She thought about kissing him, about falling back onto the unmade bed, but she really didn’t have a lot of time. “There are just some things about Mai that bug me. She asks too many questions, wants to know all about my personal life, and then she doesn’t cop to what she really wants. Now, at least, I kind of understand why: she’s all about Dad being an ace detective.”

“Kind of?”

“Who knows if she’s telling the truth? I just don’t trust her.”

His hands fell away. “You don’t trust anyone.”

His remark cut harder than it should have. She slammed the cupboard door shut and turned to face him. “Oh, God…I’m becoming my father!”

“Isn’t being a detective what you’re trying to do here? All the”—he made air quotes with his fingers—“‘investigating’ about the missing girls. I’m no psychologist, but it seems to me you’re trying to prove something to dear old Dad.”

“I trust people, though, okay? I’m not…like him.”

“Not much,” Jay said, his smile quick.

She narrowed her eyes at him. And she was still irritated with Mai, sure there was more to the story than just some interview for the school paper.

Jay wisely let the subject drop and opened the refrigerator door. Bruno was at his side in an instant. “Sorry, Buddy, not much in here.”

“I keep meaning to go to the store, but it’s a low priority.”

“We won’t starve,” he assured her, and managed to pull out what remained of the pizza, three cold slices wrapped in wrinkled foil. “Breakfast.”

“No way.”

“You got coffee?”

“No. I’m out. I’ve got one tea bag and a couple of bottles of beer, but that’s it.”

“Too early for beer. Even for me. And no thanks on the tea. You want a slice?” He opened the aluminum foil and offered up the congealed pizza.

She took one look at the brown hamburger, with its hint of white fat all stuck together, over withered olives and onions and thick tomato sauce, and her stomach turned. “It’s all yours. I think I’ll grab something at the restaurant. They’ve got a breakfast sandwich called a MacDuff, which is kind of a rip-off of a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin. Maybe I’ll try it.” She glanced at the clock as he, still only in his boxers, rested a hip against the counter and chewed the cold pizza without bothering to heat it in the microwave. Bruno, ever vigilant, sat at his feet, eyes on the prize, tail sweeping the floor whenever Jay looked down at him.