Page 24 of Little Stolen Memories

“Harvey made a strong case in favor of him assisting with this case, and I understand what it means to him. After all, it was his case. Including him is the right thing to do.”

“I agree.”

“Would you also agree that stressful situations take a toll on him?”

“I would.”

“I can’t bear to see him have another heart attack. His first one was … well, scary. I have no interest in a repeat, and I said as much to Whitlock this morning.”

“What did Whitlock have to say?”

“He asked if we could come to a compromise. We both gave it some thought, and Whitlock asked how I would feel about tagging along here and there whenever they were doing anything Whitlock thought might be harder on Harvey than he’d care to admit.”

The thought of three senior citizens parading around town, trying to solve a twenty-year-old murder spree was part comical and part concerning. I had enough on my mind without worrying over what would happen if they found themselves in a dangerous predicament. But as I thought about how annoyed I felt when my mom fussed about my safety during my casework, I knew I was doing the exact same thing to her right now. It wasn’t fair. If I could do it, so could she. The three of them together were the toughest senior citizen trio I knew. But I’d keep that to myself for now.

“I’m waiting,” my mother said.

“For what?”

“For you to say something. I’m sure you have an opinion about my proposal. I can see it on your face. You don’t like the idea, do you?”

“I need to give it some thought before sharing my opinion.”

“We’ll be fine. I’m still going to the shooting range from time to time. And I’m happy to report I’m the best in my class, or so I’ve been told.”

I clasped my hands together, resting them on top of my desk. “Does Foley know about all of this?”

“He will. He’s my next stop.”

“What if he doesn’t like the idea?”

“Doesn’t like it? He’s engaged to your sister, due to marry her next month. Do you think he has the nerve to say no to me, given I’m his future mother-in-law? I should say not.”

“It sounds like you have everything all figured out.”

“Yes, yes. It’s well in hand.” She pushed herself out of the chair. “Anyhoo, I just wanted to stop in and say how excited I am to be working together.”

“But we’re not …”

I considered finishing the sentence and stopped myself.

“We’re not what, dear?” my mother asked, eyebrow raised so high it just about disappeared into her hairline.

“Thanks again for the quiche. Let me know how it goes with Foley.”

My mother stood, shaking her head as she walked out the door, saying, “No need. I’m sure it will all go as expected. I’ll leave you now. Back to work … toodaloo!”

CHAPTER 12

The mobile home park where Danny lived in was full of campers, trailers, and tiny homes, all varying in size. While clean, the address numbers, which had once been stenciled on the curb in black paint in front of each residence, were faded to the point of being unreadable. Locating which lot was Danny’s was not easy.

As I puttered my way around the park, I saw an older woman eyeing me. Her long, gray hair was swept back into a ponytail, and she was doing circles around the park on an aqua-colored adult-size trike with a white metal basket on the back. On her third lap, she pulled to a stop beside my car, using her knuckles to tap on the window.

I put my window down, and she said, “Are you looking for someone?”

“Danny Donovan,” I said. “He’s in Lot 48. Do you know him?”

“Sure do. What do you want with Danny?”

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