He wondered if there had been more going on in Malina’s life than Eva was aware of.
FOUR
Eva pulled herself together with an effort. She sat down on the floor next to Mikey and picked up one of his dinosaurs before casually asking, “Do you remember when Mommy talked about the bad man?”
Mikey shook his head and picked up the T. rex, his favorite dinosaur, and began making growling noises. “Grr! I’m gonna eat you for breakfast.”
“No, don’t eat me!” Eva cried as she pranced her dinosaur away as if trying to escape. “My dinosaur is scared of the T. rex. Mikey, was your mommy scared of the bad man?”
This time, Mikey nodded. “Bad mans are scary. But my T. rex is scarier.” He went back to making growling noises.
Eva glanced up at Finn, who was watching their interaction with a thoughtful expression on his face. While playing with the dinosaurs, she tried several times to probe about her sister’s bad man, but Mikey was too focused on the dinosaurs and didn’t provide any additional information.
Giving up, she set down her stegosaurus and began to stand. Finn was there, offering his hand. She took it and allowed him to help her up, keenly aware of the warmth of his fingers cradling hers. “Thanks,” she said, releasing his hand while hoping her cheeks weren’t as pink from embarrassment as they felt.
Finn lifted his chin toward the kitchen. “I need to talk to you for a moment about Malina.” He glanced down at his K-9 partner. “Abernathy, stay and guard.”
The yellow Lab instantly sat and lowered his nose toward Mikey. The little boy laughed and abandoned his dinosaurs to give the Lab a hug. “I love Abe,” he said, his voice muffled against the dog’s fur.
“Me, too,” Finn agreed with a smile.
Eva moved into the kitchen area. When they were out of earshot of the little boy, she glanced at Finn quizzically. “What about Malina?”
He hesitated, then asked, “Why did she leave the guide dog training center?”
“Because she was finding it difficult to keep working as the receptionist there while taking care of Mikey.”
“Isn’t Mikey in preschool?”
“Yes, but Pete’s schedule requires him to work twenty-four hours on and then he gets forty-eight hours off. The calls come in all night long when he’s on duty, so he rarely gets any sleep. Once he gets home, he heads straight to bed. By the time he’s on a normal sleep schedule, he ends up going back in for another shift.” She shrugged. “I think Pete’s long hours were getting to her, so she decided to quit.”
“Is that what Wade Yost told you?”
“No, that’s what Malina told me.” She frowned, not appreciating Finn’s skeptical tone. “Why? What difference does it make why Malina left the training center?”
“It doesn’t,” Finn said, averting his gaze. “I just think it’s an odd coincidence. Less than a month after she quits her job, she’s hit by a car and Mikey is talking about some sort of bad man. I’m just trying to understand how the puzzle pieces fit together.”
Eva folded her arms over her chest. “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than there is. Mikey has been through a lot, losing his mother and adjusting to life without her. How do we know he isn’t just a bit confused? Maybe heard something on television? I’m not sure we should jump into action based on a three-year-old’s statement.”
“You’re probably right.” Again his tone lacked conviction. “Still, do you know if she had any enemies? Or if Pete has any? Any issues at all?”
Eva let out a heavy sigh. “None that I know of. Why would they? They were happily married and both doted on Mikey. I just don’t see how they could be involved with some sort of bad man.”
“Was her death investigated?”
“Yes, but it was deemed a hit-and-run, and there wasn’t reason to think she was purposely hit. No one nearby got the license plate or paid any attention to the driver.” She thought back to those turbulent and sorrowful days after Malina’s accident. “The police didn’t have any leads and told us that unless someone stepped forward with more information, they likely wouldn’t find the person responsible.”