Page 84 of Too Old for This

Burke:Everything okay? Let me know.

CHAPTER 46

Not many people can make my heart stop, but Detective Kenneth Burke is one of them.

I thought he’d have died of old age by now. When I was in my thirties, he seemed at least twenty years older. Perhaps it was the way he acted. Burke always came across like an angry father who couldn’t get his daughter to behave.

The last time I saw him was the day I left Spokane. My name had been cleared, but I had lost my job and Archie still couldn’t go to school because of the bullying. Those kids were relentless.

What we needed was a fresh start in a new state and city, where I could find a job at a bank. My plan was Portland. The car was packed up, all the furniture had been given away, and I was scrubbing our ground-floor apartment one last time to make sure the security deposit was returned. All the doors and windows were open to air it out.

Burke appeared at the front door, casting a shadow on the floor. He wore a tweed blazer, pressed slacks, and that same damn tie with the medallions. His thick head of hair and mustache looked unruly.

I grabbed a bag of trash and walked right past him, out to the garbage can.

“I heard you were moving,” he said.

I still hadn’t spoken to Burke. And I wasn’t about to start.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me where you’re going?” he asked.

I walked past him again and back into the apartment. Archie ran down the hall and slammed the door to the bathroom. I gathered up the cleaning supplies and put them into a plastic tub.

“I know you’re guilty,” Burke said.

If he thought he was going to goad me into answering, he was wrong. Burke stood at my door for a few more minutes before giving up.

“I’m sure I’ll see you again, Lorena.”

That also made my heart stop. It sounded like a promise.

It’s been almost forty years since that day. I open the browser on Norma’s phone and search his name online, looking for an obituary. Just to be sure.

He hasn’t died, but his wife did; it was about a year ago. The last time Kenneth Burke was in the news, he was retiring from the Spokane Police Department. That was back in 2005. Yet he still remembers me. And he’s still trying to put me in prison.

I didn’t see this coming. It makes me wonder what else I’ve missed.

—

I go back to his text, wondering how I missed it yesterday. The message isn’t with all the others. Nor is his name. It came through an app with an icon that looks like the Settings icon but isn’t.

Shelter: Secure Encrypted Messaging

I scroll to the beginning of their conversation, shocked todiscover they’ve been talking for weeks. The first time, they spoke on the phone for about twenty minutes. That was followed by a text two days later on the Shelter app.

Norma:I’ll be there tonight.

Burke:What time?

Norma:About ten.

Burke:Let’s meet for breakfast tomorrow.

While I was dealing with Kelsie and her blackmail, Norma drove to Spokane to meet with Burke.

Unbelievable.

After her trip, they continued to text.