Page 74 of Blood Moon

He shot her a look, and she smiled cheekily.

Then he returned his eyes to the road and continued. “The divorce followed close on the heels of the Mellin case. The split was contentious, a real shit show. I was a wreck. Drinking too much. Angry all the time.

“Molly felt betrayed by her mother and wanted to stay with me, but the judge wouldn’t grant even joint custody. She had to go with her mother. Then, a few months into the new normal, Molly ran away.”

“Oh God, John.”

“Yeah. She was fourteen. Barely. Didn’t show up for school, didn’t come home that afternoon. Roslyn called and accused me of harboring her, enticing her by spoiling her.

“Of course, I went crazy with worry. Mitch and I cruised the streets all night looking for her. The next morning, the manager of a twenty-four-hour gas station found hersleeping on the floor of the ladies’ room. He talked her into giving him my phone number.”

“You must’ve been frantic.”

“Pulling my hair out. Then about a year ago, she did it again. That time she was gone for three days before she called me, crying, asked if I would come get her. She’d been walking the streets by day, going to a mission at night. She got frightened by some of the people who wandered in there.”

Beth murmured a sorrowful sound.

“That’s when she and I made a pact. She’s very artistic. From the time she could hold a crayon, drawing, painting was all she ever wanted to do. After I picked her up at that mission, and scolded her severely, I told her that if she would stop endangering herself like that, and stick it out with her mom, I would send her to an art conservatory in Manhattan.” He named it.

“I know of it. It’s renowned.”

“And expensive as hell. I’m still not sure how I’ll swing it—especially now that I’m unemployed—but that’s my deal with her. Last night she was so upset, I was half afraid she wouldn’t show up this morning. My heart clutched when I saw her. The good cop wanted to hold on to her and not let go. As bad cop, I emphasized that our deal is off if she runs away again.”

“I don’t think she will.”

“At least she’ll think twice. She wants that bright lights, big city school.”

“She also doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

“You think?”

“Yes, John. Based on what you’ve told me, you’re her person. When she’s falling apart, she turns to you for restoration. That should make you feel good.”

“It does.” He paused before adding, “Even if her timing last night was lousy.” He cast her a meaningful look.

She smiled shyly. “It was rather lousy.”

“Probably for the best, though,” he said, returning his eyes to the road. “I may have had more than a splash of bourbon in my float.”

“Oh. So you were looking at me through whiskey goggles.”

“You looked damned good. Felt even better.” He braked for a traffic light and turned his head toward her. “Only a distress call from my daughter could have made me stop.”

“Not true.Icould have stopped you.”

“Would you have?”

“Not in a million,” she whispered.

His cock didn’t get the message that now wasn’t the time to act on the invitation behind the sultry look she was giving him. “Fair warning, Beth. I won’t forget you said that.” He reached across the console and placed his hand high on her thigh. “In the meantime, thanks for putting up with the Bowie family drama.”

“You’re welcome.” She spoke softly, and they continued looking at each other until the light turned green.

When they were moving again, she said, “While waiting for you I made some calls. One was to my landlord to ask if the leaky faucet in my bathroom had been seen to. I also called Victor Wallace, the sociology professor. I obtained his number through the college office. The wordsCrisis Pointare as good as ‘open sesame.’”

“Or ‘police officer.’” She smiled, and he asked, “Was the professor open to talking to you?”

She laughed. “Yes. He wanted to know if our interview would be on TV. I had to let him down gently. He was on his way to class and couldn’t talk then. We scheduled a Zoom for later this afternoon.”