Silent Weapon by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online

resigned expression dragging her usually smiling features into a frown. And I can’t even tell anyone. Helen’s bosom heaved with what was no doubt a put-upon sigh, but then her eyes glittered mischievously. I hate secrets. What fun is knowing something so exciting and not being able to tell anyone? She turned back to her own filing.
    That was another thing. Not that I had done this for the glory, but I had hoped to prove to the world that being deaf didn’t have to mean giving up a noteworthy life. There would be other deaf folks who could benefit from my story. But that wasn’t going to happen, either. Chief Kent had put a gag order on all those involved with Saturday night’s bust. Well, at least, the ones who knew how the events had transpired, including me.
    I couldn’t tell a soul. Of course, my family knew and was fit to be tied. It would have helped tremendously if Chief Kent had kept them out of this. But his concern for my condition and overall safety had preempted that possibility. Sarah Walters, my best friend and sister-in-law, was Chief Kent’s secretary and probably the sole reason I’d been hired in the first place. If I had my guess, keeping my job after this would likely be more associated with Chief Kent wanting to keep his indispensable secretary happy than with the fact that I had helped solve an old homicide case.
    Going home to my small bungalow on Greenview had been wishful thinking last night. My parents had shown up at Chief Kent’s office and insisted I stay the night at their home. The chief hadn’t helped matters by suggesting that it might be a good idea just in case some of Sawyer’s men got wind of my involvement.
    Wasn’t that just the perfect ending to the perfectly hideous day? Going home with my parents like a naughty child. Not that I didn’t love my parents, but I was twenty-nine years old, for Christ’s sake. I was out on my own and a fiercely independent woman for nearly a decade before the loss of my hearing. I wasn’t supposed to be going backward. I need to be my own person…to contribute to the betterment of mankind…at least to some sort of independent future for myself. I might be deaf, but I’m not an invalid! Why couldn’t I get that through their heads? I had to do what I had to do.
    It was the Irish genes I’d inherited from my mother’s side. We both sported the telltale red hair, though hers required a box of Clairol now and then. My mother had absolutely no room to talk about being bullheaded. No one, and I do mean no one, could be more stubborn than my sweetheart of a mother. Why couldn’t she see that I merely needed the same control over my own destiny?
    I trudged back to my desk and grabbed up another armful of files. Oh, well. At least I still had my job. That was something. A smile tickled the corners of my lips. As frightening as parts of my vacation had been, I had to admit, I had loved the thrill of the chase. My blood heated and goose bumps pebbled my skin with the memories. Maybe I could be a cop. There were laws that protected the rights of the physically impaired so they couldn’t be discriminated against. I should look into that avenue. Who said I had to spend the rest of my life in the dungeon beneath Metro filing old cases for the various working divisions? I wanted more.
    Depositing one file after the other into its appropriate drawer envelope, I lost track of time by mulling over the weekend’s events. Detective Barlow was kind of cute, even thoroughly furious as he’d been on Saturday night. I couldn’t help thinking of the way he’d hauled me up against his body to keep me still and quiet. Add strong and well muscled in addition to cute.
    I pushed those foolish thoughts aside. He was probably married, anyway. Besides, after two years I had pretty much figured out that guys didn’t go for deaf chicks. I hadn’t had one offer for dinner or a movie, much less anything else, since losing my hearing. That first year, I had to