Sean stepped outside to make some phone calls. When he returned Michelle looked at him questioningly.
“Checking in with the First Lady and Chuck Waters.”
“Anything new?”
“Nothing. I left another message for my two-star buddy.”
“How’s Waters coming on tracking down the Koasati angle?”
“They’ve had people all over that town in Louisiana. Nothing so far. Everybody checks out.”
They fell silent. It was clear that now that the mystery of Sally Maxwell’s death had been solved, the priority was finding Willa. Alive. But they needed a break. Just one break.
 
; Later, as they sat eating in the kitchen, Frank wiped his mouth with his napkin and cleared his throat.
“I was surprised you went back there,” he said.
“Back where?” she countered.
“You know.”
“I was pretty stunned to see you there too.”
“We were never happy there, you know. Me and your mom.”
“Apparently not.”
“Do you remember much of it?” he asked cautiously. “You were so little. Not much more than a toddler.”
“Dad, I wasn’t a toddler. I was six. But, no, I don’t remember much about it.”
“But you remembered how to get there?”
Michelle lied and said, “That’s what we call GPS.”
Sean fiddled with a potato chip on his plate while he tried to look everywhere except at father and daughter. “I’ll be right back,” he said and got up and left before either of them could say anything.
“He’s a good man,” Frank said.
Michelle nodded. “Probably better than I deserve.”
“So you two are like a couple?” He gazed over at his daughter.
She fiddled with the handle of her coffee cup. “More business partners,” she said.
Frank glanced out the window. “I worked a lot back then. Left your mother alone too much. It was hard. I see that now. My career as a cop was my life. Your brothers have balanced things a lot better than I ever did.”
“I never felt ignored, Dad. And none of the boys did either as far as I can tell. They worshipped you and Mom.”
“But did you?”
The look in his eyes was so pleading, she felt the breath harden in her throat. “Did I what?” But she already knew.
“Worship us? Me and your mom?”
“I love you both very much. I always have.”