“Why do you say that?”
“I heard about that guy you dated. Neil What’s-His-Name. The one Eddie arrested last fall.”
Jennifer grimaced. “Yeah, well, that’s something we try not to talk about much around here. And the truth is, those things can happen anywhere.”
“I suppose. But Eddie seemed shocked by the idea of me going away. And things were going really well last night. Other than the wreck, I mean. But we worked together, and I thought, wow, we can get through hard things, the two of us.”
“I think you can.” Jennifer put the two kangaroos in place and stood back to study the effect. “There.” She came over and sat down beside Leeanne. “You and Eddie are both smart people. And you’ve got lots of years ahead of you.”
“You and Harvey keep saying that. We’re young. Well, we are, but I think Eddie’s feeling the big 3-0 coming at him.”
“He turned twenty-eight not long ago.”
“Yeah, but he sees all his friends getting married and having babies ... He doesn’t want to miss that.”
Jennifer frowned. “I did read someplace that when a man’s ready to settle down, he’s ready. Period.”
“I keep asking myself, if I never went anyplace else or did anything huge, but I had a happy life with Eddie, would that be so bad? Would I really miss anything important?”
Jennifer squeezed her hand. “Until you can answer that, you should keep your options open.”
Leeanne hugged her stomach. “Sometimes I just ache, thinking about him. Is that what love feels like?”
“No.”
“Really?” She stared at Jennifer. “Then why do I feel this way?”
“Okay, let’s rewind,” Jennifer said. “I did agonize over Harvey, because I knew committing to him would be dangerous in some ways.”
“The bombs and stuff?”
“Well, yes, but I also knew the biggest danger was that I could lose him. Suddenly. Violently. Any day I could get that call from Mike.”
“Yeah. I’ve thought about that, too. You’re five months along. What if Harvey got killed on the job now?”
“That would be hard. But I made up my mind last spring that it would be worth whatever time I had with him.”
“Because you loved him so much.”
“Yes, and because he loved me so much.”
Leeanne studied the lines of Jennifer’s dear face. “He’s really good to you.”
Jennifer nodded. “More than I deserve.”
“We don’t any of us deserve anything, do we?”
“I suppose not. But I realized one day how important I was to him, and how crushed he would be if I turned him down.”
“That’s not a reason to marry a man.”
“Not in itself, no. But it was part of what made me love him enough to take the chance. If Harvey died tomorrow, I wouldn’t regret marrying him. And I know he feels the same.”
“Okay, but that’s kind of morbid,” Leeanne said. “Realistically, Eddie and I could have sixty or seventy years together.”
“That would be quite an adventure.”
“Yeah.” Leeanne thought about what it would be like to be retired and spending the winter in Florida with a gray-haired Eddie. “I do want to be a reporter.”
“I know, and I think that’s a good fit for you. But you’ve got to realize that journalism is changing. In another five years, we might not have newspapers anymore.”
Leeanne sighed. “But we’ll always need to get the news out. And we’ll always need cops.”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, that’s true.” Jennifer smiled. “I think you should be a writer. You’re so ... verbal. I know you’ll be great at it. And I don’t think Eddie wants to get in the way of your aspirations.”
“I guess not.”
“He’s been through a lot lately,” Jennifer said. “He feels like his family’s abandoned him. He’s looking to us as his new family. Us and the Priority Unit. We’re the ones he knows he can depend on.”
Leeanne nodded. “I don’t want to let him down.”
“I know. But you shouldn’t let that be the reason to commit your life to him, either. Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. Part of me says, ‘Of course! How could anyone not love Eddie?’ You know?”
“Yeah, I know.” Jennifer smiled. “He’s very sweet, very lovable. And he’s matured tremendously this year. He’s also very transparent. When he’s sad, you know it, and you want to cry for him. When’s he’s happy, the world is happy.”
Leeanne chuckled. “You’re right. Harvey keeps things inside. Eddie doesn’t.”
“I think that’s why they’re so good for each other.” Jennifer stirred as footsteps sounded in the kitchen. “Speaking of the Invincible Duo...” She stood as Harvey came to the sunroom doorway. “Hey, sweetie. What’s up?”
“Jeff and Beth are here to get the gifts.”
Leeanne watched Eddie through the rest of the day. He was mostly upbeat and helpful. But now and then when their gaze met across the room, his sad eyes made her rethink all her plans and hopes. Her emotions swirled, and she knew she had to stay noncommittal for now.
After Beth and Jeff left, Harvey and Jennifer drove to Saco to see Everett Bailey, their house’s former owner, and make the second payment on their house. Abby played Risk with Eddie and Leeanne while they were gone. Leeanne didn’t want to make Abby uncomfortable, so she kept the tone light and playful. Eddie seemed okay with that.
At four, the Larsons came home with a book on the history of Portland, a gift from Mr. Bailey.
“Don’t forget, you’re babysitting tonight,” Abby told Jennifer.
“We haven’t forgotten.” Jennifer looked at Eddie. “Can you stay and help us entertain Peter’s boys?”
“I guess, if you don’t mind,” Eddie said.
“I told you, you’re welcome anytime, and I think you’d be an asset tonight.”
Eddie stayed, and Leeanne was glad.
Peter Hobart dropped Andy and Gary off at five o’clock and took Abby away for the evening. Abby looked especially pretty, Leeanne thought, and she seemed to sparkle when Peter was around. She had thought Abby favored Greg Prescott slightly over Peter, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe Peter was the right man for her, after all.
After supper, she and Eddie played a protracted game of I Spy with the boys, where Eddie would hide one of the Noah’s Ark animals and the boys and Leeanne had to find it. Then Harvey and Jennifer sat Gary and Andy down in the sunroom for a game of Parcheesi. Leeanne watched and egged them all on, but didn’t get involved in the game.
“Can we talk?” Eddie asked her.
“Okay.” She glanced at Jennifer, but her sister was deep into the board game. Leeanne followed Eddie into the living room. They sat down together on the couch.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Eddie said.
She smiled. “I have to go back tomorrow. Jeff is—”
“Can I come up next weekend?”
“Okay. I’ll ask Mom when I get home, to make sure.”
“Good. But I really meant that I don’t want you to leave Maine.”
She caught her breath. “I wasn’t really thinking about it. Don’t let that upset you.”
He reached for both her hands, and she looked directly at him. His eyes brimmed with longing. “Leeanne, I love you.” He stopped short and gave a little laugh.
“What?” His reaction confused her.
“I don’t think I said that to a girl in English before.”
“You’re joking.”
“No. I haven’t said it much anyway, but ... well, somehow it always seemed ... I don’t know ... easier in French.”
“Less binding?” Her studies had taught her that “je t’aime” could mean I love you or I like you. She supposed that might blur the lines in some cases. She could feel a flush creeping into her cheeks.
“I do love you,” Eddie said quietly, staring into her eyes. “If I have to wait two or three years, I will, but I
want you to know I’m serious about this.”
She pulled in a shaky breath, uncertain what to say.
His gaze fell. “I guess it’s not fair to ask you to sign your life away without knowing what the alternatives are.”
“Oh, Eddie.” Tears threatened, and she blinked them back. Already, he was talking about a lifetime together.
“If you take two more years of school, I’ll be thirty.” He looked embarrassed, as if he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He shook his head. “I don’t want to start over at thirty. If you go away, how do I know you’ll come back?”
“I ... guess you don’t.” She put her hand up to his rumpled collar and turned it down. “How do I know, when I go back home, that you’ll still feel this way when I come back?”
They locked eyes.
“I will,” he said. She had the feeling he had never meant anything so much in his life. He pulled her in close and kissed her, and she kissed him back, even though something inside told her to be cautious. He was so warm, so loving, so endearing. She could have this for the rest of her life. Maybe. Was Jennifer right, that it was worth the risk? Until she was sure, she wouldn’t be doing Eddie any favors if she let him think her heart was settled.
Chapter 15
Little Andy Hobart was sleeping on the couch at half past ten, and Gary stared glassy-eyed at a Dumbo tape. Leeanne and Eddie had talked some more with Harvey and Jennifer, and Eddie wasn’t hurting quite so much. They’d eaten popcorn and discussed Lamaze class, Leeanne’s upcoming course in broadcast journalism, and baby names.
“George for Daddy,” said Leeanne.
Jennifer shook her head. “I like Caleb.”
“How about Michael?” Eddie asked.
It went on for some time. They’d had this conversation before, and Eddie suspected they’d had it many times. Harvey had a book that told what names meant. Edward was ‘rich,’ which seemed ironic. Jennifer was ‘the fair lady,’ and Eddie thought that fit her. Leeanne was a combination of Lea for meadow and Anne, for grace. Harvey supposedly meant something like “worthy in battle.”
Harvey sat with his arm around Jennifer all the time, and he smiled every time she looked at him. He was so happy, Eddie couldn’t be mad at him. He’d known him when he was miserable, and he’d wanted Harvey to have this contentment and peace.
Harvey hadn’t intended to cause any distress, of that Eddie was sure. He was faithful to Eddie, but he had extended his good will to the whole Wainthrop family now, and Eddie had to accept that sometimes his feelings wouldn’t come first.
Peter and Abby returned, and Peter lugged Andy out to his car. Gary went under his own power, and Peter said goodnight to Abby in the entry. Eddie wondered if he was making any progress.
He knew he should leave, too. It was almost eleven, but it was also the last night Leeanne would be there, and he put it off.
Harvey yawned and stretched, bringing his arm up over Jennifer’s head.
“Tired?” Eddie asked.
“Kind of.”
“Guess I’d better go.” He glanced at Leeanne. She looked thoughtful.
Harvey’s phone rang, and he went into the study to take the call. Jennifer frowned, but kept the conversation going. When he came back to the living room, he looked at Eddie.
“That was Joey. Melanie Tucker’s flag came up.”
“Yeah?”
“She got stopped at a routine sobriety checkpoint last night.”
“She was OUI?”
“No,” Harvey said. “Perfectly sober, or it would have showed up sooner. One of the patrol officers just dumped their whole list of people they checked into the system this afternoon.”
“Weird.”
“Yes, but it got us an address and a license plate number for her.”
Eddie stood up. “You want to go out now?”
Harvey shook his head. “Let’s meet early tomorrow.”
“Okay. Seven?”
“How about eight? It’s getting late.”
Jennifer sighed, then smiled. “My husband, the captain. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone.”
“If you want him to have a decent night’s sleep you’d better haul him off to bed,” Eddie said and headed for the kitchen.
Abby was out there getting herself a bowl of ice cream. “Hey,” she said, “seventy-one sobbin’ women now. They’re all weeping over you.”
“You’re hysterical.” Eddie looked back into the living room. Leeanne was standing by her chair, looking after him.
“Come here,” he said softly.
Leeanne came through the kitchen to the entry. Eddie got his coat out of the closet and put it on, but he didn’t zip it. He stepped up close to her and put his hands on her shoulders. The light in the entry wasn’t very strong, but he could see her blue eyes, and they weren’t as happy as he’d have liked. He kissed the tip of her nose.
“I’ll see you at church, if we don’t get hung up on the case tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
“When are you leaving?” he asked.
“I think Jeff and Beth will eat lunch here, then we’ll go.”
“If it’s at all possible, I’ll be here.” She nodded, and he said, “But just in case I don’t see you…” She was avidly waiting for whatever he was going to say. It felt good to have her concentrating all her energy on him. “Leeanne, I love you.”
She put her hands on his chest, where his sweatshirt said, “Je me souviens,” and when he kissed her, she moved them slowly, cautiously in under his jacket and around him. He held her close. He loved her so intensely that he wanted to stay with her always. “Je t’aime,” he whispered into her hair.
“You love me in two languages?” She was whispering, too.
“Yes. Oui. Avec tout mon coeur.”
She took a deep breath. “I…I need some time.”
“I’ll wait. J’attendrai.”
She said, “I want to be sure. I’ve—I’ve never said it to anyone before. In any language.”
She raised her gaze to meet Eddie’s, and he couldn’t help kissing her again, she looked so sweet and, yes, ready for it. He thought her kiss was more definite now, more decided somehow.
He considered taking her off somewhere and proposing marriage and pleading his cause, but he knew she’d say no then. And she was leaving.
She said softly, “Bonsoir,” and he said, “A demain,” which was, ‘until tomorrow,’ and pulled himself away.
*****
Eddie got to the office first, and he made coffee. Harvey walked in on the dot of eight. They went over what little information Joey Bolduc had left for them. The license plate turned out to be one off a car reported stolen several weeks earlier. They decided to go to the address listed on Melanie’s driver’s license.
The people who lived in the small wood-frame house were not happy when the detectives woke them up at eight-thirty Sunday morning. They claimed they’d never heard of Melanie Tucker. Discouraged, Harvey and Eddie left their neighborhood.
“What do you think?” Eddie asked Harvey.
“She had a fake driver’s license.”
“Mm. If she works for a drug dealer, it’s probably a perk of the job. So, what now?”
“I don’t know.”
Eddie frowned. “Maybe Melanie Tucker isn’t even her real name.”
“Let’s go check it out,” Harvey said. “We should be able to find out if a real person by that name has a Social Security number.”
“On Sunday?”
“I’ve got some computer sites that should do it.”
Harvey had super-high clearance to government sites very few people could access. He actually found a lot of Melanie Tuckers, but only four in Maine, and only one of those lived in Portland. In about twenty minutes, he had not only her Social Security number, but her childhood medical record and a detailed criminal record. A social services file that began when she was a child was sealed, but they did learn she was adopted at the age of two. After that, he foun
d an original birth record and a court record of her name being changed to Melanie Tucker by her adoptive parents.
The one piece of information missing was where she lived now. Harvey collected three possible address, two within the city limits, one in South Portland.
He looked at his watch. “I think I’ll save these for tomorrow.”
“What now?” Eddie asked.
“Church. Let’s go thank the Lord for his mercy and ask him to help us crack this case.”
They drove separately, and when they reached the church parking lot, Eddie noted Jennifer’s car and Beth’s. Mike’s was at the far end of the lot, beside a black-and-white.
He looked toward the church door. A uniformed officer stood to one side in the portico.
“Harvey,” he said uneasily.
“It’s the protective detail.” Harvey walked up the steps. “Good morning, Officer Needham. Any problems here?”
“No, sir, Captain. The chief wanted to come to church is all.”
Harvey nodded. “Stay alert.”
Sunday school was half over, and Eddie figured they were so late there was no sense disrupting the singles class. He went into the auditorium with Harvey. The first thing he noticed was another patrol officer sitting alone in a pew behind Mike and Sharon. He thought from the color of her hair and the way she wore it that it was Officer Allison Crocker.
“Looks like the chief brought guests,” Harvey whispered to him.
Beyond Mike and Sharon in their row sat the deputy chief and a woman Eddie took to be his wife.
“What do you know,” he said.
They walked down the side aisle and sat on the end of the row where Jennifer and Jeff were sitting. When the lesson was over, Harvey caught Mike’s eye, and Mike came over and shook hands.
“Didn’t get a chance to tell you. Jack and I had a talk Friday. He’s a Christian. He was hoping they could find a good church down here, so I brought him and his wife along. Come say hello after the service.”
“Bring them to our house for lunch,” said Jennifer.
“Well, we’re going to take them out,” Mike said. “Maybe next week.”
“Hey, does Crocker want to stay in the service?” Harvey asked. “Because you probably don’t need her in the same room with you while Eddie and I are here.”
Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie's Story (Maine Justice Book 4) Page 16
