'We met just after school had opened, about this time of year as a matter of fact, in 1974,' I said. 'Of course there was a gap back there in 1984/85…'
'And there won't be another one,' Susan said. 'But I would like a baby.'
'A baby,' I said.
'Yes.'
'And would we move in together and take turns looking after it?'
'No. We could live as we do. I think we need to. The baby would live with me. You would be its father.'
'What kind of baby would we get?' I said.
'I don't know. I thought we could talk about it.'
'Oh.'
'It's not that hard,' Susan said. 'There are only two choices.'
'Yeah.'
I finished my champagne and poured some more. Susan's glass was empty so I poured her some as well, which emptied the bottle. I got up and got another bottle and jammed it into the ice bucket to chill.
'So what do you think?' Susan said.
'I don't know. It's a little sudden,' I said.
'Yes, I know. I didn't want to broach the subject until I was sure myself.'
'A little one,' I said, 'like a month old?'
'Yes, as young as possible. I'd like as much of the full experience as I can have.'
'How much do they weigh when they're that age?' I said.
'Oh, twelve, fifteen pounds perhaps.'
'About the size of a small turkey,' I said.
'About,' Susan said.
I nodded. We were quiet. Susan sipped her champagne, staring into the fire. Pearl's head was in her lap. I patted Susan's shoulder a little.
'I can't make this decision for you,' she said finally. 'But I don't want to do this alone.'
'Be difficult alone,' I said.
'More than that, it isn't fair to the child. A child benefits from having a father.'
'If he or she can,' I said. 'Probably better having one good parent than none.'
'I don't think I'll want to do this without you,' she said.
'You'll never have to do anything without me,' I said.
'I know,' she said.
And she leaned her head back against my arm and the three of us sat there and looked at the fire.
Chapter 5
A STATE COP from the Norfolk DA's office patted Hawk and me down and ushered us into the conference room on the thirty-ninth floor at Cone, Oakes and Baldwin. A couple of guys from the Bureau of Corrections brought Ellis Alves wearing leg irons and handcuffs into the room and sat him in a chair with a great view out the picture window of places he might never visit. They took off the handcuffs and left and it was just Hawk and me and Ellis.
Ellis was tall and bony with high cheekbones and his hair cut short. There were prison gang tattoos on his forearms. He sat straight up in the chair and stared straight at me.
'My name's Spenser,' I said.
'So what you gonna do?' he said to me.
'Find out if you did what you're in jail for.'
'Sure,' Ellis said. He looked at Hawk. 'Who this? Your butler?'
'I don't know,' I said. 'He followed me in.'
Hawk looked thoughtfully at Ellis.
'We know you bad, Ellis,' Hawk said. 'Don't have to keep showing us.'
'You ever been inside, bro?'
'Been almost everywhere, Ellis.'
'You be inside, bro, you know there's black and there's white and you got to choose.'
'Damn,' Hawk said. 'I been trying to pass.'
'What's your name, bro? Your name Tom, maybe?'
