clothes.’’
‘‘Oh, wow. What do you say, Uncle Frank?’’
Frank’s eyes had grown as large and round as Star’s on hearing Diane’s offer. ‘‘Think you can meet the conditions?’’ he said.
‘‘I’ll need help with the math.’’
‘‘You’re in luck, then,’’ said Frank. ‘‘I’m pretty good in math.’’
‘‘And the museum is a good place to get help in a lot of subjects. Think about it.’’
‘‘Wow. Just a year?’’
‘‘Just a year.’’
‘‘Wow.’’ She stood up. ‘‘I need to go use the phone.’’
When she left the table, Frank turned to Diane. ‘‘You know what you’re doing?’’
‘‘I hope so. I thought some incentive might help. Who knows? She may like college.’’
Frank reached over and held on to her hand. ‘‘That was really nice. More than nice.’’
Diane helped Frank put the food in the refrigerator, and they retired to the living room sofa. Diane curled up against Frank and rested her head on his shoulder.
‘‘Hard day?’’ Frank asked again.
‘‘The mummy was fun. But I guess you heard, we had another murder.’’
‘‘What!’’
‘‘This time it was the girlfriend of Chris Edwards, one of the guys who found the bodies in the woods.’’
Frank pulled back and looked Diane in the face. ‘‘My God. What
‘‘I don’t know. The profiler thinks the murders aren’t related.’’
‘‘Three people dead, one missing, and another attacked—all of whom had something to do with three more bodies in the woods. Maybe he ought to take math.’’
‘‘But what’s the connection?’’
They heard laughter filtering down from Star’s room.
‘‘You’ve really made her happy. That’s not an easy thing to do.’’
‘‘Everyone needs something to look forward to.’’
‘‘Can I go with you to Paris?’’
Diane chuckled. ‘‘Sure.’’
They sat in silence for a long time. Diane was glad for the rest. Frank was comfortable and safe.
‘‘I have a great-looking red SUV I’m driving,’’ Diane said.
‘‘I saw that out the window when you drove up. That the loaner?’’
‘‘Yes. Nice. I rather like it. I might get one. Maybe not that color.’’ She paused a moment, not sure whether to bring up the subject of Izzy. ‘‘Garnett called me in today to talk about my inappropriate behavior.’’
‘‘Jesus. Now what?’’
‘‘Dating men half my age. I told him you are at least a couple of years older than me.’’
Frank didn’t say anything for a minute. He pulled Diane closer. ‘‘I’m sorry,’’ he whispered. ‘‘I know where that came from.’’
‘‘So Izzy talked to you too.’’
‘‘Yes. I told him he was being an ass. I see I should have used stronger words. I’ll talk to him.’’
‘‘No. I’ve dealt with it.’’
‘‘Did Garnett give you much trouble?’’
‘‘Not really. I suspect when the story was told to him it was amplified with colorful derogatory words. When he cleaned up the language to explain to me why he called me in, the whole thing ended up sound ing a little ridiculous.’’
‘‘Diane, maybe we should talk about us.’’
‘‘Us?’’
‘‘That’s shorthand for you and me. I can’t tell you how frightened I was the other night. It made me realize how much you mean to me.’’
‘‘You mean a lot to me too, and I find that a lit tle scary.’’
‘‘Scary? How?’’
‘‘Ariel meant the world to me. She was my heart. Losing her was more than devastating. Caring about people is a risky business.’’ Diane hesitated for a mo ment, searching for the right words, but no right words came. ‘‘The two of us are doing fine. You work in Atlanta, I work here, we see each other when we can. Life is good.’’
‘‘True, but permanence is something to think about.’’
