Like that’s ever gonna happen, he thought to himself as he hung up. Though he was extremely organized in his professional life, he was extremely disorganized at home. He was considered the slob of the family. When he was a boy, his room always looked like a cyclone had hit. He’d gotten better about all that, though. He’d hired a cleaning crew to blitz his apartment every other week. One of the women even did his grocery shopping and made sure his refrigerator was stocked with all his favorite foods. She was an expensive luxury, but one he’d hate to do without.

She couldn’t go with him to the academy, however, and for those seventeen weeks, he was going to have to shape up. That seemed tougher to him than any obstacle course.

Alec felt good about his decision. He knew he was going to miss Chicago, and he had absolutely no guarantee that when he graduated from the academy, he’d be assigned to the Boston office. Ward had told him it was as good as guaranteed, but Alec wasn’t banking on it.

He decided to stop by Human Resources and give his notice before seeing Lewis. The woman behind the desk was a real sweetheart who had been with the department for close to twenty years. She wore such thick bifocals her eyes looked milky and twice their size.

She smiled and shook her head the minute she spotted him. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, no, what?”

“You can’t put in for a transfer. I mean, you could, but it’s not going to go anywhere. Lewis has made it abundantly clear that he needs you in his department.” Her voice softened as she added, “Which means he wants you under his thumb. I’m sorry, Alec. I think just about everyone knows what a worm he is, but he’s got seniority and his wife has connections, if you get my drift. We’re not going to be able to get rid of him unless he really screws up.”

“I understand. You are going to get rid of me, though. I’m giving my notice today. What papers do I need to fill out?”

She became teary-eyed. “I hate to see you go. You’re one of the good ones.” She pulled a tissue out of the box she kept on her desk and dabbed her eyes. “It’s like the old song Billy Joel sings. You know, only the good die young.”

He rolled his eyes. “Hell with that. I’m not planning to die young.”

“But you’re leaving.” She sniffed as she opened a file drawer and pulled out the necessary papers.

Resigning turned out to be more complicated than Alec had anticipated. There were all sorts of forms to fill out and a long conference with the commander, who was determined to talk him into staying. What Alec had naively estimated would only take a couple of minutes dragged on for over an hour.

By the time he got back to the office, Lewis had worked himself into a fury. He was on the phone, but the second he spotted Alec making his way across the room, he jumped up and angrily motioned for him to come in.

Alec was halfway there when his cell phone rang. He knew it couldn’t be Lewis’s assistant calling him yet again because he’d just passed the man on the steps.

Gil was calling. The second he heard Alec’s voice he exclaimed, “Say it isn’t so.”

Alec was impressed. “How did you find out so soon?”

“You know me. I’ve got my sources. It’s true then? You’re really leaving the department?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m about to go in and tell Lewis. I’ll call you later.”

He ended the call and walked into Lewis’s office. The lieutenant had a white-knuckle grip on the receiver. Alec shoved his hands in his pants pockets and patiently waited until he ended the conversation.

“Yes, sir,” Lewis said, his voice a tight whisper.

The call finally ended. As Lewis slammed the phone down, Alec casually asked, “You wanted to see me?”

“You know damn well I want to see you,” Lewis shouted. “I’ve been waiting for over an hour. My reasons have changed, however.”

He stood there glaring at Alec for what seemed like a full minute. Alec wasn’t fazed. He simply stared back.

“You resigned.”

“Yes.”

The vein running down Lewis’s forehead began to pulsate.

“And you didn’t think you owed it to me to give me your notice first? I had to find out about it over the phone from my superior?”

By the time he finished his question he was bellowing. The vein in his forehead was going wild. Alec couldn’t stop staring at it. If Lewis had a heart attack and suddenly stopped breathing, would Alec give him CPR? Hmm… definitely a tight call, Alec thought.

He continued to contemplate the philosophical dilemma while Lewis ranted and raved.

“Do you know what that made me look like? Emmett is furious with me,” he said, referring to the area commander.

Alec shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you,” he drawled. He’d be damned before he’d apologize for making the jerk look bad.

Three more weeks with Lewis calling the shots suddenly seemed like an eternity, and Alec wondered if he could make it. He could barely stomach looking at the man. Lewis looked and acted like a freak. Vain to a fault, he always had a deep tan, no doubt from the tanning bed it was rumored he slept in at night. His exceedingly bright white capped teeth made his scowl all the more garish.

“I gave three weeks’ notice,” Alec said. “But if you’d like me to leave now, that’d be fine with me.”

“You’ve put me in a hell of a spot.”

“How’s that?”

“Emmett told me I had to talk you into staying. He seems to think you’re an asset. Needless to say, I don’t share that opinion.”

Alec shook his head. “My mind’s made up.”

Lewis slapped his palms down on his desk and leaned forward. “You know what your problem is, Buchanan? You’re not a team player.”

If the goal of the team was to make Lewis look good, then no, Alec decided, he wasn’t a team player.

“Do you want me to stay for three more weeks, or do you want me to leave now? It doesn’t matter to me.”

“You stay,” Lewis snapped. He sat down heavily behind his desk and began to push folders around, obviously trying to give the impression he was a busy man. He opened one and closed it. Reaching for another, he said, “You can clean out your files. Give whatever you’ve got pending to me, and I’ll distribute them to my loyal detectives.”

Alec wanted to ask who those men might be, but he didn’t think it was a good idea to antagonize Lewis, who could and would make his life miserable.

Without looking up, the lieutenant said, “For the next three weeks, you sit at your desk. You can do the phone work for Wincott.”

“Phone work for Wincott? What exactly does that mean?”

“It means you can answer the damn phone, and if Wincott needs any help, you’ll help,” he said. “From your desk.”

The urge to punch him was getting stronger. Alec was leaving when Lewis asked, “Do you have another job lined up?”

“Yes.”

“In Chicago?”

“No.”

He didn’t offer any more information, and Lewis didn’t press. Alec went to his desk and began to sort through his files. John Wincott came rushing across the room. He and Alec went way back. They had gone through the police academy together and had become good friends, but they hadn’t worked together until recently. Wincott used to be able to drink him under the table. Alec thought maybe he still could.

“Man, do you look bad.”

Alec wasn’t exaggerating. Wincott looked as if he hadn’t had any sleep in a decade. There were fat bags under his eyes and deep creases running down the length of his cheeks. He was only a couple of years older than Alec, but at the moment he looked ancient.

Wincott ignored the comment about his appearance.

“Did you get my message about the e-mail Regan Madison received?” Alec asked.

“Yes,” Wincott answered. “And I’ll be happy to talk about it in a minute. First, I want to ask you something. Is it true? You’re leaving the department?”

Alec nodded. “Yes.” His chair squeaked when he leaned back. “I was going to call you and tell you, but I guess Gil beat me to it.”