The Deceptive Detective

Chapter 27

The next morning when she walked into the precinct Joe walked up to her with a goofy grin on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"Come outside, I have something to show you," he said, and grabbing her hand he dragged her outside and around to the back of the building. He pointed and she looked. She then gasped, for sitting in a parking stall was her blue Viper, with a big red bow tied onto the hood.

"Joe," she grinned, "how did they get it here so fast?"

"The Chief wanted you to know that you were missed, and he knew you missed them too, so he had it shipped here last night as a present to you."

"This is so great," she grinned at him, walking to the car. He handed her the keys and she got in. She just sat there for a minute then she looked up at Joe. "Want to go for a ride?"

"Of course," he grinned.

The next two weeks went by very slowly for Miranda. She got back into the swing of things. Cole called her every day, and they visited, but it wasn't the same thing as when he was with her. It was kind of depressing not having him around, but she supposed she would see him soon enough, well, she hoped so.

Early the next Monday morning her cell phone rang. Groggily she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Miranda, get up and get dressed, there is something big going down at the Hilton, I need your help," Joe told her.

"Okay, give me a few minutes," she told him.

"Okay, but hurry," he told her, then hung up.

Miranda, puzzled over what was happening, hurriedly showered, dressed and headed out. Minutes later she was pulling up to the Hilton. A valet saw her car and stepped forward. She handed him the keys and headed inside, wondering why the valet had seemed so nervous. She hoped her car was safe she thought as she headed inside, wondering where Joe was.

She saw him as she stepped into the luxurious lobby. "It's about time you got here," he grinned at her and walked to her.

"Joe, what is going on? You called me like this was an emergency."

"It is, as I said, it's something big."

He grasped her arm and pulled her towards the ballroom. She really wondered what was going on then, because her partner didn't have his gun out, as a matter of fact, he looked excited.

At the ballroom doors, four men in suits nodded at them and opened the doors to let them in, following them as they entered. The doors were closed behind them then, and Miranda wondered what was happening as she saw several tables set up around the room all filled with officers. When they saw her walk in they all stood and saluted her, then they began to applaud. She looked around and spotted Tyler, Chad, Cole, and Chief Stratton among the crowd. They were all grinning at her. Joe pushed her forward, and then he went to sit at the agents' table with Chad and Tyler. Two men in suits urged her forward and helped her up to a stage that had been set up. She gasped when she set foot onto the stage and saw the President of the United States step up to greet her.

He shook her hand. "Captain Detective Miranda Dylan, it is a true honor," he told her.

"I feel the same way, sir," she said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed.

He smiled at her and led her to a pulpit. He spoke into the microphone. "I am here today to honor our country's top detective. I didn't realize how beautiful she was though, I was expecting you to be well, to look totally different," he grinned at her.