Chapter 2

Brian had come home as planned the night before, but Joey noticed he was a little more somber than usual at breakfast the next morning.

"Dad?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

"Just the case I was called out to last night, kiddo," he sighed, sipping coffee. "It's kind of working at me. I think I can see now why Paul threw in the towel and went into the private detective business instead and why Weber retired early after his heart attack." Detective Mike Weber had been Marie's partner at Major Case before a heart attack forced him into early retirement.

"You're sensitive toward people from all walks of life," Joey replied. "That's why it's bothering you."

"It's more than that, sweetheart. Do you remember the judge we had the hearing when I adopted you?"

"Sure," Joey nodded. "One of the happiest days of my life was when he approved you being my new dad. Why? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, but he had a daughter….."

"Yeah, Nikki," Joey cut in. "She's a senior."

"Nikki was murdered," Brian said slowly.

"What? Who'd want to kill Nikki? She's like one of the nicest girls in school. Most of the rich kids are real stuck up and stuff, but Nikki's cool. She showed me around when I started there."

"Apparently either someone wasn't as high on the girl as you are, or the theory I thought about last night was someone did this to get back at the judge."

"You're going to find the scumbag who killed her, aren't you, Dad?"

"I sure hope so, Joey. It's the least I can do to give Judge Galloway and his wife a sense of justice and closure."

"I hope so too. Kind of like how you did when you cleared Paul and saved me. Oh! I forgot to tell you, he called while you were in the shower."

Brian perked up a little. "Did he say what he wanted?"

Joey nodded. "Something about he heard you and Detective Marie got assigned a big case and he might help you all get some information."

"Looks like Paul's going to make one hell of a private dick after all if he heard about this case before Marie and I did."

"He's going to be in the office all day," Joey added. "Call him there."

"I think I'll do that when I get to the precinct," Brian nodded. "This may go easier than I initially thought. Come on, I'll drive you to school. I'll even let you off a block from there so you don't get embarrassed by being seen with your old man."

"Dad!" Joey laughed. "For one, thirty is not old, and second, I'd never be ashamed to be seen with you. And another thing, Chelsea thinks you're hot. I think if she was like ten years older, she'd be great for you."

"Joey, don't start this again," Brian groaned, shaking his head.

"Again? I'm not stopping till you get a nice girl," she grinned, following him out the door as they began their days.

Meanwhile:

Lorelei Covington brought her boss his morning coffee, along with some files that Captain Shields had requested. She had been with the precinct a little over a month; her previous job as a hair salon receptionist had been considerably more low key than what she was doing now, but Captain Shields was a kind—though stern at times—boss, and she also had positive contact with some of the detectives that worked beneath him.

Lorelei had also struck up a work friendship with Marie Davenport, but had found some of the other female detectives a bit distant. She had also been friendly with Mike Weber before his heart attack and subsequent retirement, and also with Paul before he'd chucked his position at Major Case to become a private investigator.

Word around the precinct currently had been the possibility of Paul picking up some work on the Galloway case to help both the detectives working the case and perhaps if and when it made its way to the District Attorney's office.

She had yet to cross paths with Brian; not only had he'd been kept busy working other major cases long before the Galloway one, he'd also had a teenage daughter at home that he was caring for himself. As a child of a single parent, Lorelei could have identified with his plight in that department, though it was common knowledge he and Joey were very close.

Lorelei had seen him a few times from a distance, and of course, she'd gotten the backstory on him from Marie. She couldn't believe he was barely thirty; he looked more like a high school kid, which had been a benefit in his job; Brian could easily fit in everything from a strung out hippie type to a teenage stoner to bust drug dealers, and even as a horny college kid looking for a quick, anonymous hookup with any of the whores milling around the corners in any part of town.

Even when he had been at The Tombs a year before, both Vice and Narcotics still thought nothing of tapping him for undercover drug stings and infiltrating prostitution rings. Since coming to Major Case, however, he had little time to be a narc or posing as a john these days.

Brian was now clearing high-profile homicides and he had quickly become the favorite of Captain Shields. His record of closing homicides had been exemplary since coming to Major Case a year before, and Shields didn't fail to take notice.

The captain hadn't made it known yet, but he had been considering Brian for a promotion before the Galloway murder crossed their desks. Shields figured he would let the kid work one more homicide before breaking the news.