Today, one week after my tenth birthday, two weeks after mom's birthday, is the last day of the Waiting.
I'm still grounded. That was expected. My fingerprinting set is still gone, which was expected also.
But there are still no case files in the living room. And mom and dad don't talk about work. Not at all. Whenever I ask about the Seven Guy, they just say "We are working on it." And whenever I ask how work is, they just say it's good. They talk about a lot of things. School. Neighbors. The news. Anything but work. This is terrible. I never thought this could last. My parents always talk about work. They live their work. But now?
·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-
Andy? Can I come in?
Sure, mom.
I wanted to … give you back this.
My fingerprinting set!
Thanks, mom!
You were right, you know.
So it was Bob Terence who killed the Seven Guy?
Yup. And he had hidden the loot inside that poster frame.
Wow. So the case is closed now?
It is. Your dad is handing over the evidence to the DA this moment.
So I was right. Wow. This is a strange feeling. Good. Somehow.
I'm proud of you, Andy.
What? Did she just say that?
Come 'ere.
Mom!
Ew. She's hugging me too tight. This is enough.
Are you still mad?
Mom's smiling.
I never really was.
What?
I was only scared.
No. You were mad, mom. I could see that.
Scared for my little girl. Scared something might happen to her.
…
It is dangerous to go after criminals, Andy.
Mom. I know that. It was just play. At first. I never thought those prints would really be in the system. The Seven Guy's were funny. I thought they were not clear. And the other could have been random.
But they were not. And you should have told me right then.
But it said it was dad's case. I was curious. I would have told you if I hadn't known the detective. Really, mom.
I know, honey. But still …. Next time you'll tell us when you have so much of a suspicion, ok?
But mom …
Andy?
Ok. I'll tell you.
Who knows? I might. I might not.
Good. You know why that guy's prints were 'funny'?
No. Why?
He had his hands burned. His fingers were full of scars.
Like that officer.
Yes, like that officer. Exactly like that officer. Your 'Seven Guy' was Officer Frey.
Oh! Than he was looking for the money all the time? That's why he was in the Seven always?
Hm. He dropped out of force after that. And his only goal was to find that money. He didn't. But Bob Terence came back. And you know the rest.
This is …
It feels good to crack a case, doesn't it?
Yeah. I cracked it? Really?
You did.
Wow. Mom really thinks that!
I bet you'd love to do it again.
Yes. Can I? Mom?
Your time's not up yet. But after that …
I'm still grounded.
You are. And you won't deal with evidence for a long time. You can help Nige with his experiments again. But no evidence! Ok?
But you said …
No evidence! But there's something else. You might like it. There's a game I used to play with my dad when I was not much older than you. A game to find out how things happened. …
·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-
Wow. I didn't know that. Mom started solving cases when she was twelve. With grandpa. They played killer and victim. Replayed what happened. They still play that sometimes. Grandpa, mom and dad. After Matty and I are went to bed. But mom said I can play with them every now and then. Not everytime. They'll select cases for me. But still …
I think that's going to be fun. Playing out real cases. And solving them.
·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-
Today, one week after my tenth birthday, two weeks after mom's birthday, is the last day of the Waiting. And a strange thing really did happen in the last week. And a whole new life has begun for me.
