“Hon?” Nantz said from the stairs.
He looked over at her. “Captain Grant is here,” she said. “You okay?”
No, he was frustrated.
The captain came down the stairs stiffly, his uniform freshly pressed. Service gave him the only chair and stood by the wall. The captain sat stiffly with a manila folder in his lap, looking more uncomfortable than normal as he surveyed the Mosquito wall map.
“Hard to let go?” the captain said.
“Any word from the federal lab?” Service asked, changing the subject.
“Not as yet. You will take more than a couple of days off,” his boss added in a tone that told Service it was not a request.
“I’m fine,” Service said. He didn’t want people fussing over him. He had been hurt many times and he had always eventually healed.
“Grady,” the captain said, looking directly into his eyes. The use of his given name jolted him. “At our age we can’t be involving ourselves in physical confrontations. Over time we have to learn to use our brains instead of our muscles.”
What was this about? Service wondered. A reprimand?
“By every measure of performance, you should be a captain now, or at least a lieutenant, but until last year you were still a working warden.”
Was he looking for an explanation? “I always liked my job, Captain.” Which was the truth. It was hard enough to look after himself and the Mosquito without having to worry about a bunch of officers.
“That has been self-evident,” Grant said. “It is equally clear to me that you have taken creative steps to ensure that you would never be considered for promotion.”
What the hell did the captain want?
“You have over the course of your career gone out of your way to annoy Lansing and to isolate yourself from the center.”
“Not intentionally,” Service said, beginning to feel defensive. “They didn’t like me. I didn’t like them. It was balanced.”
“Rationalize it any way you like,” the captain said, “but your past behaviors ensured that the overall mission of the department was compromised.”
“Sir?”
“For an organization to function at maximum efficiency and to discharge its mission, it needs to have the right people in the right jobs. You haven’t been in the right job for a long time and despite your denials, I believe that this was a matter of choice. Your selfishness, Grady, affected all of us.”
The rebuke stung. He admired and respected the captain, and was confused by the captain’s disappointment in him. “Sir, why are you telling me this?”
“I am going to retire, Grady. I have recovered most of what was lost from the stroke, but frankly I don’t have the endurance I once had, and I can’t concentrate the way I once could. It’s time for me to step aside and make room for someone who can fully perform.”
Grady Service didn’t know what to say.
“If I were a betting man,” the captain went on, “I would wager on Senator Timms capturing the gubernatorial helm. After she takes office, I will step down.”
“What if she doesn’t win?”
The captain smiled. “She will, Detective. But here is my concern: She is extremely smitten by you and I fear that she will move to appoint you to a position that you do not deserve. You have been a polarizing personality throughout your career.”
“Sir, I haven’t done anything to encourage her attention.”
“I understand that, but I am telling you that while I think you could perform any job in the department, you have not earned it and I expect that when the time comes, you will reject her patronage.”
“Captain, I don’t want another job. You have my word on that.”
Grant nodded crisply. “Good.” He held out the folder. “This is the information on Mr. Toogood.”
“Anything interesting in it?”
“I haven’t looked. I have no idea why you wanted it, or where your mind is these days. You asked for the record and I have now delivered it. I do not want you back on duty until you can assure me that you are feeling closer to normal.”
Service was tempted to object, but said simply, “Yessir.”
He walked upstairs with the captain, who made small talk with Nantz and Walter, and then escorted him to his vehicle. “Our conversation today is a matter of honor,” the captain said. “Just the two of us, man to man. I trust you and depend on you and I know you will never let me down.”
Service found himself staring at the driveway long after the captain was gone.
Nantz prepared a lunch of ravioli with rosemary walnut sauce and brought two bowls down to Service in his basement office. He opened a bottle of 1999 Cima Merlot Montervo and splashed some in two glasses. The wine was new to them, the color rich and red.