“No. Not that anyone has said. Why? What’s in there that would make you think—”
“Don’t get excited. It’s not anything I saw. I just wondered because a lot of the children who are attracted to water and drown have autism. I don’t know any real stats. Just that it seems like a high percentage.”
“No, he wasn’t autistic. From what the family tells me, he didn’t even like the water. He’d avoid it when he could. I wondered whether there were steep or crumbling banks, and he fell in by accident before he even saw it, but I saw the police photos yesterday, and it had pretty shallow banks. To drown in it, he would have had to walk right into it.”
Kenzie frowned. “Pretty unlikely if he was afraid of water.”
“It’s the only argument against it being an accident that I’ve come across yet. I know that kids can drown in a very small amount of water… but to drown in the pond, he had to actually be in it. A kid doesn’t just lie down on the shore and stick his face into two inches of water. And his body was found floating in the pond. He had to walk out into it.”
He hadn’t put the thought into words before. Kenzie frowned, and Zachary felt a chill. Was Molly right? Had a third party drowned the child?
The server brought them their sandwiches, and for a few minutes, they both just ate, enjoying the fresh, crusty bread and thinking over the problem.
“Maybe there was a dog or something else that attracted his attention,” Zachary said. “His father said he loves dogs. If he saw one swimming in the pond and thought it was in trouble, or just wanted to see it or pat it… who knows? He could have been trying to retrieve a ball or a Frisbee.”
“None were found at the crime scene. Could have been an animal, even a fish near the surface and he thought he could grab it. If he was afraid of water, then presumably he couldn’t swim.”
“I would guess not.”
Zachary’s eyes caught on a man walking toward him. A big, broad man with the physique of a halfback. His face broke into a smile when he recognized Zachary.
“Look who’s here! Zach, my man! It’s been too long! How the hell are you?” He reached out his hand to take Zachary’s, but Zachary’s attention was caught by the thin blonde woman behind him. He froze, not taking Joseph Reichler’s hand, not saying anything, his brain seizing up in his panic at seeing her there.
His own reaction was mirrored by Bridget. She swore when she saw him.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. As if it was obviously her place and Zachary had no right to be there.
Joseph was turning to look at Bridget with dawning comprehension, realizing belatedly that she and Zachary had a history and might not want to run into each other in such a public place. “Oh, ah, Bridge…”
Kenzie stared from one of them to the other, waiting for someone to explain to her what was going on. A server came over, and blithely blind to their expressions and body language, asked whether they would like to be seated together.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Joseph said weakly. “I didn’t mean to…”
“I’m not going anywhere else,” Bridget insisted as if she owned the place. Like she got her favorite sandwich shop in the divorce. Like she had the right to demand that he vacate immediately. Zachary looked down at his half-eaten sandwich, no longer hungry. The first half sat in his stomach like a bowling ball. He looked at Kenzie, wanting to suggest that they leave.
Instead, Kenzie stuck out her hand toward Bridget and introduced herself. “Kenzie Kirsch. You must be…”
Bridget looked down at Kenzie, her face flushing pink. She was practically quivering with indignation. “Don’t you be taken in by him,” she warned. “Don’t be taken in by the whole hurt-puppy, tragic past act. He’s impossible to live with, and not fixable. Move on and find one that’s whole, instead of wasting your time on this loser. Do you hear me? Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I hear you.” Kenzie’s voice was low and clear, unflustered. “And I think maybe you’d better move on.”
“I should move on?” Bridget was outraged. “Why the hell should I move on? This is…” It seemed to occur to her for the first time that she didn’t have an excuse for her behavior. She didn’t own the place or have a restraining order on Zachary. He had the right to eat wherever he wanted, with whomever he wanted. “You’re a nice-looking girl,” she said to Kenzie in a quieter voice. “He always did have a good eye for beauty. Believe me; you do not want to be roped into a relationship with this man. You will do nothing but suffer.”
“Thank you for your advice,” Kenzie said coolly, as if it happened every day.
Joseph was making apologetic gestures to Zachary, trying to get Bridget to move on and leave him alone. Just to keep walking. They could find another restaurant. There was no reason it had to be the same one as Zachary.
“My old friend,” he said to Zachary apologetically. “I’m so sorry. I never meant…”
Zachary jerked his head at Joseph to just go. No apology necessary. If he left, hopefully, Bridget would follow. Joseph backed away, and after a moment of mulishness, Bridget followed him, whispering imprecations the whole way.
Zachary closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He was afraid to look back at Kenzie, his ears burning. He felt like rushing out the door, but he couldn’t end a second date like that or she’d wonder what the heck was wrong with him.
“Your ex, I assume,” Kenzie said in amusement.
Zachary gave a hollow laugh and opened his eyes to look at her. “That was only slightly awkward, right?”
“That was classic. I don’t think we could have designed a
