A tiny gray-haired woman manned the counter. “Can I help you?” she asked, then narrowed her eyes. “Wait. I know you. Jill.”

“Hi.”

“So, are you here on legal business?”

“I’m here to see Mac.”

“He’s in his office,” the woman said with a jerk of her head. “Go on back. He’s on the phone, but he won’t be long.”

“Thanks.”

Jill pushed through the swinging half-door and walked toward the glass offices in the rear. As she walked around several desks, she saw Mac hanging up the phone. He didn’t look happy.

“Trouble in paradise?” she asked as she walked through the open door.

“What? No. Nothing about work. That was Bev on the phone. Hollis Bass stopped by for the surprise visit he promised. The little sneak.”

Jill thought about pointing out that Hollis was only doing his job. At the same time she wanted to ask why Mac was under such close supervision with his daughter. She’d wondered, of course, but hadn’t wanted to pry. Based on Mac’s annoyance, this wasn’t the time.

“Are you going over there?”

“No.” He picked up a pen, then put it down. “I’ll wait.” He glanced at the clock. “It shouldn’t be more than a half hour, right?”

“I have no idea.”

“I know. Sorry.” He looked at her, then waved at a chair. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.”

“Here on official business?”

“Yes and no.”

He smiled. “As long as you’re clear.”

“I had a client come in today. Kim Murphy. Her husband’s name is Andy. She’s twenty-four, seriously pregnant. You know anything about him?”

“No. Why?”

“I think he might be beating her.”

Mac swore. “You’re kidding.”

“I saw a bruise on her shoulder. It looked like a hand. I don’t know. She was scared and nervous. Maybe I’m crazy.”

“Maybe not.” He pulled a pad toward him just as the phone rang. “Kendrick.”

He listened for a couple of seconds. “That is not happening!” Pause. “I know. You’re right. Are you sure?”

His grip on the phone tightened. “Thanks. Yeah. Okay. You, too.”

He hung up and stared at her. “That was Bev again. Hollis just invited himself to lunch. I can’t believe it.” He crossed to the glass door and banged his fist against it. “What if Em is in one of her moods? What if she gets picky about her food? Hollis could decide I’m not doing a good enough job.”

Jill wanted to tell him it would be fine, but she didn’t know that.

“You want to go?” she asked.

He glanced at the pad of paper. “Yeah, I do. Let’s pick this up later.”

“Sure.”

He stalked out of the office. Jill followed more slowly. When she reached the counter, she stopped.

“Wilma, you’ve lived here a long time, right?”

“Sure have,” the petite woman said. “Since the earth’s crust cooled.”

“Do you know Andy Murphy?”

“Oh, I know of him.”

Jill didn’t like the sound of that. “Meaning?”

“The boy has a short fuse.”

“Does he take that temper out on his wife?”

“No one has ever seen anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Jill nodded. “I understand you can’t accuse him of anything. Have there been any domestic violence complaints at all?”

“No, but if you ask me, there should have been.”

CHAPTER TEN

MAC DROVE through town until he reached Bev’s house. An unfamiliar eight-year-old Corolla had parked in the driveway.

Hollis, he thought grimly, and wished he could have stalked inside and thrown the kid out. Maybe tell him to never dare talk to Emily again. Except Mac knew that, however misguided, Hollis had Emily’s best interests at heart. He parked in front of his own house and walked inside. After throwing a frozen entrée into the micro wave, he paced back and forth in the kitchen until the timer beeped. He used a dish towel for a hot pad and ate standing up, all the while watching out the side window until Hollis finally left. Then he headed over to Bev’s house and banged on the door.

“It’s open,” she called.

Mac walked inside.

“We’re in the family room,” Bev yelled.

“You should lock the front door,” he said as he moved down the hallway. “It could have been anyone.”

“But I knew it was you,” she said as he entered the warm but messy family room.

Stacks of books sat on several of the tabletops, along with magazines and coloring books. DVDs and videos filled a small bookcase. A large Oriental carpet covered most of the hardwood floor. There were plants, sun-catchers and cut-open rocks filled with purple crystals scattered around.

In the center of it all sat Bev and Emily playing Disney Monopoly. They both looked up and smiled.

“We’re fine,” Bev said. “Want to join us? We just started.”

“You can be Baboo,” Emily said as she held out the small pewter piece. “I’m Snow White.”

“Thanks,” Mac said as he shoved his hands into his slacks’ front pockets and felt more than a little foolish. “I just wanted to drop by.”

“Of course.” Bev’s green eyes were knowing. She patted Em’s arm, then stood. “Let me give your father a couple of messages,” she told his daughter. “Give me two shakes of a lamb’s tail and I’ll be right back.”

“A lamb’s tail?” Emily burst out laughing. She rolled onto her side and continued giggling. “You don’t have a lamb’s tail.”

“I could surprise you yet,” Bev said as she walked to Mac, then led him into the kitchen.

“We’re fine,” she said as soon as the door closed be hind them.

“He stayed for lunch.” Mac tried to keep the accusation out of his voice but wasn’t sure he’d succeeded.

Bev shook her long red hair, then pulled a scrunchy from her pocket and fastened her hair into a ponytail.

“It was noon, we were hungry. Should I have thrown him out?”

“Yes.”

Her steady gaze never left his face. He sighed and leaned against the counter.

“I know, I know. Better to keep your enemies close,” he muttered.

“Or not make them enemies at all. I know Hollis is a threat to you, but you don’t have to be adversaries in this. I think he’s willing to meet you more than halfway.”

“Sure. Just as soon as I get a different job.”

“What?”

“Hollis believes that cops make bad fathers.”

Bev pressed her lips together. “That’s completely stupid. I like him a lot less now. Still, the visit is over and it went well. He talked to Emily. Asked her about school and her friends and life here. You barely came up at all.” She squeezed his arm. “He wasn’t trying to set you up.”

“Good to know.”

“He’s not the devil.”

“As long as he’s in a position to take my daughter from me, that’s exactly who he is.”

Bev nodded. “I see your point. What happens now?”

“Hell if I know. I guess he files a report and I go back to work.”

“For what it’s worth, my sense of things is this will all work out.”

“Is this you getting a message from the beyond? Be cause if they’re giving out information, you want to go ahead and ask about some lotto numbers?”

“My gift doesn’t work like that and you know it.”

He chuckled. “Too bad. At least then it would be practical.”

“It’s plenty practical now.”

“If you say so.” He bent over and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Bev. For everything.”

She waved him off. “Go say goodbye to your daughter.”

He did as she suggested, then returned to his car and drove into town. He had one more stop to make before returning to the office.

The front door of Dixon and Son was unlocked. Mac stepped inside the fish emporium but Tina wasn’t at her desk.

“You back there?” he called.

“Yes. Mac? Is that you?”

“In the flesh.” He walked through the reception area into Jill’s office. She sat behind her desk, a large law book open in front of her.

“I came to apologize for running out on you,” he said as he pulled out the chair by the netting and sat down. “I couldn’t get Hollis out of my head.”

“Makes sense.” She closed the book. “Really, you don’t have to apologize.”

“Don’t cut me any slack,” he said seriously. “You were trying to tell me about a guy beating up his wife. That should have had my full attention.”

Jill raised her eyebrows. “You sound serious.”

“I am. This town is important to me. I’m still figuring out how to care about it and Em, and keep everybody happy.” He grimaced. “Everybody except maybe the pier committee.”

“What have they done to annoy you?”

He thought about Rudy Casaccio in the meeting and felt his temper flare. “Don’t get me started on that. Just tell me what’s going on with your client.”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Kim came in to see me about a will. Obviously I can’t go into details.”

“Right. Attorney-client privilege. What can you tell me?”

“That she was young and scared and acting as if her husband beat the crap out of her on a regular basis.” Jill shook her head. “No, that’s not true. I’m jumping to conclusions. She was skittish.” She hesitated, as if she wanted to share something of her conversation with Kim but couldn’t. “My impression was that if she had anything of her own—anything he couldn’t touch—that there would be hell to pay.”

“You mentioned bruises.” He pulled a pad out of his shirt pocket and started taking notes.

“On her shoulder. It was big and in the shape of a man’s hand. Maybe I’m overreacting.”

“Maybe not. I’ll check it out.”

She leaned forward. “Be careful. If he’s beating her…”

“Hey, I’m the cop here, right? I know how to do this.”

She smiled. “Of course. You’re right. I worry because I’m good at it. Everyone needs a skill.”

“I’ll send a cruiser and have someone talk to the neighbors. Maybe I’ll send Wilma to talk to her. Everyone seems to open up to Wilma. But if Kim won’t file a complaint then there’s nothing we can do unless we catch him in the act.”

“I know.” Her mouth twisted. “That’s why I never went into family law. Too many ambiguities and way too much pain. Give me a cold, faceless corporation any day.”

He knew what she meant, but he also knew she was whistling in the dark. “You can’t escape people,” he said. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”

She tilted her head. “Want to tell me about it?”

“Nope.”

“I figured you wouldn’t. Want a fish instead? I’m thinking of giving away a select few. You could have your pick.”

He glanced around at the array covering the walls. “No thanks. I’m not into fish or antlers.”

“Me, either, but look where I ended up.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN you have dinner plans?” Jill asked as she watched Bev try on her third dress in as many minutes.

Her aunt stood in front of the full-length mirror and turned to look at her back. “Does this make my butt look big?”