He snorted, but as we came around the house, we noticed the trailer had hidden another car. A car that wouldn’t have screamed cop to me, necessarily, except that the license plate read 411—DUI.
I squinted at the porch. Officer Hernandez sat on one of the rocking chairs, watching us figure out she was here.
“That’s a Chicago police pool car,” Max observed, in an offhanded lawyer-like way. “Friend of yours?”
I grimaced. “Something like that.”
She stood as we popped open the doors and trotted down the steps. “Hello, Delia. Beautiful day. And you must be Max Graham?”
“I am,” he said, extending his hand for her to shake.
“Pleasure to meet you, Max. Delia and I met after Rabbi Mordechai passed. She mentioned you several times, so when I couldn’t find her, I figured I’d take a drive.” She gestured to the damaged house. “Looks like you’ve had some excitement.”
“But you’re not here, officially?” I asked, because Officer Hernandez didn’t look at all like her usual self. Her hair was brushed down around her shoulders, and she was in a loose T-shirt and jeans, and tennis shoes, definitely not in uniform.
“Not officially, no.” She shook her head, squinting down toward Claire and Steve at the paddock. “I kind of thought they might be here.”
“Any of Delia’s friends are welcome here, always,” Max said firmly.
Officer Hernandez’s eyes darted to Max, then back to me. I had to hand it to her; she sure didn’t miss much. “Friends are good,” she agreed.
I peered at her. “So…you were looking for me?”
She smiled at me, shrugged. “I’ve been a cop for ten years. Which isn’t a long time by some standards, but it’s still taught me a few things. Sometimes, you just have to go where your gut tells you to go and figure out why once you get there.” She nodded at Max. “The rescue horses were unexpected.”
“We like to shake things up.”
She nodded. “It’ll be dark soon.”
“Soon enough. I hope you’ll join us for dinner?” A midwestern offer, easily and authentically made. Max might have a house full of demons, but he also had good manners.
“Oh, I think so.” She looked at me. “I had a long conversation with Rabbi Ethan.”
A chill slipped through me. “Another one?”
“Yep. He told me to tell you that you have no business doing what you’re trying to do. That he’s read some sort of file that Mordechai kept, and he feels terrible about everything you’ve been forced to see in your life.”
Curiously, her words made me feel better. My stomach quieted, the emptiness filling up a little. “He said that? He’s not coming after me?”
“Oh, no.” Hernandez shook her head. “All he said was that his uncle was a good man, but he’d gotten a bit turned around when you came into his life. Apparently, Mordechai always thought he could help everyone, but sometimes people weren’t his to help.”
I frowned at her, newly confused. “And you decided to come out here after that? Why?”
She smiled, smelling of candy bars and coffee, and a sprawling family in the suburbs who couldn’t understand whyshe’d ever left. “Because I feel the same way, but sort of in reverse. Sometimes peoplearemine to help. And today, Delia Thompson, you’re my people.”
Chapter
Thirty-Five
It was a packed house at the Graham mansion that night, both inside and out. The Bells came up and joined us for dinner on the porch, which was picnic food brought in by the ladies at the local church. Joe had died, after all. Food was to be expected.
Mr. Graham stared out at the paddock a lot, commenting on the horses, and telling Claire about each breed. Steve had found a bottle of bourbon and was carefully nursing a glass. Emily was chain-smoking, which made me curiously happy, and drinking a little too much, which surprised me not at all. She sat on the opposite side of the porch from Officer Hernandez, who we introduced as a police investigator that Grandma Kate had hired to make sure no one was stealing her stuff.
It was a testament to Grandma Kate that everyone believed this.
I let them drink and eat, and I watched them, wondering when to begin. I didn’t want to wait until nightfall, but I also didn’t want to ruin this moment. No matter what happened, after tonight, things would be different. I would be different.
Different good or different bad, I wasn’t so sure. And since I didn’t have anyone to ask anymore, I stayed quiet.
