“You look sad, Finn,” Eva said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He forced a smile and took a bite of his lasagna. “Yum. Mikey is right—this is amazing.”
She tipped her head to the side, studying him thoughtfully. He fidgeted in his seat, feeling as if her blue eyes could see through his outward jovial facade to the depths buried beneath. To the secrets he’d never told anyone.
To the family he’d always wanted and at the same time refused to allow himself to have.
He was a cop. It was all he’d ever wanted. To be like his father. To protect and serve.
But watching Eva, so stunningly beautiful he could barely stand it, hug and kiss Mikey made him want to reconsider his priorities. Was it possible for him to have both his career and a family? As if sensing his inner turmoil, Abernathy came over and nudged him, placing his head in Finn’s lap.
He stroked his K-9 partner’s silky fur and reaffirmed this was what he was meant to be. A K-9 cop focused on bringing the bad guys to justice.
Not a family man.
* * *
Eva sensed there was something bothering Finn, but he clearly wasn’t interested in sharing whatever thoughts were weighing on his mind.
For some odd reason, Finn’s prayer had touched her deeply, unexpectedly providing a sense of calmness in a chaotic world. The distress she’d felt at finding the cash in Malina’s purse was replaced with a sense of peace after Finn’s prayer.
It occurred to her that Mikey deserved a chance to learn about God and faith. She knew Pete hadn’t grown up with religion, and that he and Malina hadn’t attended church on a regular basis after their wedding five years ago.
Her cell phone rang, startling her. After warily picking up the device, she relaxed when she saw Pete’s name on the screen. “Hello?”
“Hi, Eva. How is Mikey doing?” Her brother-in-law’s voice was difficult to hear amid the background noise.
“He’s great. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Sure. I’ll try to find a quiet corner.” The background noise muted a bit and she held the phone out toward Mikey, putting the call on speakerphone.
“Mikey, say hi to your daddy,” she instructed.
“Hi, Daddy,” the child said.
“Hi, Mikey. I love you, buddy. Are you being good for Auntie Eva?”
Mikey nodded his head, apparently not understanding his father couldn’t see him.
“Say yes,” she encouraged.
“Yes, Daddy. When are you coming home?”
“In a few days, buddy.” Pete’s voice thickened with emotion. “I miss you, Mikey. Be a good boy and I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay, bye, Daddy.”
Eva took the speaker function off and put the phone to her ear. “Listen, Pete, I need to ask you a quick question about Malina.”
“What about her?” Was it her imagination or was there a hint of defensiveness in his tone?
She hesitated, glancing at Finn. He gave her a nod of encouragement, so she moved away from the table, out of Mikey’s earshot and continued. “Malina may have mentioned the newest puppy I’m caring for, a chocolate Lab named Cocoa. Well, he’s missing. He was taken by a thug who threw a rock through the bedroom window in the house I share with my roommates. The rock had a threatening note attached, telling me if I wanted to see the dog alive I needed to find the package my sister stole from them.”
“Package? What package?” Pete asked, confusion lacing his tone.
“I don’t know. I have a K-9 cop, Finn Gallagher, and his yellow Lab, Abernathy, helping to find Cocoa, but we need to know what Malina was involved in before she died.”
Pete was silent for a long moment. “I don’t know anything about a package. Malina and I...were going through a rough patch for a few months before she was struck by that car.”
Hearing him admit that much sent a chill down her spine. “What were you two fighting about?”
“Just the usual.” Pete’s voice was evasive. “Nothing major, but we had a big argument about a week before the accident. Now I wish I hadn’t yelled at her like that. It’s all I can think of now that she’s gone.”
Eva sensed Pete didn’t know about the five hundred dollars she’d found in Malina’s wallet. “I’m sorry to pry into your personal life, Pete. The reference to the stolen package is confusing to me. You’re sure you don’t know anything about a package?”