Page 43 of Deja New
He answered at once, with zero hesitation. “Because your uncle could have been me. I was the druggie lowlife and my brother was the golden boy. Pure good luck that I’m not behind bars, and don’t have an arrest record. Pure bad luck that my brother’s in the ground.”
I can’t believe he told me that. I love that he told me that. What to say to that?That one, at least, she could answer. The Drakes tried, whenever possible, to ascribe to the K.I.S.S.*theory. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. To finish answering your question, my chart-obsessed captain likes challenged and productive detectives, and your family’s history resonated. We had to share a floor with CCD when one of our detectives was accidentally exposed to—”
“Scabies!” she cried.Ack. Don’t sound so enthusiastic.“I, uh, heard. It was the talk of the courthouse for a while. And it definitely wasn’t funny.”*
“No,” he replied soberly. “It wasn’t. They had to fumigate the entire floor as well as the booking area.”
“Awful.”
“The officer had to seek medical treatment.”
“These kids today.”
“It certainly wasn’t funny.” Maybe not, but he was smiling broadly at her. So broadly, in fact...Gah, dimple alert!
“No,” she managed, then gave up and laughed so hard she was dizzy with it.
When they both calmed down a bit, he continued, “While we were sharing space, Detective Kline would com—comment. He would comment on the case. Frequently. Over time, I was intrigued. And I saw you once. When you came to express your dismay at Detective Kline’s, ah, priorities.”
She remembered. She had expressed a great deal of dismay. So much dismay that she’d almost been arrested. So much dismay she hadn’t noticed the gorgeous Detective Chambers, doubtless a subtle and mature presence in the background. “Bad day,” she said shortly. “And Kline and I didn’t have a warm working relationship. Or even a cordial one. Or an effective one. Mostly because he didn’t think we were working together.”
“His error.”
“Thankyou.”
“Your father’s case intrigued me and my captain didn’t mind me taking a look. But I’m sorry to say that, even with your help, I’m deadlocked.”
She nodded. “So my dad’s case goes back into the freezer, so to speak.”
“Yes.”
“I understand. I’m not thrilled,” she warned, “but I get it.And it was above and beyond for you to come by in person to tell me.” Agh. Presumptive much? “Tell us, I mean. Keep us all in the loop. That’s really all I wanted from Kline—to be in the loop, y’know?”To not be forgotten, the way my father’s been forgotten. The way my mother’s been forgotten, even by herself.
He nodded. “Understandable.”
“My mom, she’ll be relieved.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. She’s been after me to let Dad lie, so to speak. She hates all the time I’ve put into it. She mourns him, of course. But I think sometimes it’s more because she felt cheated of the chance to verbally smack him around some more. They had passion, but they weren’t a love match and also, why am I telling you this?”
“Because I like to listen?”
She snorted. “Good thing you’re a cop, then.” She realized she was leaning forward, almost hovering over him, and forced herself to ease off. “I’m not entirely delusional—I didn’t think we were in a seventies detective show, working together to defeat some nameless villain, evil is punished, roll credits, and cue the terrible soundtrack.”
“Something like ‘For What It’s Worth’ by Buffalo Springfield. Or Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to Be Wild.’”
She could feel herself light up. “Yes! Perfect.”
“Your doorbell. I like it.”
“Oh, God.” She hid her eyes with one hand. “Blame my brothers.”
“Or thank them,” he teased.
“They’re huge Tarantino fans. That song plays over the end credits of—”
