“Hey, you know how it is. We’re all in the same boat here.” Lilliana gave her a one-arm shrug. “It’s always a juggling act between our professional and personal lives.”
Kate sighed, leaned back, rotated her neck and head a little, then added, “Simon’s a bit of a different case.”
“I’m quite surprised to see that you’re still dating him.”
At that, Kate studied Lilliana, wondering what she was getting at. She didn’t feel any animosity or any nastiness and hadn’t since the first few days, where it was more a case of being avoided than being negative. “And why is that?”
“It’s the whole psychic-connection thing,” Lilliana said, giving a little shiver. “I’d be worried he knew things about me that I’d just as soon keep to myself.”
“Nothing to hide really. Although I think Rodney said something about him reading my mind.”
At that, Lilliana looked horrified.
Kate laughed. “I don’t even think that’s possible to do.”
“Yeah, but you don’t know—like, youreallydon’t know. There could be all kinds of things that he can do.”
“So far it’s just numbers and connecting with victims, and I think that’s enough for him. He’s not happy about any of this as it is.”
“Do you believe him?”
Lilliana’s questions seemed to show a sincere curiosity, and, as such, Kate treated it that way. After a moment’s thought, she said, “As much as I hate to, and as hard as I’ve tried to negate everything he’s come up with, I’ve found myself believing him. I don’t think I believe anybody else, and it would take an awful lot for me to get there, but I really am at the point of concluding that the information he’s provided is true.”
“It’s been helpful, right?” Lilliana questioned.
“Yeah,” Kate said, “that’s the problem. I haven’t found a way to dismiss it, and that’s made it very difficult.”
“Of course.” Lilliana nodded. “It’s one thing to disbelieve. It’s another thing to have the proof presented and then still disbelieve—since it makes you sound like you’re just being difficult and don’t want to look at the evidence.”
“And it’s always about evidence for me.” Kate gave a quick nod, as she turned to face her monitors. “But that still doesn’t mean that I’ll automatically believe everything he says going forward.”
Lilliana burst out laughing. “You don’t ever want to do that in a relationship anyway, right?”
She smiled to herself. “Isn’t that the truth.” She laughed and turned to look at Lilliana. “What about you? Do you have a partner?”
Lilliana smiled. “Well, I did. I was married for twenty-plus years,” she said. “Then about eighteen months ago, we had an amicable split.”
“Is there such a thing?” Kate asked in wonder.
Lilliana burst out laughing. “Yes. The last few years we were together mostly for the kids, and then it was like, okay, this isn’t even working for the kids now. So, it was time to shift. The kids go back and forth, and I honestly think they’re happier. We’re happier. It’s all good.” She shrugged. “Besides, I have so many late nights, this way they have a little more stability.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised that so many cops even have relationships. When you think about it, we’re a bad bet.”
“We are, indeed, but look at perfect-family-man Owen. Plus, I do have another partner now, who’s a better fit. He’s also a cop, and you’ll see him around every once in a while, if we stay together.” She gave another shrug. “I’m not so sure about that, but it’s good right now, and it keeps me grounded, and that’s really important.”
“The grounding?”
“Yes. Having somebody to go home to at the end of the day really matters. Like what Owen has. Cops who are happily married handle the job stress better, and they last longer in this job. They don’t burn out as quickly. But only if they can keep the marriage together of course.”
“That’s good to know,” Kate said. “There’s got to be something, some redeeming reason, to keep these guys in our world.”
And again, Lilliana burst out laughing. “You really have a great sense of humor. I’m sorry that I haven’t allowed myself to recognize it until now.”
“Not a problem. I wasn’t terribly popular or chatty when I first came on board.” Of course she still wasn’t either of those things, but she wouldn’t say that right now.
“It wasn’t you. You know that, right?”
“I know,” she said. “It was the fact that I wasn’t Chet.”