“Of course,” Mary Jean promptly said and invited the three of them to dinner at Bailey’s the next night, adding, “It is, after all, the center of your universe.” Shallie liked the comment even more, hearing it a second time, and figured she’d be “borrowing” it from now on.

Mary Jean said they’d be treating and that everyone should come prepared with names. They’d like to include Tina and her husband; their nephew Ted might join them, too. “The more suggestions, the better,” Len said, shaking his head comically. “It might come down to a vote.”

“And,” Mary Jean said with finality, “Carly’s judgment should be the final one.”

THAT EVENING, ELI came over with Eddie Gonzalez, and they all sat on the porch, where Shallie served drinks and salty snacks. Cord’s immediate impression of Eddie was positive, and he could tell that Shallie’s was, too. The man, who was tall and fit, with the look of a former cop, was confident but not arrogant.

Once the introductory small talk was finished, Eddie began by reviewing the information Shallie had sent him. He looked up from his notes and turned to her. “Melanie—you’ve spoken with her, I think?”

Shallie nodded.

“Melanie tracked down your father through various specialized databases we have access to. And… Kevin Fletcher’s dead. He died five years ago.”

Shallie gasped; Cord doubted she was truly surprised but seeing your suspicions turned into reality often left people shocked.

“Eddie, could you elaborate on the circumstances?” Eli asked. “Shallie, are you ready to hear them?”

She nodded again.

“Okay, the story is that he was a crooked cop, involved with organized crime in Chicago. So, it’s not exactly unexpected that this is how he met his end, nearly twenty years after he apparently threatened Christine in that phone call and she took off and disappeared. Apparently, she had too much damaging information about him and his, shall we say, associates.” He paused. “She might not even have been aware of just how much she knew.”

“He found out she was at the motel?”

“Yeah, with a little help from his friends,” Eddie said sardonically.

“So, those…friends, accomplices—eventually killed him,” Eli concluded.

“I’d refer to it as an execution.”

“Did my mother know about his…murder?” Shallie asked.

“Probably not. But since your birth certificate read ‘Father Unknown,’ we’re assuming Christine already knew he was a threat, to you and to her. I’ll email you some articles and other background on him that Melanie found. In fact, if I could use your computer, Cord, I’ll do it before we leave. Oh, and Christine is never mentioned in anything I’ve seen.”

“Do you have any idea where she is?”

“Not yet. Working on it.”