father said. I’d get tired of books and come back to them, he predicted. So I studied and studied so I could prove him wrong. I was dull, a regular nerd.”
It was Tate’s turn to register disbelief. “Come on. With your build, you must have gone out for football or maybe basketball. I can’t believe you sat in your room studying instead of dating a whole flock of coeds.” Even if she shaved off ten years, he was more than average attractive. Was he fishing?
“Not so. You can ask my family. Girls scared me so I hid behind books.”
Still smiling, Tate shook her head in amazement. “Me-thinks you doth protest too much.”
Josh drained his root beer mug and, having made it halfway through his second piece, sat back looking stuffed.
“You really like this pizza, eh?” Tate asked, handing him his napkin.
“It was great.” Josh swiped at his mouth halfheartedly.
Now that they were well fed and smiling, Nick decided they were relaxed enough to give him some answers. “Josh, Maggie watches you after school and sometimes on weekends when your mom has to work, right?”
The boy shot a look to his mother.
“It’s all right, sweetie. Remember, Nick’s a detective and he wants to find the man who hurt Maggie. You can answer him.” But she intended to guide this question session.
“Yes,” Josh said.
“Do the two of you usually stay in the house or does Maggie take you places?”
“Sometimes we go to the park. I like the jungle gym.”
“Have you ever noticed any strangers, someone you might have seen more than once, hanging around the park or near your house?” Nick watched Josh again glance at his mother before answering.
“There was this one guy. I saw him one day at the park, then later he was in a big black car across the street from Maggie’s.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “What did he look like?”
Josh screwed up his face, thinking. “Just a guy. He had black hair in a ponytail, not as long as Mom’s. And both times, he wore black pants and a black shirt. He had on sunglasses.”
Tate’s gaze swung to Nick’s face, recalling that Maggie had told them the intruder who beat her had a black ponytail and wore black clothes. She saw that he remembered, too.
“You’re very observant, Josh,” Nick praised. “You’re doing great.” Even though there was a look of anxiety on Tate’s face. It seemed that the boy hadn’t told his mother about the man in black. Did she recognize that description?
“Did the man come up to you, try to talk to you?”
Josh shook his head.
“About that car, can you tell me what it looked like?”
“It was black and really long. And the windows were dark.”
“You mean like tinted windows?”
“Yes. The man got out of the car and stared at our house. I was watching from mom’s bedroom window.”
“He just stared, didn’t do anything else?”
“He talked with someone in the back seat.”
“Did that person get out, too?”
“No. The window was open halfway, but I couldn’t see him. He was smoking a cigarette and he tossed it out. Then the other guy got back in and they drove away.”
Nick looked at Tate. “Your son has the makings of a first-rate detective. He seems to take in every detail.”
“That’s not the life I want for him, thank you.” Tate stroked her son’s blond hair. “Is that all?”
“Just one last question. Josh, if I showed you a bunch of pictures, do you think you could pick out the man with the ponytail?”
Suddenly frightened, the boy moved closer to his mother. “No. He had sunglasses on. I don’t want to look at any pictures.”
“Okay,” Nick hastened to reassure him, as well as his mother. “No pictures.” What had spooked the kid? he wondered. Realizing the tension was back, Nick signaled for the check.
There was a short discussion about paying, but Nick won. “You can pay next time,” he told her.
Out in the parking lot, he held the door for Tate while she made sure Josh was buckled into the back seat. But before she stepped in, he leaned close to her, resolutely ignoring her scent that had been playing havoc with his concentration all day, and told her that if she could convince Josh to look at some photos or even give a more detailed description to their police artist, they’d have a better chance of finding this guy.
Tate’s reluctance was evident as she quickly sat down. “I don’t want him to be put through that if he doesn’t want to do it,” she said, and reached to close her door, effectively ending the conversation.
The ride home was even more quiet than the ride over. Nick hated putting that fearful look into her beautiful green eyes, but he felt sure that Tate Monroe knew more than she was revealing. However, he reminded himself, he’d have to move slowly if he wanted her to open up to him.
And meanwhile, he’d do a little investigating on his own.
When he pulled up in front of Maggie’s, Tate had the door open before he’d shifted into Park. “Thank you for dinner. We both really enjoyed it, but it’s been a long day and I’ve got to get Josh to bed.” Moving quickly to forestall any resistance from Nick, she got out and helped her son.
Nick got out anyway. “Would you like me to go in and check out the house, just to make sure it’s okay?”
“No, thanks. We’ll be fine.” With cops crawling all over the house most of the day, she doubted the intruder would return.
“Okay, then. I’ll be in touch,” Nick said, wondering if she heard. Or if she even cared.
“Good night, sweetie,” Tate said as she pulled Josh’s bedroom door halfway closed. “Sleep tight.”
“Leave the hall light on, please, Mom.”
“Okay.” Even though he had a night-light on in his room, Josh liked the hallway lit in case he had to get up. Drawing in a deep breath as she made her way to her own room, Tate didn’t mind. If a hall light meant her son would rest more easily, it was a small thing. If only her own sleep would be less fitful by the simple addition of a light on.
Checking her watch, she wondered if it was too late to call her district manager and arrange for a couple of days off until Maggie was home and settled. She’d also have to find a day-care center or summer children’s program for Josh until Maggie was once more able to take care of him while she was at work. Picking up her bedside phone, Tate decided she’d best call now.
Ten minutes later, she
