if Crystal couldn’t bring herself to do it? Yes, Crystal was a child, but even children had a right to some privacy.
As for Dave? He was an experienced homicide cop, used to interrogating crooks and getting them to answer tough questions. Evidently his tried-and-true questioning techniques weren’t working very well on his own daughter.
“Did you talk to her about hitchhiking?” Ali asked. “About how dangerous it is?”
“Are you kidding? I talked about that until I was blue in the face,” Dave returned. “But I don’t think she was listening. I tried to explain to her how lucky she was that something terrible hadn’t happened to her on the way here.”
“Did she tell you about the guy who hit her?” Ali asked.
“She said it was a boyfriend, and that she’s broken up with him now,” Dave continued. “But she’s still threatening to run away, especially if I’m going to take her back to Vegas. So what happens when I have to go to work in the morning, Ali? I’m due to testify in court tomorrow or the next day. The county courthouse is in Prescott. That means I have to be in Prescott as well. What do I do with Crystal while I’m gone? Lock her up in the house? And if she were to let herself out, all she’d have to do is walk down to the bottom of the hill and stick out her thumb. She’ll be long gone in a matter of minutes.”
“You’re right to be worried,” Ali said. “But since you have to work, and since Roxie is the one with custody, couldn’t she or Gary drive down from Vegas to pick Crystal up?”
“They have jobs, too,” Dave replied. “Besides, Roxie has taken the position that this whole thing is somehow my fault, that I must have encouraged Crystal to run away. Now that Crystal’s here, Roxie says it’s my responsibility to get her back home. While I was talking to Roxie on the phone, I could hear Gary talking in the background, muttering something about ‘custodial interference.’”
“You think they’ll try to make some kind of official issue out of this?”
“I’d bet money on it,” Dave said. “The sooner I can get it handled, the sooner it’ll go away, but the earliest I’ll be able to drive back up to Vegas will be Saturday morning-unless the court appearance finishes up earlier.”
“Does Crystal want to go back?” Ali asked.
“What do you mean?” Dave asked.
“When I picked her up last night, I got the impression that she was hoping to come live with you on a permanent basis.”
“Crystal’s old enough to have some say in the matter, but not by pulling a stunt like this, and for right now the divorce decree is very clear. It specifies that Roxie gets full custody and I get to pay full child support. If Crystal were to come to live with me, Gary and Roxie would have to lose some of the child support. Believe me, that’s never going to happen.
“Besides,” he added, “if it did, what would I do with her? Where would we go? This is only a one-bedroom place, but it’s as much as I can afford. I’m fine here on my own, but it would never work for two people. Tonight, Crystal is in the bedroom, and I’m camping out on the couch. That’s not feasible in the long run. If she was going to stay on here permanently, I’d have to find somewhere else to live. You take what I make, deduct what I pay in child support, and figure out how much is left. Not very much. Not enough to pay for a decent two-bedroom apartment. We’d end up in one of those trailer parks down by Oak Creek. They’re probably okay, but they’re not the kinds of places where I’d like to raise my daughter.”
Ali could hear the distress in Dave’s voice. Buffeted by indecision, he was unable to see his way clear in any one direction.
“Why don’t you bring Crystal here tomorrow and let me look after her for the day?” Ali suggested finally. “Better yet, bring her along to the Sugarloaf when you come to breakfast tomorrow morning. I’ll come down to the restaurant and pick her up. She can stay with me until you get back from Prescott. Ditto for Friday.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” Dave asked. The relief in his voice was obvious. “I mean, you’ve already done so much…”
“Hey, Dave,” Ali said. “Hello!!! It’s Ali Reynolds, remember me? Remember everything you did for me when we were out in California? We’re a long way from being even. Besides, isn’t that what friends are for?”
“As long as you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“I don’t,” Ali said. “See you in the morning.”
Ali had planned on returning to Arabella’s diary, but she changed her mind, closed the slim volume, and returned it to her purse.
CHAPTER 8
For the second day in a row, Ali was at the Sugarloaf bright and early. Dave’s aging Nissan was already parked outside, and he and Crystal were seated in one of the booths. Ali stopped off at the counter where her mother had just picked up a freshly filled coffeepot. She poured a cup for her daughter.
“Any word on Kip yet?” Ali asked.
Edie shook her head. “Not so far. Your father’s worried sick about him. I’m still of the opinion that the man’s off on a toot somewhere and he’ll be back once he sobers up. Even Kip Hogan is smart enough to see he’s got a good thing going here. If your dad’s soft-headedness isn’t a good thing, I don’t know what is. Chicken-fried steak?”
Ali nodded. “Sounds great,” she said. Then, taking her coffee, Ali walked over to Dave and Crystal’s booth. “May I join you?” she asked.
Dave greeted her with a grateful smile. “Sure. Have a seat.”
Crystal, looking like a clown in a pair of her father’s oversize sweats, was anything but cordial.
“So I guess you’re stuck babysitting me today?” she demanded, shoving her emptied plate and silverware aside. “Aren’t I a little old for that?”
“Crystal!” Dave admonished. “Ali’s a good friend of mine, and she’s doing me a huge favor by looking after you today. There’s no need to be rude.”
“On what?” Crystal wanted to know.
“On you,” Ali said. “I can keep you company today or I can be your babysitter. If you insist on acting like a baby, then I suppose I’ll be forced to treat you like a baby.”
The slightest hint of a grin tweaked the corners of Dave’s mouth. Meantime Crystal favored Ali with a sour stare before turning her attention fully on her father. “If you don’t want to leave me at your place alone, why can’t I go to Prescott with you?” she wheedled. “Why do I have to stay here with her?”
Having Ali there seemed to give Dave some much needed backbone where his headstrong daughter was concerned. “Because I said so,” he answered. “Because I’m going to Prescott on official police business in an official county vehicle. I’m not allowed to bring along passengers.”
“But…”
“No buts,” Dave said.
“Crystal,” Ali said cheerfully. “I’m not nearly as bad as you think I am. Besides, since your dad’s paying for breakfast, you won’t even have to wash dishes.”
Crystal pulled a face. Out of her line of sight Dave winked at Ali and then glanced at his watch. “If I’m going to be on time, I need to go collect my wheels and head out.” He stood up and extracted his wallet from his pocket. “See you later.”
Crystal crossed her arms. “Whatever,” she said.
After Dave left, Ali and Crystal sat silently in the booth with Ali sipping her coffee and with Crystal staring out the window. Crystal was the one who finally broke the silence.
“Are you his girlfriend or what?” she asked.
