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“Think she’ll hold up her end of the bargain?”
“What, to stop being a pain in our asses? Probably not.” He chuckled. “But she’s doing a little better at toeing the line now. She’s a quick learner. And I think she wants to be a good reporter. She just needed to learn a hard lesson first.”
David spoke again after a few beats of silence.
“How are you holding up? How’s it been having your sister in the know?”
“Oh, you know. Weird and incredible all at once.” A bubble of laughter rose in her chest. “I feel like I can be myself around her now. But I also feel vulnerable. She took it well, all things considered, but I can tell she still has a lot of questions. A lot of reservations.”
“I still have a lot of questions, and I’ve known about your abilities for a decade. I think it’ll turn out just the way you want it. She’s a good person. A good sister. You guys will figure everything out.”
“I hope you’re right.” She turned to him now. “What about you? How are you doing?”
David smiled, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I’m doing okay. Job doesn’t get any easier, but that sorta comes with the territory, you know?”
“Doesn’t seem fair.”
“Lisa’s been saying the same thing for years. She keeps bringing up my retirement right as I’m falling asleep, like maybe she can trick me into leaving the force early.”
“How’s that working out?”
“Not in her favor.” His smile was sad. “I keep telling her I have too many problems to solve. Can’t hang it up just yet.”
“The world needs you.” Cassie patted his arm. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Eh, you’ll figure it out. You’ll have to, sooner or later.”
“Preferably later.”
David cleared his throat, and Cassie got the sense this was something he thought about often. “All of our days are numbered. I think you remember that better than most. God knows I never forget it. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got one foot in the grave.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not that old, David.”
“Age has nothing to do with it. Not in my line of work.”
“You know something I don’t know?”
“All I’m saying is—if anything happens to me, I hope you don’t have to look at my ugly mug after I’m gone.”
Cassie shifted her whole body in the passenger seat to face him. “Should I be worried? I thought you said McLaughlin wasn’t dangerous.”
He waved her off. “This isn’t about McLaughlin. I just mean in general.” He took a deep breath and kept his eyes focused on the road. “I’ve seen enough of what you do. How it takes a toll on you. I’ll never think of your abilities as anything other than a gift, but I hope that after I’m dead and gone, I stay that way. Wherever I end up, heaven or hell, I hope it’s a direct ticket, one way.”
“Well, lucky for you, you’re gonna live to the ripe old age of one hundred and two. By then, I might even be long-gone.”
David chuckled, but he didn’t seem like his usual self. Something was on his mind, but before Cassie could dig any deeper, her phone buzzed in her hand. It was Laura. She put it on speaker.
“Did you find anything?” Cassie asked.
“Did you know McLaughlin had a sister?” Laura responded.
Cassie and David exchanged looks. She brought the phone closer. “Negative.”
“Her name was Ashlynn. I think she was his little sister. She’s been in and out of trouble her whole life. Jail. Addiction. Abusive relationships. But he never stopped caring about her. Never stopped trying to get her into rehab and to turn her life around.”
“What happened to her?” Cassie asked.
“She was murdered.”
