“Not a problem.”
O’Neil was smart, and more, he was savvy. Dance could see that he understood instantly. His first reaction was dismay that he’d put her in a difficult position.
His eyes offered a sincere apology.
And hers insisted that none was necessary.
O’Neil was amused too and gave Dance a smile not unlike the one they’d shared when last year they’d heard on the car radio the Sondheim song “Send in the Clowns,” about potential lovers who just can’t seem to get together.
Timing, they both knew, was everything.
Dance said evenly, “Jonathan and I are going to Napa for the weekend.”
“Just a little get-together at my parents’ place. I always like to bring along somebody to run interference.” Boling was downplaying the getaway. The professor was smart too — he’d seen Dance and O’Neil together — and understood that he’d walked into the middle of something now. “It’s beautiful up there,” O’Neil said.
Dance remembered that he and Anne had spent their honeymoon at an inn near the Cakebread Vineyard up in wine country.
Could we just shoot these ironies dead, please? Dance thought. And she realized that her face was burning with a girlish blush.
O’Neil asked, “Wes is at your mom and dad’s?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll call him. I want to cast off at eight tomorrow.”
She loved him for keeping the fishing date with the boy, even though Dance would be out of town and O’Neil had plenty to cope with. “Thanks. He’s really looking forward to it.”
“I’m getting a copy of the decision from L.A. I’ll email it to you.”
She said, “I want to talk, Michael. Call me.”
“Sure.”
O’Neil would understand that she meant talking about him and Anne and the impending separation, not the J. Doe case.
And Dance understood that he wouldn’t call, not while she was away with Boling. He was that kind of person.
Dance felt a fast urge — a hungry urge — to hug the deputy again, put her arms around him, and she was about to. But for a man who remained unskilled at kinesic analysis, O’Neil instantly picked up on her intention. He turned and walked to the stairs. “Got to collect the kids. Pizza night. Bye, Jon. And, hey, thanks for all your help. We couldn’t’ve done it without you.”
“You owe me a tin badge,” Boling said with a grin and asked Dance if he could carry anything out to the car. She pointed out the shopping bag full of soda, water, snacks and CDs for the drive north.
Dance found herself clutching her wineglass to her chest as she watched O’Neil start down the deck stairs. She wondered if he’d turn back.
He did, briefly. They shared yet another smile, and then he was gone.
Acknowledgments
With thanks to Katherine Buse, whose excellent research gave me the lowdown on blogs and life in the synth world and who taught me how to survive (at least for a while) in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Thanks too for the savvy editorial skills of Jane Davis, Jenna Dolan, Donna Marton, Hazel Orme and Phil Metcalf. My appreciation to James Chilton’s webmaster, my sister, Julie Reece Deaver, and thanks, as always, to Madelyn and to the puppies — all of them.
About the Author
A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one best-selling author. His novels have appeared on a number of best-seller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times of London and The Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. The author of twenty-four novels and two collections of short stories, he’s been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association, is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year and is a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. The Cold Moon was recently named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded the book their annual Grand Prix award for best translated adventure fiction of the year.
He’s been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award and was recently shortlisted for an ITV3 Network award for best international author of the year.
His book A Maiden’s Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His most recent books are The Bodies Left Behind, The Broken Window, The Sleeping Doll and The Cold Moon. And, yes, the rumors are true, he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns.
Deaver is presently writing the next Lincoln Rhyme novel for 2010, and another Kathryn Dance thriller for 2011.
Readers can visit his website at www.jefferydeaver.com .