Free Scene of the Crime: Return to Bachelor Moon by Carla Cassidy

lemonade. “That’s why I had my window open the other night, because from the time I was a little kid, I had to have an escape route from my old man.” He was silent for a moment and then jerked, as if pulling his thoughts back to the present.
    “After I left home, for the next couple of years I did whatever I needed to do to survive on my own.”
    “So how did you wind up as an FBI agent?” What she wanted to say was that she was sorry for what he’d gone through with his father, that her heart ached for the little boy he had been, but she knew he’d hate her for going there.
    “A street cop got friendly with me and encouraged me to finish school, get into college, and that’s when the FBI tapped me on the shoulder. And here I am, working on the right side of the law.”
    “Funny, we have similar backgrounds. I think I mentioned before that my mother took off when Cory was young. The truth of the matter is she discovered she loved drugs more than she loved her husband and her kids. Cory was about four when my father told her she had to leave. She came around a couple more times after that looking for money, and when my father refused to give her any, she finally disappeared for good.”
    She picked up her glass and finished the last of her lemonade. “One of the final times she came to the house, I remember she hugged me and told me how much she loved me and then asked me for my allowance. I was so mad at her that I told her I never wanted to see her again, and I didn’t. My dad tried to hold it together, but when Cory was thirteen, he died of a heart attack.”
    Her whole body ached as she remembered those moments when her mother had held her close, stroking her hair and telling her how much she loved her. She had so wanted to believe, had needed to believe that her mother had changed and their family would be put back together. When her mother had asked for Marlena’s allowance money, it had irrevocably broken any mother-daughter bond that might have survived.
    “I guess we both got tough breaks,” he said. His features were no longer visible in the darkness that had finally claimed the area.
    For a few minutes they sat in silence, and Marlena wondered what he was thinking. What scars had been left behind by his mother’s absence and father’s brutality? By life itself?
    “You think they’re dead, don’t you?” she asked. It had been a question that had tormented her since the morning she’d awakened to find Sam, Daniella and Macy gone; a question she’d been afraid to ask until this very moment.
    “It’s possible that they’re still alive. We can always hope for the best,” he answered after a long hesitation.
    She was grateful that it was dark enough that she couldn’t see his features, for she heard the lie in his voice but was glad she didn’t have to see it in his eyes.
    Minutes later, after he’d gone inside, Marlena remained in the chair, watching the fireflies begin to take over the area. Tears blurred her vision as she remembered Macy chasing the flashing bugs and her squeals of delight when she managed to capture one in a jar.
    How Marlena wished Macy was out there now, chasing fireflies, her laughter filling the air. How she wished Daniella and Sam were sitting on the porch with her, enjoying the last of the evening before bedtime.
    As the sound of bullfrogs rose in the air, a shiver swept up her spine as she thought of her plunge into the pond. She no longer knew if she’d really been pushed or had stumbled and fallen off the path and into the lake. It all felt like a bad dream now, unclear and fuzzy.
    But the night air suddenly felt fraught with danger, and she quickly jumped up from her chair and went inside, even knowing that for Sam and Daniella and little Macy, the house hadn’t been a safe haven.
    * * *
    S UNDAY EVENING G ABRIEL told his two agents to take the next day off. Their Sunday had been a long one, and he felt as if they all needed a little downtime to clear their