to show her that he was paying attention to her life. Without hesitation he spotted the Lipinskis’ dominating two-story at the end of a cul-de-sac and he figured it made him look like a genius. He got out with Carly and went to the door instead of just dropping her off. Ro Lipinski welcomed them and when they stepped into the house, Carly spotted Jessica and two other girls back on the wide pool patio and with a flip of her fingers and a “’Bye, Dad,” skipped away. Ro, an attractive woman with short blond streaked hair and a swimmer’s athletic figure, asked if Nick wanted a cup of coffee.
“Bob’s out with the boys teaching them how to play golf,” she said.
Nick smiled and declined, his eyes following his daughter through the glass doors and the smiles and little-girl greetings. Ro watched the side of Nick’s face.
“How’s she doing, Nick?”
Her question brought him back.
“Good. I, uh, think she’s good,” he said.
The woman’s face was showing concern, like a mom. She had been close with Nick’s wife. Their kids shared schools and birthday parties. Both sets of parents shared cookouts and the occasional dinner out on weekends.
“The school counselor says that this Christmas should be easier than last year, but no guarantees. You know? They don’t like to give you guarantees,” Nick said, turning his gaze back out to where the girls were huddled around some new blow-up pool toy.
“Well, she’s pretty good here when they’re all together, Nick. I know it’s still got to be hard over at your house when it’s quiet,” Ro said, her voice consoling, like it had been at the funeral and every time Nick had seen her since.
“Yeah, well, it’s probably good for her to be around the girls instead of just me on the weekends.”
Nick looked past the woman’s eyes. Shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He hadn’t moved off the flagstone in the entryway.
“And how are you doing, Nicky?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s been two years. I shouldn’t still be dwelling on it that much. But I am, and you know something? I don’t give a damn if I am.”
Ro was looking in his face, nodding. Nick could feel his skin redden, caught clumsy by his own anger. He shifted his weight again and put his hand in his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his car keys. He wanted to run, leave his daughter here, giggling and playing and being happy, and just run.
“I know, Nicky. I know,” Ro said, reaching out to touch his arm. “Look, when you come back to pick her up, come a little late, OK? Bob will be back with the boys and maybe you guys can talk, you know? Maybe you and Carly can stay for dinner or something.”
“Sure, maybe that’ll be a good idea,” Nick said, even though he and Bob Lipinski had never been so close as to have heart-to-hearts about anything personal, and he doubted that that was going to change now. He started to back out through the front door.
“Yeah, I’ll be back to get her about five, alright?”
She could see the look of lingering pain on his face and called after him. “She’ll be fine, Nick.”
He waved. “Yeah, sure. I know,” he said and kept moving.
When Nick got back home, he sat at the empty kitchen table and began to make a mental list. He’d have to call Ms. Cotton early tomorrow to see about the collection of letters. If Hargrave got to her first, he could only make a request with the press officer to see what they’d come up with. Because the detective had loosened somewhat with information, Nick was holding out hope that the guy would share. It was still a give-and-take with him. He would also have to check out this OAS meet. If it was ten days off, Deirdre wouldn’t get to it until this week. Daily newspaper editors rarely thought of anything more than a few days in advance and then jumped in with both feet when the show was just about to begin.
Nick caught himself mentally pissing and moaning again. It’s just the nature of the biz, he told himself. That’s the way it is. “Shut up,” he said and the reverberation of his own voice stopped him. His wife would have looked over at him and shaken her head: “Talking to yourself again?” But she would have been smiling, knowing how he could get lost in his head and