"Whatever you're having."
He filled the kettle and set it on the stove. It had been a month, maybe longer, since he'd seen Callie in person. They'd exchanged a few texts here and there but nothing substantial. She looked the same. Alert. Watchful. That quality she had of taking in a room without appearing to.
Noah heard footsteps on the stairs. Ethan appeared in the kitchen doorway, saw Callie, and gave a half wave.
"Hey, Ethan," Callie said.
"Hey." He grabbed a glass of water, nodded at both of them, and headed back up.
Callie watched him go. "How's he doing?"
"He has a girlfriend."
"He does?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"Seems to have done wonders for you," Callie said, picking up a woman's top that was draped over the arm of the couch.
Noah took it from her. "Yeah. Nat has been spending a little more time here."
"I heard."
"From?"
"McKenzie."
"Oh, the town crier." Noah shook his head. "I really should be more careful what I share with him. Anyway, how's he doing?"
"You know how McKenzie is. Your son isn't the only one who's dating again."
"You?"
"No, McKenzie." She laughed. "I'm too busy preparing for the detective exam."
"I heard. Good for you."
The kettle whistled and Noah poured two mugs, set one in front of Callie at the kitchen table, and took the chair across from her. He studied her for a moment. She hadn't just dropped by to catch up. Callie didn't do that. She was friendly but she wasn't casual, and there was a folder under her arm that she hadn't mentioned yet.
He nursed his mug with both hands.
“So,” he said. “Are you checking in on me to see if I'd drunk myself into an early grave?"
She smiled. She set the folder on the table between them. "No. You remember your brothers, Ray and Luke, working a case about five years ago? It was pretty big. Made national headlines for a while."
His brow knit together. "Kara Ellison."
"That's her."
"You found her?"
"Not exactly." Callie wrapped both hands around her mug. "We had a body turn up in Heaven Hill Trails this morning. Young woman, early twenties. Sliced up badly. Face destroyed beyond recognition."
Noah waited.
"She was wearing an oversized jacket. Not hers. And tucked inside the lining was a SUNY Plattsburgh student ID. Kara Ellison's name and photo."
"But the body isn't Kara."
