Running Hot

daughter,” Grace said quietly. “But you felt responsible.”
    “I was responsible. I should have called in the department shrinks and let them handle it. Instead, I went ahead and prodded the weak points on Olmstead’s aura until I got my answers. Another case closed for the lone wolf.”
    “It was your job to get the truth,” she said calmly.
    “Sure. It was just too bad a couple of people committed suicide because I was so good at doing my job.”
    “Yes, it was too bad. But it was not your fault. One of those two people murdered a man and the other tried to cover up the crime. You were not responsible for their actions.”
    “Maybe not technically.”
    She brandished her half-empty bottle of water. “Hold it right there, Malone. You were not responsible technically or otherwise. You used your talent, a natural ability that is as much a part of you as your eyesight or your hearing or your sense of touch, to do your job and to bring some justice into the world.”
    “I told you, the bad guys were broken losers for the most part. I rolled over them like a train.”
    “Works for me,” she shot back. “They were bad guys, remember? Just their bad luck they ran into someone who could see through their lies.” She paused, lowering the water bottle. “But I do understand why you felt you had to quit the force.”
    “Yeah?”
    “You’re stuck with the instinct to protect and defend. It’s part of who you are. But like I keep telling you, you’re also a hopeless romantic. You want to go after what you consider fair game. Working for J&J gives you that satisfaction. You get to go up against bad guys who possess talents that are the equivalent of yours. You’re doing your hunting on a level playing field now.”
    “I think of it more as a level jungle.”
    She smiled. “Good visual.”

THIRTY-NINE
    The following afternoon Luther suggested they close the restaurant for a couple of days. Petra and Wayne didn’t have any issues with that decision.
    “Could use a break,” Wayne said. “Some of the tourist customers are startin’ to irritate me. I think I’m losin’ that aloha spirit.”
    “Same here,” Petra said. “Been a long time since we took a vacation.”
    It was four o’clock, the lull after the lunch rush. They were all standing around in the Rainbow’s kitchen. Grace looked at the three of them and felt a sudden, inexplicable urge come over her.
    “I think I found something important in the classified J&J files today,” she said. “It’s a long story. What do you say we have dinner tonight and I’ll tell you all about it. I’d like to get your thoughts before I contact Fallon Jones.”
    Petra grinned and clapped Luther on the shoulder. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a date.”
    “No,” Grace said. “All of us. At Luther’s place. I’m cooking. You know, like a family dinner.”
    . . .

    SHE BORROWED THE COOKWARE she needed from the Rainbow’s kitchen and hauled it back to the apartment in the Jeep. She made lasagna—a vegetarian version with feta cheese and spinach—and served it with a big bowl of Caesar salad and a loaf of warm, crusty bread.
    Bruno the Wonder Dog’s ferocious barking announced the arrival of Petra and Wayne. Luther opened the front door to let them in and handed around some bottles of beer.
    They drank the beer and talked about unimportant things, saving the serious stuff until after dinner. The balmy night air was warm and comforting against Grace’s skin. A faint breeze stirred the magnificent green canopy of the banyan tree.
    When she brought out the large pan of lasagna, Luther, Petra and Wayne gazed at it as if it were the Holy Grail. She used a spatula to serve large slices.
    “Can’t remember the last time I had lasagna,” Petra said reverently. “My mom used to make it when I was a kid.”
    They all looked at her.
    “What?” she said.
    “Hard to imagine you as a little kid,” Luther said. “With an actual mom.”
    Petra used her fork to cut off a large bite of the lasagna. “Everyone has a mom.”
    “Where is she now?” Grace asked.
    “She died when I was sixteen. Cancer.”
    “Forgive me,” Grace said. “I shouldn’t have pried.”
    “Don’t worry about it. Been a long time. After she died I went to live with my dad and his second wife, but we didn’t get along so good. He kicked me out when I was seventeen. Don’t blame him. I’d have done the same. I was not in a good place. He said I was a bad influence on