Public Secrets

long?”
She gazed down the street. Such a pretty neighborhood. She could hear children playing a few doors down, and the low hum of another mower trimming green suburban grass. She wondered, wistfully, what it might be like to live in such a place. “I leave tomorrow.”
He wanted to swear. “Quick trip.”
“I have classes Monday.” She looked up, feeling as awkward as he. He was more attractive than she remembered—the chipped tooth, the slightly crooked nose. “I wish I had more time.”
“What are you doing now?”
“I—I was going to go for a drive. Up in the hills.”
He understood, and wasn’t sure he cared for the idea. “Want some company?”
She started to refuse, politely, as she’d been taught. “Yes, very much,” she heard herself say.
“Give me a minute.” He was off, before she could change her mind. The screen slammed behind him as he went into the house, then slammed again when he came out. He grinned at her as he settled in the passenger seat. “You saved me from another hour’s mowing. Dad’ll never be able to let it sit like that until I get back. Too organized.”
“Glad I could help.”

She drove aimlessly for a while, content to let the wind move through her hair, listen to the music on the radio, pass idle conversation. When she heard her father’s voice come clear and strong through the speakers, her lips curved.
“Does it ever feel weird?”
“Hearing him?” Her smile widened. “No, not really. I knew his voice before I knew him. It’s hard to think of Da without thinking of his music. It must be the same for you. I mean he’s your father, but he’s a cop. I’m sure it’s natural for you to think of him wearing a gun or a badge or whatever.”
“Whatever. Still, it was pretty strange when I first started working for him.”
“Working for him?”
“Yeah. I caved in.” He sent her a breezy grin. “As Johnno once said, I’m following in the old man’s flat feet.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Y OU’RE A COP ?” Emma braked at a stop sign and took the opportunity to turn and study him.
“What my father’s fond of calling a rookie.” He grinned again. “What? Have I grown a snout?”
“No.” She sat a moment, then drove on. It was silly, she supposed, to have her idea of police focused by her impression of Lou, and at the other end of the spectrum, shows like Starsky and Hutch . “It’s just odd thinking of you that way.”
“Well, that’s something. I never figured you thought of me at all.”
She laughed. “Of course I did. When our picture hit the paper, I was the most popular girl at school for weeks. Of course, I exaggerated the whole business for my own benefit.”
“So did I.” He tossed his arm over the seat to play with the ends of her hair. “I got a date with Sue Ellen Cody on the strength of that clipping alone.”
“Really?” She shot him a quick, slanted look.
“It was my fifteen minutes of fame. I kept hoping you’d come back.”
“Sweeney spilled it to Da.” She shrugged. “And that was the end of that. Do you like being a cop?”
“Yeah. Right up to the time I walked into the academy I was sure I’d hate it. But there you go. Some things are just meant, and no matter how many times you walk away, you end up where you belonged all along. You take this road here if you want to go up to the house.”

She stopped again, staring straight ahead. “How do you know?”
“My father used to drive up there. I’d go with him sometimes. He’d just sit and look. I thought you might like to know that he’s never forgotten what happened, and he’s never really accepted that he couldn’t find them.”
“I think I knew,” she said slowly. “That’s why I wanted to see him, talk with him again.” She let out a sigh. “You knew what I intended when I said I was going for a drive.”
“I had a pretty good idea.”
“Why did you come?”
“I didn’t want you to go alone.”
She stiffened. It was only a barely perceptible movement, but he sensed her shoulders straightening, her chin firming. “I’m not fragile, Michael.”
“Okay. I wanted to be with you.” ’
She turned. His eyes were kind, like his father’s, but in them she could still see the boy who had driven her home from the beach. Degree by degree her body relaxed. “Thanks.”
She turned the car and followed his directions. The roads didn’t seem familiar. She’d thought they would. It occurred to her, and made her feel foolish, that she would never have found