“Everyone has a father. He took off when she was six months old. I don’t know where he is and he never sent me any child support. I think there was a time when she wanted to find him. I told her to go ahead, but leave me out of it.”

“What’s his name?”

“James Kowalski. I don’t know if she found him, and if she did, I don’t know what he told her. I figured if she ever did catch up with him, she should draw her own conclusions.” She stood up. “I should get some rest. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow. Thank you for being so helpful.”

“If you need anything, please call me.” Decker gave her his card.

“Is she in a lot of pain?”

“I’m sure they’ll do everything possible to keep her comfortable. I’ll be coming into Las Vegas on Monday to talk to Mandy. I’ll probably see you at the hospital.”

“When are you coming?”

“Sometime Monday afternoon.”

“We may miss each other.” When Decker didn’t answer, she said, “Mandy never liked when I…crowded her. Besides, I’ve already missed a lot of work with my own medical issues.” She opened the door. “Thank you again. Bye now.”

Still no tears in her eyes. She’d probably cried them dry a long time ago.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

BY NINE IN the evening, Decker’s eyes were buggy from staring at the computer and he was reaching diminishing returns. When Rina knocked on his office doorjamb, holding a big paper bag, he was grateful for the interruption. He rolled his chair away from his desk and stood.

“Hey there.” He gave her a kiss. “What brings you into the bowels of purgatory?”

“How about seeking wit and charm?”

“Then you definitely came to the wrong place.”

Rina sat down in front of her husband’s desk. “We had lots of leftovers from lunch. I thought you might be hungry.”

“I should be. All I had today was coffee and this morning’s cereal.” He looked at the clock and sat down across from her. “I’m sorry I never made it home. It’s especially disappointing because the boys came all the way out to see me. Are they upset?”

“Not at all.” Rina sat down. “We had a fine time, actually.”

Decker was heartened and disheartened at the same time. “Yeah, everyone’s so used to being my being gone it’s like ‘what’s the big deal.’”

“It’s not that we didn’t miss you. We toasted you in absentia.” She opened the bag and handed him a wrapped package. “Turkey sandwich on rye with horseradish and mustard. You will make it for dinner tomorrow, right? It’s in your honor.”

“Absolutely.”

“Then we’re all fine. What are you working on that’s consuming so much time?”