Free Thread of Innocence (Joe Tyler Mystery #4) by Jeff Shelby Page B

at Lauren.
    “ Sure,” Lauren said, smiling. “Wherever you want.”
    “ Okay,” she said. “I need makeup and stuff.”
    I nodded, but it was strange to hear her say that she needed makeup. I was still thinking of her as the ten year old I'd left in the yard. I needed to start realizing that I had a teenage daughter.
    “Yep, for sure,” Lauren said, grabbing her purse and the car keys. “We'll go wherever you need to go. Ready?”
    “ Yeah,” Elizabeth said, heading toward the garage. She glanced at me and held up a hand. “Bye.”
    “ See you in a bit,” I said.
    Lauren raised her eyebrows, shrugged and followed her to the garage.
    I listened to the garage door open, the car start and then the door grinding to a close. I glanced up at the stairs. I had an urge to go into Elizabeth's room and see what was there. But I immediately reprimanded myself. If I started doing that kind of thing, there would be no boundaries and no way to learn to trust Elizabeth. As much as I might've wanted to cocoon her, it wasn't possible and trying to do so would just damage the relationship. I forced myself to look away from the stairs, find my laptop and do some work for a change.
    I was a half an hour through answering emails when the doorbell rang. I stared at the door for a moment, as if I might be able to see who was on the other side of it and finally got up to answer it when the bell rang again.
    I was surprised to see Agent Blundell standing there.
    “ Mr. Tyler,” she said, with a smile. “Nice to see you.”
    “ You too,” I said.
    “ Is this a good time?” she asked, peering over my shoulder. “Do you have a few minutes?”
    I stepped out of her way and motioned for her to come in, shutting the door behind her. She wore gray slacks, a light blue dress shirt and a thin gray suit jacket over the shirt. Her hair was perfectly coiffed and her fingernails were painted the same color as the shirt. The heels of her dress shoes clacked on the wood floor and I could see the bulge of her weapon on her hip beneath the suit jacket..
    She turned to face me. “I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced.”
    I smiled. “No you aren't. But that's okay. Have a seat.”
    She sat down on the edge of the sectional sofa and I sat down on the other side.
    “ Elizabeth and Lauren are out,” I said.
    If that disappointed her, it didn't show. “They're getting along?”
    “Well enough for now.”
    “ With you, too?”
    “ Same answer.”
    Blundell nodded. “Good. Any more talk about her going to Minnesota?”
    “We're working it out,” I said.
    She waited.
    I waited.
    “ That's good,” she finally said.
    “ Sure.”
    It was quiet again.
    “Is this where I ask why you're here?” I asked, more amused than anything else.
    She gave me a faint smile. “I really did mean to call.”
    “It's fine that you didn't.”
    “ And I do make it a point to check on anyone that's been returned to their family after a long absence,” she explained. “It's part of the process.”
    “ I understand.”
    It went quiet again.
    “But...” I finally said.
    “ But I'm hearing you're a little...restless,” she said, eyeing me.
    “ What does that mean?”
    “ You tell me, Mr. Tyler.”
    I leaned back in the sofa. “I didn't for even a second pretend I wasn't going to keep digging. I told you that at your office.”
    She nodded. “I recall. And I told you not to do it.”
    “ I'm bad at rules.”
    She smiled, but she didn't look that amused. “I assume there's nothing I can do to stop you.”
    “I'm not sure I'm really doing anything. You wanna tell me what I'm doing?”
    Blundell shrugged. “I don't know. Just hearing things.”
    I wondered if Lasko had rung some bells or if she was just keeping an eye on me. Either way, I wasn't surprised.
    “ I'm poking around,” I said. “As I told you I would. So if you're here to tell me to stop, why don't you do that so we can stop wasting each other's time.”
    She finally leaned back in the