She nodded and smiled. “I know, but then he called and said he would give me the proof he’s been holding over my head. I came down here to meet him, but it never even occurred to me,” she said, “that he would try to do this.”
“Well, people being people,” Kate said, “you really need to trust your instincts and get away from people like that. Don’t listen to what they say. Listen to how they make you feel.”
“I know,” Mali said. “I get it now. I’ll call my mom and talk to them.”
“Now that sounds like a grand idea. Maybe you should tell them of the trouble you’re having dealing with all this.”
She nodded slowly and said, “I really didn’t kill my sister.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Kate said quietly. “Maybe now you can go get some help and deal with your loss. I’ll get somebody to take you home and also see that you get somebody over there to spend some time with you.”
Teary-eyed, Mali was led away to a cruiser, where she was put into the back seat and driven off.
*
Simon smiled atKate, then downward. “Apparently I’ll need some new shoes.”
She looked down at his fancy dress shoes with worn-out soles. “Well, you ought to get some running shoes,” she said, with a chuckle, “instead of those five-hundred-dollar-dress shoes. Maybe they would hold up better.”
“A thousand bucks actually,” he said, “and they were on sale.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, “maybe you should invest in some cheap runners for when this happens again.”
“That’s not even funny. Not one bit.” But the corner of his mouth kicked up.
She grinned. “It is pretty damn funny,” she said. “Hilarious, in fact.”
He opened his arms; she walked into them, and they just stood like that for a long moment. “Do you think he could have survived?”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “The boats and divers are on the way, and they’ll go hunting, but, with the temperatures and the height of the bridge, I don’t think so. This bridge is pretty unforgiving.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, “but tonight the good guys won.”
And, with that, she smiled, nodded, and said, “Agreed. Can I give you a lift home?”
“You sure as hell can,” he said, and together they walked back to where Rodney stood, staring at them in disbelief.
He reached out a hand and said, “Hey. Simon, right?”
Grinning, Simon shook his hand. “Yeah.”
“Rodney. Interesting job you got there.”
“It’s not my job at all,” he said, with a quick shake of his head.
“I don’t know,” Rodney said. “Seems to me like it’s a passion.”
“God no. Not a passion I want to pursue at all, but it seems we don’t always have a choice. Sometimes we’re directed to do things, whether we like them or not.”
“I’ll feel better when the body shows up,” Kate said, with a last glance behind them. “We could really use the closure.”
Rodney looked at her and asked, “You going home now?”
“Hell yes, I’m going home.”
“Reports?”
She stopped, looked at him, and said, “Everything can wait till morning, don’t you think?”