Chapter 8

"Mom, you can't tell me Daddy's in love with her. I'll never believe that."

"It's interesting your Dad used the word 'infatuation,'" Alex mused.

"I don't believe this. Daddy loves you, Mom. He's only ever loved you. Anybody, everybody can see that!"

"Honey, sit down." Alex sat on Katie's bed, and Katie sat beside her. "You know, in our business, we have to deal with a lot of different kinds of people." She checked, and her daughter was listening. "Your father is one of the best interrogators I've ever seen." Katie nodded. This was old news to her. "Nicole was the most interesting person he ever interrogated."

"What do you mean, interesting?"

"Fascinating. He was mesmerized by her."

Katie shook her head. "But Daddy is in love with you!"

Alex nodded. "Nicole is the most interesting woman he's ever known."

"But you-"

"I'm the most honest. Steadfast." Alex stopped, and let this sink in with her daughter. "And you're right, he loves me. Nothing will change that. But this woman has a way with him… a way of getting inside his head, of twisting his heart around. And he was telling you the truth, that it's a game. It's like that for him, too." Alex rubbed her palms against her legs. "In all those years, all those interrogations, the best he ever managed was a stalemate."

Katie looked up in alarm. She had never known her father hadn't succeeded in the interrogation room. All the stories she'd ever heard were singing his praises.

"Mom, he won't go… meet her, will he?"

Alex nodded. "If he has to. If that's the only way to find Andy and Darren." She looked at her daughter's expression. If the child had been frightened when she first learned about Nicole, she was terrified now. Alex reached out and took her daughter's hand.

The call had come in the middle of the night, strategic move on Nicole's part. She disrupted their sleep, knowing Bobby would never be able to rest afterward, hoping it would throw him off his game.

The call from Mike had been difficult, and Bobby only told him they were hoping to know something by evening.

Now he dressed carefully, his mind roving over every important relationship in his life and how she could so easily destroy all of it. He was relieved when Alex came in and put her arm around him, leaning her head against his chest.

No words passed between them, and yet he felt as if he'd just bared his heart to her. And she had given him nothing but encouragement. He felt stronger, now. More capable.

Bobby sat restlessly, taking in every motion, every movement in the darkness of the bar. When he turned his head to watch a young man take a break shot at the pool table, he heard her voice behind him, sending chills shooting up his spine.

"Bobby."

He spun around too quickly, then calmed himself. He put on his best poker face.

The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. "You've aged well. Distinguished."

"The boys, Nicole."

"I told you I don't know anything about that." She sank into the seat opposite him.

He shook his head and bit back his anger. He couldn't let her get to him. Bobby raised his eyes and examined her face. "You've aged well, too. Rough around the edges, maybe, but still quite pretty."

"Oh, a compliment." Selective hearing was a wonderful thing. She ordered a drink from the waitress and folded her hands in front of her, her eyes as youthful as ever.

"How did you pull it off, Nicole? And where have you been hiding?"

"What, the heart, you mean?"

Bobby cocked his head and waited for her to explain.

"Declan was desperate for love like everyone else. After a good romp, he was easy to convince. All it took was a boyfriend in the coroner's office to replace the DNA report with a true one of mine. They were all so distracted by your state of mind, Bobby. Nobody thought to look more closely."

He nodded slowly and then stared at a pine knot on the wall. "And then you disappeared."

She smiled again. "I had a wonderful excursion, darling." She straightened the rings on her fingers. "I traveled the world, made a comfortable living." She leaned in closer to him and brushed her fingers against his. "I have quite a collection of toys, Bobby."

He pulled his hands back. "Why here, why now? It sounds like you moved on with your life."

She shook her head. "You must understand, Bobby, my obsession. With the one that got away." Her eyes met his, and she saw he did understand.

Her next comments were like icicles cutting through his heart. "I knew you'd married her. I saw your little girl, once, at the park, on her tricycle. I thought about taking her, but… would you believe I didn't want to hurt you?"

"Yeah, sure. I believe that," he said, and on the last word made eye contact.

"And you thought of me, too." She said it knowingly, and he bristled.

"When I had time," he said. It was true, in a way.

Her drink arrived and she raised it in a toast. "To a new beginning. To us."

She sipped her drink. Bobby swallowed his own spit.

Andy had finally stopped feeling dizzy every time he stood. He decided to give it another shot. He ran, jumped, and caught himself on the windowsill. He hung there long enough to get a signal on his phone. He dialed 911, and left the phone on the sill before he fell to the floor, exhausted.