LITMIR.BIZ

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the room.

      “Yes, thank you.”

      Later that night, Zach drove Allison home. Rosie was spending the night with the children, and the thought of walking into his dark apartment and making dinner held little appeal. Allison sat quietly beside him.

      They hardly ever talked these days, and Zach missed their conversations. She’d spurned his attempts so often that after a while he’d given up trying.

      “Did you know Cecilia had a baby who died?” his daughter suddenly asked him.

      This was news to Zach. “No, when?”

      “Almost three years ago.”

      “I’m sorry to hear that,” Zach said, completely sincere.

      “She told me all about it. Her husband was at sea and she didn’t have any friends here to help her. It was awful and she decided she couldn’t stay married.”

      “Ms. Randall’s been married before?”

      “No.” Allison’s tone made him sound stupid for asking.

      “So she’s still married to the same man?” It wasn’t any of Zach’s business, but he was trying to keep Allison talking. They so rarely spoke without arguing that he didn’t want their conversation to end.

      “Cecilia and her husband went to divorce court, the same as you and Mom. The judge told them they needed to think it through before they rushed into a divorce.”

      Zach could hardly believe any judge would say such a thing, especially in these days of no-fault divorce. “Not in those words, I’ll bet.”

      “No,” his daughter agreed. “But close. Cecilia said she was pregnant when she and Ian got married and she wanted to make sure he wasn’t marrying her just because of the baby.”

      Zach didn’t understand what that had to do with anything. He murmured a noncommittal response, hoping she’d enlighten him.

      She did. “Cecilia had him sign an agreement before she’d marry him. Then later, when they were in the court and the judge read the agreement, she wouldn’t let them get rid of it.”

      “So this judge gave them a reason to stop and think about what they were doing.”

      “Right,” Allison said.

      “Smart judge,” Zach said, wishing the one who’d been assigned his divorce suit had shown the same wisdom in dealing with him and Rosie. If someone had stepped in and talked sense to him and his ex, it might have saved his family a lot of grief.

      “You know her,” Allison said next.

      “Who?” Zach asked as he turned off Harbor Street and headed toward Pelican Court.

      “The judge.” The look his daughter flashed him said that should be obvious. “It’s the same judge who was in court with you and Mom.”

      “Judge Lockhart?” He supposed he should’ve known; unusual verdicts seemed to be her trademark.

      “I think she must be righteous cool.”

      Zach barely managed to suppress a smile. Righteous cool was something his daughter might’ve said last year. For a moment, it was almost like having her back again, the girl she’d been before the divorce.

      “I like her,” she said, adjusting the seat belt strap to a more comfortable position. “And before you ask, I’m talking about Cecilia, not Judge Lockhart.”

      “I know you do.” He would be forever grateful for the way Cecilia had taken his daughter under her wing.

      “I didn’t in the beginning, but then she told me what it was like when her parents divorced.” Allison glanced in his direction and sighed. “She was just a kid, too.”

      “Bad, huh?”

      Allison nodded. “Her dad took off. Her mom didn’t get any child support, either. Cecilia never really knew her dad when she was growing up. He’s the reason she moved to Cedar Cove. She wanted to get to know him, so she got in touch with him once she finished high school. He said he could get her a job, and she came here. She did get a job at the same restaurant where her dad worked, but it wasn’t what she’d expected. By then it was too late to move back home.” Cecilia’s contribution to the firm was valuable—but her relationship with Allison was worth even more to him.

      Whatever had brought Cecilia to Cedar Cove, he was grateful she’d come.

      “It didn’t work out with her and her dad, though,” Allison said absently.

      “How come?”

      Allison shrugged. “Sounds like he’s a real flake.”

      Zach felt his daughter’s eyes on him. “Am I a flake?”

      She shook her head. “You can be, but overall you’re okay, I guess.”

      Such overwhelming praise was almost more than he could bear. “I’m glad you think so.”

      “Her dad moved to California when The Captain’s Galley sold. The new owners didn’t offer him a job, which was probably for the best. Cecilia said her dad was drinking up the profits.”

      “Oh.” That sounded like a direct quote. “This must’ve been about the time her baby died.”

      “Somewhere around then,” his daughter informed him. “Ian was the one who encouraged Cecilia to take accounting classes. That’s her husband, in case you forgot.”

      “Good for him.”

      “He was at sea, and they were e-mailing back and forth, getting to know each other again.”

      “That’s good.” Perhaps if he’d had the opportunity to e-mail Rosie, to correspond with her, they might’ve had the same chance. Somehow, putting words on paper gave a person time to think about what he or she was really saying.

      “Cecilia said that the minute she met me, she knew I was special.”

      “Why’s that?” He didn’t mean to sound skeptical, but he wanted to know what Cecilia had seen in his daughter. It seemed important to find out.

      “Haven’t you been listening?”

      Zach had. To every word. “Yes, I have.”

      “Because of her baby,” Allison said. “Her baby’s name was Allison, too.”

      Nineteen

      As he walked into the Cedar Cove sheriff’s office, Roy McAfee looked around. The room was full of activity; several men and women sat at desks and a dispatcher handled the switchboard. There was a sense of urgency, of purpose, as deputies—uniformed and not—spoke on the phone, carried on conversations or typed at computers.

      Damn it all, this was exactly the atmosphere Roy loved. He wanted to close his eyes, breathe in the scent of stale coffee, the sounds of cops at work. There was an excitement here. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to play an active role in law enforcement and he missed it. Except for the paperwork, he reminded himself. When he was on the force, he’d spent more than half his time filling out forms.

      “How ya doing, Roy?” a uniformed woman asked when he approached.

      Roy didn’t recognize her. “I’m good. I’m here to see Sheriff Davis.”

      She smiled. “I’ll tell him you’re here.”

      “I’d appreciate it.” Roy had phoned soon after the first of the year, after he’d done everything he could on his end of the investigation. Today he’d give the sheriff what he’d learned. He liked and trusted Troy Davis; the man was no one’s fool. Roy was walking a tightrope, though. Officially he’d been employed by Grace Sherman and more recently Bob Beldon. His first priority was to look after his clients’ interests. If a crime had been committed, his job was to do everything

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