Page 6 of Cross & Crown

suspect? “Either way, if he’s a perp or he’s a witness, he’ll need someone on him,” he finally said.

5

Hagan patted Nick’s shoulder. “Great. You go break the

news to him, I’m going to get some coffee.”

Nick glared after his partner as the man lumbered off

toward the nurses’ station. He took a deep breath to steady

himself. It wasn’t his first case back since his surgery, but it was his first case back from behind a desk. He hadn’t been dealing

with people lately so much as paperwork.

The witness looked up when Nick approached, and tried

to straighten his shoulders, but they slumped again, probably

under the weight of his injury and exhaustion.

Nick’s heart went out to him, and he had to fight to keep

his attitude professional. “I’m going to have this officer stay with you in the hospital until they release you. Keep an eye on you. Then he’s going to bring you the station to talk with us a little more. That sound okay?”

The man nodded, then winced and brought his hand up

to his bandage. “You think I’m in danger?”

Nick chewed on his lip for a second. “It’s a real possibility,

I won’t lie.”

“It’s also a possibility I shot those people, isn’t it?”

Nick stared at him, shocked again by the man’s strange

mix of perception and vulnerability. “That is also a possibility, yes.”The witness rubbed a trembling hand over his face. Nick

placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort.

The man reached up and gripped his fingers hard. He didn’t

raise his head or say anything. He just seemed to need the

contact.

“It’ll be okay,” Nick whispered. “We’ll figure this out.”

6

“So, we got the shopkeeper’s daughter coming in to try

to ID the body,” Hagan told Nick, returning from the station

break room with two cups of coffee. They’d been partners for

almost three years and Hagan still couldn’t remember that