“Stop.” Mei laughs.
Judd kisses her on the top of the head and says, “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Something fun. Want to go on a triptogether?” Judd catches himself and adds, “You know, after we find Teddy.” The light dims in his eyes, and he adds, “I just keep thinking he’s going to walk into his doublewide and Deb will call to tell me he’s back. This kind of thing, Teddy disappearing, it’s happened a hundred times before. It happened when we were kids. He knew he was in trouble and would hide out in a friend’s tree house or down by the river for a few hours. My parents called all over town trying to find out where he was. Teddy’s real good at not being found when he sets his mind to it. But he always comes home. He’s trained me into thinking that way.” Judd shifts his head on the pillow. “But I’m scared to death that this time is different.”
Mei doesn’t respond right away in case Judd wants to say more. When he doesn’t, she says, “Of course you’re scared. You’re a human being. And yes I want to go on a trip together when the time is right. But I don’t want to stop talking about you and Clay. You two have a chance to heal your relationship through this crisis, and talking about that will only help.”
“I don’t want to dump my garbage on you.”
“It’s not garbage and you’re not dumping it. You’re opening up and sharing yourself with me. I’m here to support you. To help. Here.” Mei lifts her head from Judd’s chest and says, “Let’s trade places.” She rolls onto her back. “Put your head on my shoulder. Come on.”
Judd looks at her. Dubious and uncertain.
“Do it, Judd. You’re always taking care of everyone else. First Teddy, then Pam, then Clay. And the whole town of Riverwood. You deserve to feel what it’s like when someone takes care of you.” She pats her shoulder with her free hand. “Doctor’s orders.”
Judd lowers his head onto Mei’s shoulder as if it’s made of nitroglycerin. One wrong move and everything will blow up. But when he feels his weight sink into her, when his cheek rests against her skin, it feels impossibly right.
“There,” says Mei. “That’s better. Just stay like that for a while.” Mei runs a hand over Judd’s buzz cut and draws him into her.
He wants to saythank youbut is afraid Mei will hear the tears in his voice. He tries to breathe through it when his phone buzzes on the nightstand. Judd keeps his head on Mei’s shoulder while reaching over to grab it. He holds it at arm’s length so his sixty-three-year-old eyes can see the screen clearly. Or at least clearly enough.
“It’s Braedon,” says Judd. “I’d better answer it.”
CHAPTER 33
“What are you two doing here?”
Clay and Zoey sit at Wahlquist’s and Kimmich’s desks. Andy Kimmich has just entered to sign out after his shift. Wahlquist is still out on patrol having set a speed trap south of town.
“We were hoping to have a chat,” says Zoey. She opens Kimmich’s bottom drawer, removes a bottle of Scotch, and sets it on top of the desk. Johnnie Walker Red.
Kimmich smiles a sheepish smile. “What? I’ve had that in there for years. Once in a while, after a hard shift, I’ll have a sip before heading home. Just to calm the nerves so I don’t bring ’em into the house. It’s all part of being a good husband and father.”
“I don’t want to talk about your Scotch, Andy. I want you to get three cups so we can sit and have a drink and ask you a few questions.”
“Oh,” says Andy. He makes a point of looking at his watch. “Now? Kind of late, isn’t it? Maybe we can do it tomorrow.”
“We might not have until tomorrow,” says Clay. “This concerns Teddy.”
“Why didn’t you say so? Anything I can do to help find Teddy.”
“You can get three paper cups from near the water cooler and join us,” says Zoey.
That’s what Andy does. Zoey pours Scotch into three cups, sets one before Clay and the other before Andy Kimmich, who’s pulled up an extra chair.
“So what’s up?” says Andy.
Zoey sips her Scotch and says, “Did Teddy recently talk to you about anything involving Ash Solbakken?”
The directness of the question catches Kimmich off guard. He forces a smile under his mustache and says, “Who told you that?”
“Deb,” lies Zoey. “Teddy told her that Ash asked him to speak to you.”
“Apparently,” says Clay, “Teddy was supposed to tell you Ash has biker gang friends and you’d better be careful with Ash because his motorcycle friends had his back. Or something like that. We asked Ash about it, but he denied having an issue with you. Said everything was just fine. No problems whatsoever. So it’s his word against Deb’s, and who do you think we believe?”
Kimmich keeps his smile and says, “What exactly did Deb say?”
