Page 30 of Three Girls Gone (Detective Amanda Steele #14)

TWENTY-FIVE

After briefing Malone, she and Trent clocked out.

A search warrant was being executed on Harrington’s car and her grandmother’s house, but neither required them on scene.

With their prime suspect unavailable for questioning until sometime the next day, it presented a natural cut-off point.

She picked up Zoe from Libby’s a bit before six, and they were on their way home.

“So what do you say to pizza for dinner? I already picked up a fresh ball of dough.” Amanda bobbed her eyebrows at Zoe in the rearview.

“Yeah!” Zoe giggled, but quickly covered her mouth as if she was self-conscious.

“What was that about?” Amanda imitated what she’d done with her hand, and Zoe became serious. “Come on, tell Mandy.” She talked about herself in the third person in a playful tone, hoping it would lure the girl to confide in her.

“It’s just some kids at school.”

“What about them?” she asked, though she had an idea where this was going.

“They’re teasing me. Calling me a toothless old lady.” Zoe scowled and crossed her arms. Such a serious expression on her beautiful little face seemed out of place.

“Everyone loses their baby teeth at some point. It’s part of growing up, maturing.

” She added a bit of zest to that word, knowing how Zoe liked to point out she was getting too old for certain things she used to enjoy.

Thankfully, she’d outgrown the need to watch Frozen on endless repetition, but that was good for more than one reason.

It had been a movie she watched with her late mother.

Letting that go told Amanda that Zoe was healing.

“I know. And I guess once one of them loses two front teeth at once…” Zoe grinned unabashed.

“No, you won’t. You know how it feels to be teased. Being mean to others isn’t the type of person you are.”

“I want to be like you.” She imitated a gun with her hands and said, “Bang, bang.”

Amanda would laugh if it wasn’t serious.

“You know I rarely fire my gun. My job is to protect people.” As she said this, taking in Zoe’s delicate features, Amanda felt an ache in her chest. She’d failed to do that for Hailey.

But like her father reminded her before, the past couldn’t be undone, the victims’ fates rewritten.

The only sane choice she had was to look ahead and prevent further crime, further pain.

“Yes, but you carry one.” Her eyes twinkled, making Amanda nervous.

“Being a cop is about so much more than carrying a gun. You know that?”

“Yes. It’s selfish.”

The word halted Amanda for a second until she realized what her daughter had meant. “You mean selfless . ”

“Yeah. Aunt Libby told me you’re the most self… less person she knows.” Zoe seemed to struggle with the pronunciation.

“That was nice of her.”

“She’s a nice person. ”

“She is.” Amanda pressed the button on her rearview mirror to open the garage door, as she turned down their street.

For the longest time, the bay was stuffed with boxes full of mementos from her previous life.

A while back she’d whittled down the keepsakes to a single box, which she now stored in the basement.

She pulled into the garage and lowered the door. Now that she was using her garage for its intended purpose, she couldn’t imagine ever doing without it. As she was juggling to get her house key out, her phone rang. “Here.” She passed off the key to Zoe, while she answered her phone formally.

“Detective? Still in business mode, I see.” It was Becky Tulson, Amanda’s best friend since kindergarten.

“When am I not?”

Zoe put the key into the lock and was twisting the handle but without success. It didn’t help that her backpack was bigger than her torso. She looked like a turtle in danger of flipping back on her shell.

“Just a sec,” she told Becky and stepped in to help Zoe.

They went into the house. The door for the garage opened into a small mudroom that bled into the kitchen.

Zoe shrugged out of her shoes, bag, and coat in seconds.

Amanda was reminded of what the dance teacher had told them about kids getting ready.

It applied more to the putting on of clothes than shedding them.

All Zoe’s items lay discarded on the floor until Amanda made eye contact with the girl.

“Fine.” Zoe set about picking them up and putting them on hooks at her height. Kevin, Amanda’s late husband, had put them in for their daughter, Lindsey.

“Mandy?”

It took a few seconds for Amanda to clue in to where the voice was coming from. Oh, Becky! She lifted her phone back to her ear. “Sorry about that. ”

“From the sounds of it, you’re home. It’s just after six.”

“I know, eh? Mark the calendar.”

“Do you have any plans? I could come over.”

Amanda heard the television come on and hung her jacket and slipped out of her shoes.

She wasn’t worried about what Zoe would watch as she had her own profile for each of the streaming services that limited the programs to ones suitable for children.

“Pizza Tuesday, but other than that… not really.” They broke the norms for Tuesdays whenever Amanda was home from work for dinner. Pizza, never tacos.

“Oh, pizza. I love it. Can I come over? That sounds amazing.”

“Why not?”

“Awesome. I’ll be there in ten, fifteen minutes.”

With that, Becky ended the call, and Amanda told Zoe they were having company.

“I love Becky.”

“I know, baby.” She mussed Zoe’s blond hair on the way into her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. Her typical detective attire was slacks and a nice shirt, sometimes paired with a blazer.

By the time Amanda had changed into yoga pants and a T-shirt, someone knocked on the door. Becky was serious when she said ten or fifteen minutes. Only she didn’t find Becky standing there.

Zoe came up behind Amanda. “Trent? Yay! You never told me he was coming too.” She hugged Trent’s legs.

“Hey, Zoe,” he said to her while looking at Amanda.

“Baby, why don’t you go back to your show? Trent and I need to talk.”

“Okay.” Zoe left and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV.

Amanda stepped outside. The evening air was a little chilly, and she shivered .

“I’ll be fast. You shouldn’t be standing out here without a jacket tonight.”

When they’d parted ways at Central, things between them had been a little messy.

She wasn’t going to prod into the reason.

If Trent and Kelsey were having problems, that was none of her business.

And if he wanted to have another talk about how they couldn’t explore their feelings for each other, she might explode.

“I just wanted to apologize face to face if I was being strange about Dr.Handsome and…”

If… She’d let that go. “So you noticed, eh? The handsome part?” She winked at him, not wanting to dig into this… whatever this was, any further.

“Yes, I noticed. I am a detective, after all.” He smiled, but the expression was quick to fade. “But you’re right. It’s not my place to think anything of it.”

A car horn was honked a few times. Becky was grinning as she pulled in behind Trent’s Jeep, parked, got out, and started up the walk. “Trent Stenson, as I live and breathe. It’s been a long time.” She gave him an enthusiastic slap on the back.

Becky and Trent used to work together at the Dumfries PD. While he’d advanced rank and transferred to the PWCPD, Becky was content remaining at the smaller station as a uniformed officer.

“Yeah, you too,” Trent told her. “But I was just heading out, so I’ll need you to move your…”

“Of course.” Becky smiled at Amanda and pulled her in for a quick hug before heading back to her car.

Amanda ducked inside and watched them from the window in the door. They talked in the driveway for a few minutes, and Amanda wished she was better at lip-reading. Soon, both were pulling out, and Becky was driving back in. Her horn honked as she locked the doors with her key fob .

Amanda opened the door, and Becky stepped inside holding a bottle of red wine.

“Hey, Becky!” Zoe smiled at her and hugged her.

Becky squeezed back. “Oh, thank you for that. That air has a bite tonight. But this should warm us up.” She handed the wine over to Amanda.

Any other Tuesday, Amanda would protest the offering as being made on a school night . But after that strange visit from Trent, a little wine wouldn’t be the end of the world. “Sounds good.” She headed to the kitchen with her friend and Zoe trailing her.

“When are we going to eat? I’m starving.” Zoe slumped, bending at the knees and letting her arms dangle.

“I’ll get you some apple fries to tide you over. That sound good?”

“Okay.”

“Oh, what’s that?” Becky pointed at Zoe’s mouth. “Open wide.”

Zoe did, with pride, and pointed at the holes left from her latest baby teeth falling out.

“Look who’s a big girl now.” Becky hugged Zoe.

“Yes, yes, that’s me.” Zoe rolled her eyes and collected the sliced apple that Amanda prepared for her.

“Eat it in the living room, and I’ll call you once the dough’s rolled out,” Amanda told her.

Zoe sauntered back to her perch in front of the TV and resumed the playback of her program.

Becky was reaching into the cupboard for wineglasses, and Amanda pulled out the dough and a rolling pin.

“So what’s up with you?” she asked Becky as her friend moved on to unscrewing the lid on the wine.

Amanda nudged her head toward the bottle. “I see we’re living it up tonight. Twist top?”

“You don’t drink for years and now you’re a wine snob?

Well, I’ll have you know, don’t let the twist top fool you.

And in answer to your question. I just thought I’d call, see what was up.

” Becky poured some red into two glasses and handed one to Amanda.

“To spontaneity. Because I swear without it these days, we’d never see each other. ”

Amanda echoed the toast and clicked her glass to Becky’s.

“Now, what’s this I hear about some doctor?”

Amanda choked on her mouthful of wine. She started coughing.

“Oh, it’s more serious than I thought.” Becky’s eyes were twinkling with amusement.

Once Amanda could breathe without a catch in her throat, she spoke. “There’s no doctor. And there’s nothing serious.”

Becky pointed toward the front door. “That’s not what Trent said.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I hear he’s some hottie who couldn’t take his baby blues off you.”

So, he caught that… “Let’s not do this.” Amanda spread some flour on the counter and unwrapped the ball of dough.

“Do what? Mandy, you and Logan broke up six months ago. It’s time to move on. You’re too young to close up shop.”

Amanda paused on the analogy, took a sip of wine, then picked up the rolling pin.

“You must be lonely.”

“I have Zoe.” Amanda couldn’t even look at her friend right now. If she did, she might succumb and admit that some male companionship would be nice. The catch was the man she was primarily interested in wasn’t available. She pressed the pin firmly against the dough and rolled.

“You know what I mean. Are you scared? You don’t have to be. It’s like riding a bike. You just have to get back on.”

At least she didn’t say horse … “It’s not that easy, Beck.” Amanda stopped rolling. “I have Zoe to consider. ”

“So take things casual. Keep it from Zoe.”

“I don’t keep things from her.”

Becky angled her head and pierced Amanda’s eyes, calling her bluff.

“Fine, there are some things. Only for her own good.”

“Like Mr. Hot Doctor?”

“Shh.” Amanda feared Becky said that a little too loudly.

“Sorry. I’m just worried about you. You have so much love to give, and you deserve it too.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Becky pushed off the counter she’d been leaning against. “Now tell me what I can do to help.”

“Ah, not so quick. You’re here doling out relationship advice, but when are you and Brandon going to make things more official?

” Becky had been dating Brandon Fisher, an FBI agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit, for several years.

Their relationship hadn’t progressed past a commitment to keep things exclusive.

“Dear God. No.”

“No, what?”

“We were talking about you.”

“We were . Now it’s your turn.”

Becky drained an unhealthy amount from her wineglass. “Brandon was married before. You know that. Well, he’s in no rush to do it again, and I’m fine with the way things are. So…” She shrugged and lifted her glass but lowered it again without taking a sip.

“Uh-huh. Well, I worry about you. You have so much love to give, and you deserve it too.”

“Oh, shut up.” Becky roared with laughter and flicked some flour at Amanda.

“Food fight!” Zoe ran into the room, and Amanda had little time to wonder how much she’d overheard. She was hit in the face with a small chunk of dough, thrown from her own daughter’s hand.

“Why you little…” Amanda snatched some dough and made like she was going to hurl it at Zoe.

The girl squealed, running around the kitchen island with her arms waving in the air. She knocked over the bag of flour, and it spilled onto the floor.

“I’m going to get you,” Zoe threatened Amanda as she bent over to grab a handful of flour.

“Oh, no, you’re—” Amanda received a tongue full of flour and spat trying to get it out of her mouth.

Becky doubled over in laughter.

“I got you!” Zoe did a victory dance, and Amanda used her distraction to her advantage.

She grabbed some flour. “Hey, Zoe,” she called for her attention. The girl no sooner turned to look at her than Amanda threw flour at her face.

“Mom!” Zoe yelled, and all fell silent after the word left her mouth.

Becky stopped laughing. So did Amanda. Time stood still. Swelled. Just like her heart.

Amanda went to Zoe and got on her knees, holding her arms. “I would love for you to call me Mom , but only if you’re comfortable with that.

” She wanted to give her daughter a way to back out, undo what she’d said.

She could appreciate the deep bond a girl had with her mother.

Zoe’s birth mother was gone, and Amanda never wanted to be seen by the girl as trying to take her place.

Zoe wiped some flour off her face and away from her eyes and nodded.

Amanda hugged her and didn’t want to let go. Ever.