“An old college friend?”
“You could say that.”
Mel was quiet for a long time. “He went and saw Kyla, didn’t he?”
“You know about her?”
“Yeah.”
Joe let out a big sigh.
“What was that for?” Mel asked.
“He told you about her, but somehow he just couldn’t quite bring himself to tell me until today.”
“He’s like that. You know that.”
She was quiet.
“Why are you worried about this, Joe?”
“I didn’t say I was.”
“I know you too well. Don’t lie to me.”
She shifted the receiver to her other ear and leaned her head back against the headboard. Mel did know her, maybe better than anyone — except her mother. Mel had been there for her right from the start. The day she walked into the Miami Police Department wearing the new uniform, he had been the only man to say welcome. They had started seeing each other two years later, on the quiet because he was a detective and she was just a patrolman. She had been only twenty-five. He was ten years older. She was in love with him. But three years in, he broke it off. She could still remember the night — sitting in the dark of his car in the lighthouse park on the tip of Key Biscayne. Him telling her he was slowly going blind.
Neither of them had ever mentioned marriage, but he had somehow sensed she was expecting it. She was so angry at him. It took her years to see that it was for her own good. He knew that the only thing she really loved was her work.
Four years later, she made detective. They were put on a case together. He was at the end of his career. She was just getting to the best part. They became partners, and she helped him keep his blindness a secret as long as he could. Even after Mel moved to Fort Myers, they stayed in touch. They had a history together, after all.
Joe heard the click of a lighter as Mel fired up a cigarette.
“It was a long time ago, Joe. He doesn’t love her,” Mel said.
“It’s not her I’m worried about,” she said.
“The man loves you, Joe.”
She shut her eyes. “I’m worried about what will happen to us if there is a child. Because I know Louis well enough to know that this will change him. And I don’t know if I want him to change.”
A pause on the other end of the line. Joe could almost see Mel sitting in the dark of his apartment. “Have you told him this?” he asked.
“No.”
“You should.”
She was quiet.
“Well, maybe you’re worrying for nothing,” he said. “Maybe there’s no kid.”
“Yeah, maybe,” she said softly. She pushed her hair back from her face. “I have to go, Mel,” she said.
Another pause. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”
“No, no, I just don’t want to talk right now.”
“Okay. I’ll back off. But you know where to find me when you do.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Night, Joe.”
“Mel?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“What are friends for?”
She hung up and sat back in the bed, staring at the TV.
She was just wrapping a towel around her wet hair when she heard the door. She hurried out to the bedroom and drew up short.
Louis was standing there. No, not standing. Wavering.
His eyes took a long time to find her, and when they finally did, they were glazed. She could smell the alcohol from six feet away.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“Stopped for a drink.” He moved away, peeling off his jacket and throwing it to a chair. It missed and fell to the floor. He ignored it.
“You could have called,” she said.
He didn’t answer. He dropped onto the edge of the bed and started tugging at his shoes.
“Did you see Kyla?” she asked. It was a struggle to say her name and to keep her voice even.
Louis didn’t look up. He dropped one sneaker to the floor and started working on the other.
“Louis, talk to me,” Joe said.
The other shoe fell with a thud. He sat there, his back to her, hands on his knees, face down.
“Louis-”
“Joe, just leave me alone, okay?” he said quietly.
She started toward him. “No, I won’t leave you alone. Did you see Kyla? Did you ask her-”
His face swung up to her. “There’s no baby, okay?”
She stopped cold, the harshness of his voice like a slap.
He brought up a shaky hand. “I just want to go to sleep,” he said softly. He turned away, his fingers clumsily working on the buttons of his shirt.
She went into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was burning, but she was as white as the tile walls, almost as if she were fading into them. Snatching her crumpled jeans and shirt from the floor, she yanked on her clothes. She ran a quick comb through her wet hair and went back into the bedroom.
“I’m going down to get something to-”
Louis was sprawled on the bed, clothes still on, eyes closed.
She grabbed her purse and left.
Chapter Ten
The woman behind the glass arched her brow in annoyance. She wore a blue Ann Arbor PD uniform, but her name tag said she was an administrative assistant.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kincaid, Detective Shockey did not leave us your name,” she said. “And you are not on the approved visitors list. I can’t let you back into the squad room without authorization.”
“Then call him,” Louis said. “Tell him I want to see him now.”
He felt Joe’s hand on his arm, tugging him away from the window. He resisted, then followed her. The stale alcohol was still trickling through his veins, creating a swell of nausea, and he put a hand on the wall to steady himself. He could hear Joe calmly talking to the woman behind the glass.
“I’m Undersheriff Frye from Leelanau County. It’s important we talk to Detective Shockey. I’m sure he’ll see us.”
He heard the woman pick up a phone and say there was an undersheriff from up north and an agitated man waiting for Detective Shockey in the lobby.
Louis took a drink from the water fountain and walked to the glass doors to look outside. The sunlight was making his eyes water. The floor felt like it was moving.
“You okay?” Joe asked.
