All I've Ever Wanted - Adrianne Byrd [16]
His ex-wife had often screamed that she hated that trait in him—hated how he could just shut himself off. He was cold and unfeeling, she’d sobbed. Had that been the reason she’d betrayed her marriage vows and then kept him from seeing his son, Franklin?
Max stopped that train of thoughts before it got any more painful and returned to the subject at hand.
“Actually, the whole thing seemed like a waste of time,” he went on to say. “The judge acted as if she was on automatic pilot. She couldn’t care less that I’m a good father, or that I was the one who remained faithful.” He looked out the side window, sweeping his gaze over the landscape. “I didn’t do anything wrong, yet I’m the one being punished.”
“It’ll pan out. You’ll see.”
“I don’t know about that.” Despite the traffic, Max felt his partner’s gaze on him. “Jacinda is getting married.”
The statement hung in the air like a death sentence. Dossman finally emitted a low whistle. “When it rains, it pours.”
“Tell me about it.” With great effort Max suppressed the anger boiling through him. On top of everything else, he now had to face the real possibility of another man raising his son. “Life sure knows how to kick a man when he’s down.”
The silence that followed grew until Max broke it. “I thought our routine went, I tell you my problems and you inflict bad advice on me.”
Dossman laughed bitterly. “Trust me, I was all set to go through our usual routine, but you really floored me on this one.”
Max shifted around in his seat to face his partner. “You know, as long as we’re sharing things, is there anything I should know about you and Scardino?”
As he’d expected, Dossman’s smile faltered, but the man’s recovery was smooth.
“Not likely. I just like to rile her from time to time. She never takes me seriously though. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.” Max made sure that he’d made his disbelief clear before turning back toward the window.
“This is it,” Dossman informed him as the car rolled to a stop. He peered up at the building in front of them. “Not much to look at, huh?”
“Not really. But look over there.” He pointed down the road. “The woods that concealed the crime scene.”
“It’s practically in her backyard.”
Max nodded. “Let’s go have a talk with her.”
From the moment they stepped out of the car, it was clear that they stuck out like a sore thumb. Max felt, rather than saw, everyone’s gazes on them.
“You’d think that we had the word police painted across our foreheads,” Dossman said, straightening his jacket.
“Yeah, you’d think.”
They entered the brick building. Despite the age of the building, the walls were freshly painted and the carpet looked new. A few minutes later, they knocked on the door to apartment 8B and waited.
When they heard footsteps approaching, they remained on guard and prepared for anything.
“Who is it?” a feminine voice asked through the door.
“Police,” Max answered in his best professional voice. As expected an awkward pause hung in the air, and both officers knew the woman was taking a good look at them through the peephole.
They heard the unmistakable thud of the dead bolt disengaging before the door opened a crack. The chain lock remained engaged.
“May I see some identification?”
Dossman and Collier took out their badges and held them up.
The door closed again and the chain was removed. When it opened again, they could see a petite girl who couldn’t be more than seventeen.
“Is this the St. Jameses’ residence?” Max asked.
The girl looked nervous, but she managed to nod.
Max lowered her gaze to the little boy hiding behind the teenager’s legs. Despite the boy’s youth, Max saw intelligence in his eyes.
“May we come in?”
The teenager stepped back and allowed them to enter.
“Are you Ms. Kennedy St. James?” Dossman asked.
“No, sir. I’m just the babysitter. Is there something wrong? Did something happen?” She closed the door behind them.
“Why are you looking for my mommy?” The little boy asked, lifting his chin fearlessly.
Max smiled. As he knelt in order to come down to eye level with the boy, he was