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Aidan heard muffled sounds as the phone was transferred.
“Daddy?” Abby sounded giddy with joy, as if Aidan had been away for weeks rather than a day.
“Hi, princess.” Aidan was getting used to that tight feeling in his chest whenever he had to speak to his daughter long-distance—which was far too often to suit his tastes. “Are you taking good care of Aunt Maddy and Uncle Marc?”
“’Course. I hate my medicine. But Aunt Maddy gives me ice cream afterwards. My favorite flavor.”
“Let me guess—pink cotton candy?”
“Uh-huh. It feels cold and nice in my throat. It makes it stop hurting. It’s so pretty. And it tastes so good. I saved some for you. The container’s kind of messy now because Aunt Maddy let me use the scooper and I dripped. I wanted to lick the sides, but she said I couldn’t ’cause there might be germs.” Abby barely paused to catch her breath. “When are you coming home?”
“I’ll be there when you wake up.” Aidan was grinning broadly by now. “And I have a surprise for you.” He heard her whoop with excitement. “But only if you promise to get a good night’s sleep.”
That gave her pause. “How long a sleep?”
“Until I come in and tickle you.”
Abby gave an indulgent sigh. “Okay. But I can’t help it if I wake up before that. If I do, I’ll keep my eyes closed.”
“Do that. And not just to fool me. To rest. Because you’re going to need lots of energy for my surprise.”
Abby was still squealing and Aidan was still grinning when he hung up.
Next call was to Emma.
“Aidan?” She sounded more surprised by the call than Casey had. Then again, she was the most junior member of Forensic Instincts and the least likely for Aidan to reach out to. Having been orphaned at a young age, Emma had survived the foster care system only to hit the streets as an all-too-successful pickpocket. When she decided to get her act together, she’d applied for a job at FI and Casey had given her the chance of a lifetime. Now Emma was a far-more-mature, full-time team member.
“Why are you calling?” she asked, her blunt candor almost as refreshing as Abby’s.
“Because it’s time to pack,” he replied. “I need a week of your time and a ton of your energy. You’re going on a trip—if you’re willing. Casey’s given her okay.”
“A trip?” Emma was audibly stunned. “To where? For what? Are you asking me to help with whatever secret thing it is you do? Am I going to be investigating with you?”
Aidan gave an uncustomary chuckle. “You sound like Abby. Which is good. Because if you agree to this trip, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with her. To answer your questions, no, you’re not going to be investigating anything and, no, I’m not sharing work details with you. I will tell you that my job is taking me to California. I’ll be there for a week and I want Abby nearby. So I’d like to make provisions for her—along with you and Joyce Reynolds, Abby’s nanny—to spend that week in Disneyland. Joyce will do the mothering, you’ll do the theme park circuit. That work for you?”
“Wow.” Emma sounded both excited and hesitant. “I’d love it. But with Abby…” She hesitated. “Even though I won’t take my eyes off of her, I’m terrified she’ll find a way to take off.”
“That’s why Joyce will be there. Two pairs of eyes. Besides, I have a feeling that you’ll offer her enough fun things to do to hold her interest. And I’ll have a long talk with her before you go. I’ll also send Joyce with my credit card and a wad of cash for you to buy drinks for everyone on the flight out—a thank-you in advance for what they might have to put up with. I’ll make sure there’s enough money there for additional rounds if need be. Deal?”
Emma was laughing. “Deal. When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow, probably somewhere around dinnertime. I’ve got a quick international trip to make first, and I want to spend the morning with Abby before she and I take off in opposite directions. Once I’ve made the necessary arrangements, I’ll text you everything you need. You’ll meet Abby and Joyce at JFK. Abby’s recovering from strep throat, so I’m hoping she’ll sleep through part of the flight. I’ll be winging my way to California immediately following my meeting. And Emma? Thanks.”
Aidan’s third call was a piece of cake. Ryan McKay, who rivaled Terri in his technology genius, was thrilled to be brought on board. He and Aidan had worked together before, but always on FI cases and never including any of the Zermatt team members other than Aidan himself. This was new and intriguing terrain for him. So, in his customary way, he asked question after question, all of which Aidan evaded, promising that his own brilliant IT colleague, Terri Underwood, would fill him in as needed.
“What’s her background?” Ryan asked.
“She’s the best. That’s all you need to know.”
Ryan snorted. “You’re not going to tell me shit, are you?”
“I won’t keep anything from you that could help you work on this investigation,” Aidan replied. “But you’re going to have to curb that nosy personality of yours. And you’re also going to have to learn to share. Terri is in charge here. You’re second-in-command on this. Think you can handle that?”
“To work with you again, yeah, I can handle it.”
“Good. Terri will contact you soon.”
* * *
