "I'm just making sure I've got everything to file out later."
"Lucky for you, there's not too much you need to worry about." He was intentionally vague for the patient's sake, I knew.
I didn't push further about the damage done. Not that I could focus that much, anyway, until I caught myself gazing at his features that seemed too perfect, and I blinked out of it. "There's always a few accidents every year, especially during the beginning," I said to break the silence.
Dr. Cullen gave a soft hum; it almost sounded musical. "I heard your daughter finally arrived last week. How's school treating her?" he asked, turning his eyes to the patient chart.
"Good. At least, that's what she tells me," I responded, smiling more. "She, uh, mentioned that she met your kids. I hope that meant she got along alright with them. You've got a good family."
"Thanks very much." Dr. Cullen gave a closed smile, which somehow he made look natural. "Knowing the good work you do around here, I'm sure Isabella's a great addition to the community."
"Bella," I corrected him quietly, "she just goes by Bella."
"Oh, sorry." There was a beat of silence, and Dr. Cullen lifted his face to look at the double doors in front of us. "Will you be around for much longer? I'm going on my break in fifteen minutes."
My eyes widened in shock. "The paperwork can wait an hour or two," I answered automatically, and I stood back and breathed deeply. My pulse hadn't doubled, but it was certainly faster.
The fifteen minutes that I waited felt like days, but it turned out that Dr. Cullen was able to crunch fifteen into thirteen, as if he wanted to talk to me as soon as he could. He made me a cup of coffee, but not one for himself, and I noticed he'd forgotten to take off his gloves, despite them being clean. For a doctor, I was surprised that he seemed to have an aversion to touch.
"I must admit, I never knew you had a daughter until a few weeks ago, Chief," he told me once we sat down on the bench outside the hospital, protected by a glass pavilion.
I shrugged. "I suppose I was just used to everyone knowing. We don't get newcomers that often," I responded before lightly sipping the coffee. It was sweeter than I'd preferred, but I didn't refuse the kind gesture.
"Is it alright to ask where she lived before coming here?" Dr. Cullen seemed more gentle with the question.
I was somewhat afraid he was going to ask, but I wasn't going to be rude and turn him away. "Her mother lived down in Phoenix, but her new boyfriend travels for his job. Bella likes to be more stable, I guess."
"Military?" he guessed.
"Baseball," I scoffed.
His features softened, and there was a soft gleam in his golden- really golden eyes. Eyes were not naturally that shade of yellow. "Nevertheless, Bella is very lucky to be with you now. I've seen the work you do around here. I particularly enjoyed when you were one of the judges for that log sculpture contest last year."
I scratched the back of my head. "Oh, man, you saw that?" I asked, laughing nervously.
"There are some very talented people with a chainsaw." It almost seemed like he wanted to grin, but he stopped himself.
"Yeah, I guess so." I kept myself from smiling at his voice by sipping more coffee. "Thanks for this, by the way."
Dr. Cullen nodded to me, then glanced down to his watch. "We should probably be getting back to the grind. Thanks for staying to chat."
"My pleasure," I almost went in for a handshake, but I ended up giving him a light pat on the shoulder before standing up. My hand stiffened as it retreated to my side, hoping I didn't cross a boundary.
Dr. Cullen didn't give any sign of discomfort, and he watched me as I walked back to the cruiser. I turned to look at him once I was in the car, but he was gone. I blinked in confusion, but I tried not to think too hard about it, and I savored the next sip of coffee.
Maud took notice right away that I was chipper. "You just excited that you had something worth going out for, Chief?" she asked, leaning her chin in her hand.
I looked back to her in surprise. "Yeah, I guess so. It's boring in this office," I teased her, "Dunno how you stand it."
"The paycheck," she answered with a snicker, and let me get back to my office.
As good as I was feeling, anxiety was also festering in the pit of my chest, as if I wasn't allowed to be this happy. But that didn't make sense to me; I always had a good time with the force on bar nights, or during the small festivals here. I didn't know why I felt wrong this time, and eventually the anxiety won.
When I got home at dark, I was more quiet than usual. Bella didn't seem to mind, fortunately, and after dinner, I did dishes to keep my head clear.