by Beverly Long
“To me?” she said dumbly.
“To you. That’s not the guy you married. There would be sacrifices.”
“You consulted a life coach,” she said.
“How...?”
“I saw you having coffee together. I went back a day or two later and saw her again. I followed her to her office. Saw the name on the door.”
“Jesus, Rena.”
She shrugged. “You shouldn’t have married a cop. But I think anybody would have done what I did.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No.”
“That’s good, I guess. An hour would have cost you seventy-five dollars.”
She smiled. “She’s very pretty.”
“She’s fine. Nice. But I’ve never been that fond of blondes,” he said. He leaned back in his chair. “I’m kind of blown away that you thought I was cheating.”
He said it casually enough, but she could tell that her lack of trust hurt him. And it would take time to rebuild that trust. And there were other things that were going to further erode that trust. But better to have it in the open. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“Okay,” he said.
This was going to be terrible. They were going to get past her accusation only to fall into an abyss because of Danny. “Your brother kissed me,” she said. No way to sugarcoat it.
She waited for an explosion. For righteous indignation. The “How dare you accuse me when you’re messing with my brother?”
“I know.” He got up, got the coffeepot and refilled both their cups. He seemed very relaxed.
He sat down again. “I knew something was wrong when we left his house on Saturday. And I thought it might have been my mom or one of my sisters, because they can be idiots, but you routinely handle them. I knew it was something else. I had all day on Sunday to think about it. On Monday I went to work and tried to put it aside. But I couldn’t. I went to his house last night. He admitted that he’d cornered you in the pantry and kissed you. That you hadn’t in any way reciprocated and, in fact, had met him that afternoon to tell him that it could never happen again.”
She was relieved beyond words that Danny had told the truth. “You believed him?”
“I did,” he said simply. “I would never think anything different.”
But she had not had the same faith in him. He didn’t say it. But he had to be thinking it. It would be a miracle if they really, truly survived this.
“Did the two of you fight?” she asked. Maybe Danny was injured and Gabe had been looking up lawyers when she walked into the kitchen.
“I wanted to rip his fucking head off. But the boys were downstairs. And I thought about my mom. About how much she would hate it if her family was torn apart. And then I remembered how fast and how hard I’d fallen in love with you. And I... I guess I understood a little more.”
She blinked fast, trying very hard not to cry. “I’m so sorry it happened.”
“I’m not sure he is. He doesn’t think I deserve you. Why, I’m not sure. I guess it’s because I’m not him.”
She said nothing. Right now, she could not defend Danny.
“It’s probably going to be a while before we’re back to where we were before he decided to kiss my wife. But I think we can hold it together in front of the family.”
She reached out and covered his right hand with hers. “Again, I’m sorry.”
“I am, too. I started this with a stupid lie about Richard Jones. I guess I’d had one too many drinks to remember that I was married to a cop.”
“Can you start school second semester?”
“In Madison. That’s what I was looking up on the computer. If I go full-time, I could student-teach spring semester of next year.”
“I think that’s a plan.”
“But what about our other plans? Our baby.”
“We can still have a baby. Teachers have babies.” She paused. “I talked to Dr. Mobriani. About using a carrier. Your sperm. My eggs. Another womb.”
He nodded.
“It’s expensive,” she said. “It would use up a lot of our savings.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “I want a child with you, Rena.”
“I swear to God, this is the first really deep breath I’ve taken in days,” she said, her voice cracking at the end.
“Not to worry,” he said, rising from his chair. “I’ll breathe for you, Rena. Always.”
* * *
When A.L. got up to make the morning coffee, he wasn’t sure that he’d even slept. His eyes felt as if he’d rubbed them with sandpaper. Tonight, very late, they would go back to Baywood. Tess would wake up in her own house on the nineteenth and pretend that everything was just fine.
He definitely didn’t want her distracted by worry over her daughter. When he’d spoken to Faster about the Saint Paul police watching Gracie Holt, he’d also advised the man that they’d need resources to protect Marnee Lyons. Faster, acting very human, had immediately agreed and said he’d arrange it. But now, he and Tess needed to have the conversation about what she was going to tell Marnee.
He had two cups under his belt by the time Tess wandered into the kitchen. “Morning,” he said. “Sleep well?”
“Not as good as the other nights,” she said.
Going back to Baywood had to be heavy on her mind, as well. He got up to pour her a cup of coffee. “We need to talk about Marnee. I talked to my boss and he’ll get police protection for her. Ideally, she would be aware of this protection and cooperative.”
“Can we just hide her somewhere?”
“I don’t think that’s good idea. We believe Perp is working alone but what if he’s not? What if there is a partner and he’s watching the family, making sure they don’t get in the way? If Marnee disrupts her regular routine, that will throw up a red flag.”
Tess nodded. But did not say anything for a minute. She stared at her coffee cup. “Okay. Then I’m going to have to lie to her. If everything goes well, she’ll never know the difference. If it doesn’t, we’re back to you having to tell her the truth and explain why I lied. You need to make me look good.”
“What are you going to tell her?” he asked, deliberately ignoring her other remarks.
“I’m going to tell her that we had an unsatisfied customer at Hampton’s Title who has made some threats. And that all of the employees and their families have been assigned police protection until the guy is picked up. I’m going to downplay it, that none of us are terribly worried, but better safe than sorry. I’ll tell her to go about her business like she normally would.”
It might work. Marnee was likely to be less concerned because it wasn’t a threat specifically aimed at her or Tess. But she’d still be watchful and cooperative with police.
“Does she know the other people at Hampton’s Title? Is there any chance that she could mention this to somebody who works there?”
“Yes and no. She definitely has met all of them but she’s not friendly with them. Probably doesn’t even know most of their last names. They don’t interact in any way.”
“Call her,” he said. “Tell her to expect the police to make contact with her by this evening.”
He listened to Tess’s end of the conversation. First, there was small talk. About Marnee’s classes and her boyfriend. Then Tess got down to business, telling the story and reassuring her daughter that she was confident that they were all going to be fine but it was important to not make the police’s jobs more difficult than necessary.
When she hung up, she looked satisfied. “She took it well. Which says something, you know. Like we’re all conditioned to accept that there are crazies who walk among us.”
There was going to be one less crazy after the twentieth, if he had his way.
* * *
After the morning
task force meeting, Rena spent time tracking down the three other volunteers for Baywood Historic Preservation who had started in the last year. None of them had any special interest in the Gizer Hotel, none had previously lived there and only one of them thought she might have circulated a petition to save the Gizer Hotel. All of them said they had been at work on Tuesday, May 10, and she was able to verify that with their employers.
After a quick lunch, she spent the afternoon on the street, talking to businesses in the same area as the Gizer Hotel. From what she could tell, reaction was mixed, about half and half. Some thought it might be good for the building to be torn down, some thought it a terrible waste. But all seemed to feel less fervently about that than they did about the importance of the city focusing their efforts on this part of the downtown and getting something, whether housed in an old or new building, that would bring people to the area with shopping and dining dollars in hand.
By late afternoon, she hung it up. She had stuff to do to get things in place for Tess and A.L.’s return to town.
* * *
After they ate dinner, they watched television. Tess picked the movie, and it was one they’d both seen before. But that was perfect, because neither of them was really watching. They were simply biding time. Their bags were packed and sitting next to the door. They washed and put away all the dishes. The dirty towels had been washed and dried and folded.
The movie ended, and Tess pressed the button on the remote, shutting off the television. “You know, I technically have this house for twenty-seven more days.”
“I can see if the department can reimburse you for the rent,” A.L. said.
She didn’t want any money. “No. I’m coming back. When this is over, I’m coming back. My boss isn’t expecting me back to work. There’s no reason that I can’t.”
A.L. shrugged. “No reason, I guess.” His tone was noncommittal.
She wasn’t backing down now. “You have any vacation time?”
He nodded. “I’m pretty sure I do.”
“I can’t promise bacon,” she said.
“Did I want bacon?”
She smiled. “We’ll spend some time reviewing the recipe for beef bourguignon and the chopping requirements.”
“I don’t chop in French,” he said.
“Do you do dishes in French?”
“Oui.”
“Then the invitation stands,” Tess said.
“I think—”
“Nope,” she said. “Not taking RSVPs right now. We’ve got to make tracks. Baywood awaits.”
“I’ll drive, you ride shotgun. At the city limits, I’ll pull over at the Shell station on the right-hand side. Rena will already be there. Don’t worry if you don’t see her. She’ll be there.”
“I’ve got it,” she said. “I had it yesterday,” she added gently.
“My personal vehicle will also be there. I’ll switch to that vehicle and finish the drive to your house. I’ll park my vehicle two streets over, on Chappel,” he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Then use your key to let myself into your back door.”
Tess held up her index finger. “Fifteen minutes after you leave, I will follow you. Rena will tail me. I won’t ever be alone. I will drive directly to my house. Pull into my driveway, raise the garage door, take my time pulling in. You will be waiting inside.” She stood up. “I’m not nervous, A.L. It’s May 18. Nothing is going to happen tonight. Or tomorrow. And on May 20, you and Rena are both going to be there, and you’re going to catch this bastard.”
“We will,” A.L. said. He said it confidently. But she knew he was worried. That’s why he’d gone over the plan three times with her.
“We should get going,” she said. It was almost ten. They would arrive in Baywood around midnight and enter the house under the cover of darkness. She stood and picked up her suitcase.
“I’ll get that,” A.L. said.
“No need. I’ve still got one good arm.”
He studied her, his eyes serious.
“I’m joking,” she said. And she realized that it was true. That maybe it was the first time that she’d said something lighthearted about her—she hated the word disability and would not use it. About her new challenge. That was better. “I’m allowed to joke about it. Nobody else can, of course,” she said with a smile.
“Double standard, huh?” he asked.
“Definitely. My shark bite, my rules.”
He picked up his own bag. “I’m pretty good at games. Can generally figure out the rules as I go.” His eyes had a heated look, and she knew that their decision to wait, to not engage in any conduct unbecoming an officer, had cost him.
That would keep her warm the whole ride back to Baywood. “We’ll see,” she said. “When this is over, I may test you on that.”
* * *
A.L. made contact with Rena twice on the way back to Baywood. Once, about fifteen minutes after they were on the road, to advise that they were following the prearranged timetable and to ensure that his vehicle was in place. She’d driven it out earlier in the day and had Ferguson pick her up. The second call, about ten minutes before they got to the edge of town, was to ensure that she was also there and ready.
All was good. That did not lessen his anxiety.
He and Tess had not talked on the drive. She’d kept her eyes closed, but he did not think she was sleeping. She did not have the relaxed pose of someone in slumber, but rather, the rigid posture of the awake and watchful. But she opened her eyes when he made the second call. Heard his end of the conversation.
“So we’re good?” she asked when he hung up his phone.
“Yes. How are you doing?” he asked. The last couple days had gone so well that the this is too good to be true part of his brain was kicking into gear.
“Fine.”
That didn’t reassure him one bit. For the better part of their marriage, Jacqui had said everything was fine, and then her own personal nuclear blast would hit fifteen minutes later. But with Tess, he let it go. Trust went two ways. She had to trust him explicitly so that she’d follow orders without question, and in order for that to happen, he had to demonstrate a little of his own trust.
Intellectually, he could reason it out. It did not help his anxiety.
He slowed his speed as he crested the hill. Saw the sign for the Baywood city limits, population 53,941. There was no traffic coming toward him. Nobody behind him. Perfect. He’d been prepared to have to make a couple passes for exactly the right moment, but it appeared the gods were with him. He killed his lights and turned into the now-closed gas station, pulling around to the rear of the building. His car was parked there. There were a few other vehicles. That didn’t worry him. It was exactly why he’d chosen this spot. The gas station’s location on the main highway, much to the manager’s irritation, made it a spot that was easy for carpoolers to beach a car. They’d come to accept it as a cost of doing business in the community and generally towed a car only when it sat for more than a couple days.
Rena’s SUV was in the back, very close to the tree line. Lights and engine off.
He pulled in next to his SUV. Put Tess’s vehicle into Park but left the engine going. “Ready?” he said.
She nodded.
“You have my word,” he said. “I will not let anything happen to you.”
She leaned in. “Kiss me, A.L.,” she whispered.
He should not. They’d been so very careful these last couple days to maintain their distance. And while his interior lights were off, there was enough light that Rena, if she was watching, and she surely was, would see what was happening.
“Tess,” he said. “I’m going to see you at your house in fifteen minutes, a half hour at most depending on how fast you drive,” he said, trying to gently tease her.
“Please.”
He understood. This was their first se
paration in days, first foray back into the real world. It was so much easier to pretend a lack of concern when one was a safe distance away. But now, it would get much harder.
He leaned. Framed her face with his hands and gently kissed her. Lingered at her lips. Finally, drew back, dropping his hands.
“Thank you,” she said.
My pleasure, he wanted to shout, maybe thump on his chest a time or two. He could still feel the warmth of her skin, the taste of her mouth.
“Drive safe,” he said instead, and opened his door.
He did not wave to Rena or in any way acknowledge her, just in case there was somebody watching. He got in his vehicle, listening for the sounds of Tess opening her door, walking around the vehicle and climbing into the driver’s seat. Once she was inside, he started the engine and backed out.
It would be a short separation, like he’d said. No more than thirty minutes.
He was not going to fucking think about why it felt as if he was leaving his heart behind.
* * *
Rena glanced at her watch. A.L. had been gone for fifteen minutes. It had taken her every bit of that to process what she was confident that she’d seen. A.L. had kissed Tess.
Holy hell. A.L. did not mix work and pleasure. Ever. That was why he never talked about what he had going with Carrie; the two of them never demonstrated any affection for the other in public and they had been so discreet that, in a department where it was hard to keep a secret, nobody gossiped about them.
But he’d put the kiss with Tess out there, having to know that she could see into the vehicle, at least well enough to get the broad strokes of what was happening. What the hell did that mean?
Tess had kept her vehicle running and must have been watching the time, too, because she was now pulling out of her parking space. Before she got to the street, Rena had slid in behind her.
Tess kept her speed at three miles under the limit and stopped for every red light. They were still a half mile away when Rena’s phone rang. It was A.L.