Belonging Read Free Page B

further increase and I'm afraid
we'd have a tax revolt on our hands."
    It was no more than he'd expected. But Matt
could live with the budget as it was, though he planned to do a
little juggling before it was submitted to the council in final
form. The dispatching system could stand to be further automated,
and he wanted to increase public awareness of crime prevention
through security surveys and neighborhood watch associations.
    "Sam did his best to make the proposal
something the next chief could live with," she added.
    The next chief? Her choice of words reminded
Matt once more that he wasn't the one she had wanted in the
position. "Sam seems to have done an excellent job," he remarked.
"Very well liked, I'd say." He shifted in his chair, aware of the
speculative blue eyes focused on his face. "It was thoughtful of
you to send me the budget proposal in the first place," he
continued. Just to throw her off balance, he gave her a slight
smile. "But no one likes having the bomb dropped on him at the last
minute."
    There it was again—the feeling that this
conversation was double-edged. Angie's eyes narrowed. She wasn't
the type to avoid a confrontation—if that's what the two of them
were having. She had the distinct impression it was.
    Raising fine arched brows, she leaned back in
her chair. "Is there something else on your mind?"
    The directness of the question caught him off
guard, but Matt was growing accustomed to her cool, calm tone.
Somehow it only reinforced his impression that she had about as
much warmth in her veins as an iceberg at the North Pole. He
seriously doubted that Mayor Angie Hall had a loving bone in her
body!
    Not that he'd known an overabundance of that
emotion himself, Matt thought dryly. He certainly hadn't while he
was growing up on Chicago's South Side. He suspected he'd known
even less while he was married to Linda. Still, although he'd grown
rather cynical over the years, he'd never thought of himself as
being incapable of loving. He wasn't sure who was worse—the woman
sitting primly in front of him or the old battle-ax who stood guard
outside her door.
    "We can't all be top dog like you, Ms Mayor,"
he said mildly, crossing his long legs at the knee, he gave her
back stare for stare. "But politicians are generally known for
their ability to do quite well at double-talk."
    "So I've heard." Her tone was flat. "You're
not looking at one, however."
    Matt smiled.
    Angie began to steam. She could almost
suspect that he knew
    "Your point, Chief Richardson," she said
through tightly compressed lips. "You do have one?"
    Chief Richardson. Somehow it didn't sound
nearly as satisfying coming from her lips as it had from Margie's.
Matt shrugged and looked up into his boss's snapping eyes. On one
plane of thought, he realized that it was getting harder for him to
think of this cold but lovely creature as the mayor of Westridge,
let alone his boss. On another, it occurred to him that, as a cop
who'd indulged in more than a few brawls and heartily enjoyed it,
there was nothing he liked better than a good fight. Good, but
fair.
    He straightened abruptly. "I was at your
press conference this morning," he said evenly. "Needless to say,
I was there when a certain reporter started asking a few questions
about your new appointment to police chief."
    There was no need to go on. Matt could see
from her expression that she understood him perfectly. Perfect. It
was a word that came to mind rather often with her around.
    He could also see he had discomfited her, and
he derived a grim satisfaction from that.
    "I see," Angie said slowly. And she did. Matt
Richardson wasn't the type of man who would like coming in second.
Until Blair Andrews had brought up the subject this morning, she
really hadn't planned to tell him. But after the press conference
she had realized it couldn't be avoided unless she wanted him to
learn about it in the morning edition of the Bulletin. And she'd
planned to let him know casually at the end