background, she found her coat and slipped unnoticed out the back door. It was dark but the moon was out, its sharp clear light illuminating the blanket of snow that remained from Tuesday’s storm. She walked up one street and then down another, then asked herself who she was kidding and beelined it to her own house.
Still such a shock, all that yellow tape! There were police cars, and news trucks, and people going in and out of the front door like partygoers. She scanned the faces, and there on the front walkway was the detective with the blue eyes, writing in a notebook. Someone in the house shouted something, and he looked up and spotted her. She gave a little wave with her fingers. Tucking his notebook into the kangaroo pocket of his sweatshirt, he walked over to her.
“Ms. Thompson,” he said.
“Oh please,” Megan sighed, “don’t call me that.”
The detective smiled. “I didn’t really expect to see you over here right now.”
“It looks like a movie set.”
Huck glanced around. “I guess you could say that. By the way, I was at the service this afternoon,” he said. “Your mother certainly had a lot of friends.”
Megan felt herself in the theater again, watching the girl on stage act out her grief. “She had a lot of enemies too,” she remarked.
“She did at that.”
“Which you’re looking into?”
“We are.”
“Pretty closed-lipped, aren’t you?”
Huck smiled wanly.
“Sorry,” said Megan. “I’m in a pretty shitty state these days. Can I go inside and get some clothes?”
The detective shook his head. “Nope. We’re still collecting evidence.”
“Like what? Fingerprints? I’m sure mine are all over the place,” she said. “Does that mean you’re going to think I did it?”
Huck frowned. “It’s not just fingerprints. We’re looking for a lot of other things.”
Megan watched a man walk out carrying a large box. He seemed to be struggling with the weight. “Oh darn, they found my gun collection. Just kidding,” she added quickly, when Huck looked alarmed.
“Not the best time to kid,” Huck advised. “Look, do you want some coffee? We can go sit in my car.”
She didn’t want any coffee, but she did want to sit in his car. She wanted to tell him about the girl in the play, how by pretending she was in the audience, she was able to keep herself from falling apart. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t some kind of monster for being able to joke around with him (gun collections!) when she’d just lost the most important person in her life. None of this would she actually say, of course, but she found it comforting, just being with him.
He led her to where he’d parked his car and opened the door for her. It didn’t look like a cop car. “Where are all the bells and whistles?”
“I’m a detective,” he said, “not a patrol officer.”
“So this lets you sneak around undetected?”
“Correct.”
The undetected detective, she thought. “So,” she said after a moment. “Aren’t you going to ask me questions about my mother?”
“If you want.”
“Then ask.”
Huck turned down the blower. He glanced at her, then sniffed and cleared his throat and looked out the front window of the car. “Okay. Your mother was an outspoken woman, and she got a lot of threats.”
“I know that,” said Megan, “but how do you know that?”
“She had a contact at the department, someone to call in case of emergency. We do the same for any public figure who’s at risk. So if there’s a bomb threat or a phone call, we can check it out ASAP. But my point is, we found some things we didn’t know about in the house.”
“Like what?”
“Like videos, under the VCR,” he said. “Right-to-life material. Pretty graphic stuff.” He paused for a moment. “Did you know about these?”
“Sure. She got them all the time.”
“Why’d she keep them?”
“Just a pack rat, I guess. Actually I have no idea. Maybe she was going to write a book
Still such a shock, all that yellow tape! There were police cars, and news trucks, and people going in and out of the front door like partygoers. She scanned the faces, and there on the front walkway was the detective with the blue eyes, writing in a notebook. Someone in the house shouted something, and he looked up and spotted her. She gave a little wave with her fingers. Tucking his notebook into the kangaroo pocket of his sweatshirt, he walked over to her.
“Ms. Thompson,” he said.
“Oh please,” Megan sighed, “don’t call me that.”
The detective smiled. “I didn’t really expect to see you over here right now.”
“It looks like a movie set.”
Huck glanced around. “I guess you could say that. By the way, I was at the service this afternoon,” he said. “Your mother certainly had a lot of friends.”
Megan felt herself in the theater again, watching the girl on stage act out her grief. “She had a lot of enemies too,” she remarked.
“She did at that.”
“Which you’re looking into?”
“We are.”
“Pretty closed-lipped, aren’t you?”
Huck smiled wanly.
“Sorry,” said Megan. “I’m in a pretty shitty state these days. Can I go inside and get some clothes?”
The detective shook his head. “Nope. We’re still collecting evidence.”
“Like what? Fingerprints? I’m sure mine are all over the place,” she said. “Does that mean you’re going to think I did it?”
Huck frowned. “It’s not just fingerprints. We’re looking for a lot of other things.”
Megan watched a man walk out carrying a large box. He seemed to be struggling with the weight. “Oh darn, they found my gun collection. Just kidding,” she added quickly, when Huck looked alarmed.
“Not the best time to kid,” Huck advised. “Look, do you want some coffee? We can go sit in my car.”
She didn’t want any coffee, but she did want to sit in his car. She wanted to tell him about the girl in the play, how by pretending she was in the audience, she was able to keep herself from falling apart. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t some kind of monster for being able to joke around with him (gun collections!) when she’d just lost the most important person in her life. None of this would she actually say, of course, but she found it comforting, just being with him.
He led her to where he’d parked his car and opened the door for her. It didn’t look like a cop car. “Where are all the bells and whistles?”
“I’m a detective,” he said, “not a patrol officer.”
“So this lets you sneak around undetected?”
“Correct.”
The undetected detective, she thought. “So,” she said after a moment. “Aren’t you going to ask me questions about my mother?”
“If you want.”
“Then ask.”
Huck turned down the blower. He glanced at her, then sniffed and cleared his throat and looked out the front window of the car. “Okay. Your mother was an outspoken woman, and she got a lot of threats.”
“I know that,” said Megan, “but how do you know that?”
“She had a contact at the department, someone to call in case of emergency. We do the same for any public figure who’s at risk. So if there’s a bomb threat or a phone call, we can check it out ASAP. But my point is, we found some things we didn’t know about in the house.”
“Like what?”
“Like videos, under the VCR,” he said. “Right-to-life material. Pretty graphic stuff.” He paused for a moment. “Did you know about these?”
“Sure. She got them all the time.”
“Why’d she keep them?”
“Just a pack rat, I guess. Actually I have no idea. Maybe she was going to write a book
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