“More than anything?” she asked, repeating what he often said.
“More than anything.” He kissed her forehead, her hair, her cheek, and finally her lips.
But when he tried to back away, she reached for him. “Daddy? Where we’re going, will you be there tomorrow?”
“Probably not tomorrow.”
“When?”
“As soon as I can get there.”
Then before he let her forlorn expression change his mind about the necessity of this separation, he kissed her again, quickly stepped back, and closed the car door. She placed her hand flat against the window glass. On the outside of it, he kissed her palm, then aligned his large hand with her tiny one, and they stayed that way until Joe backed the car out.
Chapter 27
Where will they go?” Holly asked as Crawford hustled her into her car.
The street was empty. Nearby houses were dark. From all appearances, no one had noticed their brief visit with the Gilroys. Even so, Crawford was scanning the area, alert to the motion of every leaf, the spatter of every raindrop.
“Grace’s sister recently remarried after years of widowhood. She lives with her new husband in a retirement community outside Austin.”
“They’re in for a long drive.”
“Five hours, give or take. Rain may slow them down. I hope Georgia sleeps most of the way.”
“I don’t know how you said good-bye to her without cracking.”
“I don’t know how I did, either.” He stared vacantly for a few seconds, then cleared his throat and indicated her ignition. “Get going. I need to be well away from here before Neal comes looking.”
“He’s called me.” Steering with her left hand, she used her right to pull her cell phone from the front pocket of her jeans and passed it over to him. “It had been vibrating, but I ignored it. I checked it while Grace was getting Georgia dressed, but I didn’t listen to the messages.”
“He’s left two,” he said. “And you have one text, but it’s from Marilyn.”
“Why would she be texting me?”
“Want me to read it?”
“Please.”
He pulled it up. “It says, ‘WTF is going on?’ Wording doesn’t sound like she’s trying to mend fences.”
“Call her for me, please.”
He used the phone to make the call, but it went through the Bluetooth speaker of the car. As soon as Marilyn answered, she blared, “Holly, thank God you called. I’ve been worried sick.”
“Why?”
“That detective called me. The tight-ass. Lester? Anyway, he was at your house and—”
“At my house? When was this?”
“One vodka and three cigarettes ago. He asked if I’d heard from you, and I told him no, that you were no longer my client, then he told me that you were missing and feared that you’d met with foul play. That’s how he put it. He mentioned the murder of a police officer. I’ve been going crazy here. Where are you? Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“You’re not being made to say that under duress, are you?”
“No. However, I can’t talk now. There’s uh, uh…a situation that I really need to attend to. I apologize for the scare and appreciate your concern. Truly.”
She was about to disconnect using the button on her steering wheel, when Marilyn said, “The uh, uh situation involves him, doesn’t it? And don’t you dare insult me by asking who. The shooting was only the first shock to your system, wasn’t it? Mr. tall, blond, and badass was another.”
During the course of their conversation, Holly had been keeping her eyes on the road. Now she flicked a gaze over to Crawford, who was sitting as still as a stone beside her, his eyes fixed on her, taking in every word.
“Your silence is screaming at me, Holly,” Marilyn continued. “And what I’m hearing is conflict of interest, circumspection versus lust, a moral and ethical dilemma in spades. All of which are right up my alley!” she chortled. “I can’t wait to tackle them.”
“I fired you, remember?”
“Yes, but now I get why. You were protecting him.”
“From you.”
“Right, but I can back off that.”
“Listen, Marilyn—”
“No, you listen. You’re an excellent judge, Holly. Dedicated and idealistic. You actually believe in what you’re doing. And that’s not just me trying to woo you back, I happen to mean it. You should be in that job.”
“After this week, I’m afraid Governor Hutchins will rethink his endorsement. Greg Sanders has suggested that I make a graceful exit to save face.”
“No way in hell. The governor’s blessing is a stroke we can always use, but I can get you elected without it. Hell, I might even do something totally revolutionary in politics and awe the voting public with the truth.
“Sometimes that’s actually the best approach. Hide in plain sight. I’ll be thinking about our strategy. In the meantime, tend to this ‘situation’ with the Texas Ranger. He’s a rude bastard, but he definitely has appeal. When you need me, I’ll be ready.”