“Apparently not. He’d driven down to some kind of sales meeting in Kitty Hawk. The kids were with their grandmother. When his wife was killed, he was sleeping alone in his car, waiting for the storm to pass. Not much of an alibi.”
“No.”
“It was enough to make the chief drive over to Manteo with the sheriff to question him.”
“Glad I’m not with them. The two of them together are too much.”
He laughed. “That’s the way competing law enforcement agencies always are.”
“I hate to think that those two little girls could lose their mother and their father.”
He got up and put his arms around me. “No one wants to think that, Dae. But if he killed her—”
“I know—granddaughter of a sheriff, remember.” I shook my head, glad that he was near. “And daughter of a petty criminal, I guess. Maybe that’s what makes me so divided.” I looked into his eyes and asked, “What made you ask me if my father had stolen something?”
He shrugged. “Habit, I guess. For him and me. Did he steal something from you?”
I started to answer, but Danny came into the kitchen. He sniffed appreciatively. “Smells good! Hi, Dae. I mucked out that cellar, Kevin. Most of what’s in there—except the whiskey—was probably ruined by the mud and water.”
“I thought so. Thanks, Danny.” Kevin let me go. “Help yourself to some stew. There’s bread in the oven too. Don’t be shy.”
“Thanks. I feel like I could eat a few wild horses.”
Watching Danny dip stew and cut bread in Kevin’s kitchen made me feel guilty. I was being unfair lying to Kevin about Danny stealing from me. What if Danny took something from Kevin too? In all honesty, I didn’t know if Danny would have returned the makeup case if I hadn’t found him trying to spend the night behind the trash bin. Kevin might not be that lucky.
Since I’d started this quest to get to know my father, I’d told so many lies that I wasn’t sure anymore where one began and another ended. I wasn’t happy about that, but I had no other choice. Somebody had to give him a break and show him that they cared about him. I wanted to be that person.
Maybe Kevin was right and I should tell Gramps everything too, instead of treating him like the enemy. He’d taken care of me my whole life. I owed him something too. I loved and respected him. I didn’t want to lose him while I found my father.
“I’d better get home,” I said, hoping Kevin would take the hint. “Walk me outside?”
“Let me take you home,” he offered.
“Okay. Good night, Danny. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
“See you, Dae. Thanks again. You know, you’re my guardian angel.”
My heart swelled when he said that, and I smiled. And seeing his return smile reminded me that we shared that trait—I had his smile. When I’d first started watching him, I noticed it right away. He might not have been there when I was growing up, but he was still my father. How could I feel any different?
“You were saying?” Kevin prompted when we were on the verandah.
We both knew what he was talking about. “I’m sorry. I know I keep saying that, but I’m really sorry I lied to you. Yes. He took something from me. But he was alone and desperate. I don’t know what I’d do in that situation.”
Kevin’s face took on a hard look that I’d never seen before. “I can tell you what you wouldn’t do—you wouldn’t steal from the woman who’d helped you in an accident the night before. I hate that he’s your father, Dae, but he is what he is.”
“I don’t believe that,” I disagreed. “He’s been working and honest for years—you said so yourself. He hasn’t been in jail for a long time. That whole ‘once a thief, always a thief’ thing isn’t necessarily true. What about rehabilitation?”
“You’re right. He hasn’t been in jail. But that probably means he hasn’t been caught at anything. You can argue that he’s not that kind of person anymore, except that he stole from you, and he’ll probably steal from me if he gets a chance.”
I stopped short from getting into his pickup for the ride home. “This isn’t you talking, Kevin. This is the FBI. I know you worked for them for a long time, but you aren’t an agent anymore. I guess that would mean the same thing—you automatically revert to the person you were before and judge people by what statistics tell you.”
He leaned against the side of the pickup. “Dae, I know he’s your father. I know you feel a bond with him. But that doesn’t make him a good person. Horace knows that too. I guess Chief Michaels feels the same way. Doesn’t that tell you something?”
I nodded, almost too angry to speak. “Yes, it does. I know way too many people in law enforcement, where they teach you to be cynical and suspicious. I think I need to walk, Kevin. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“That’s not fair, Dae. And I think we should talk about it.”
“Good night, Kevin. I’ll call you when I think I
I started walking, hoping he wouldn’t try to join me. I kept my head down until I reached Duck Road. I was still alone. I was glad he gave up. I needed some time by myself.
