Stone said, “But you didn’t hit the front windshield.”

“I don’t know, sir.” Third time he asked the question. “I might have. The windshield didn’t shatter. That much I do know.”

“And you didn’t call for backup because your phone was dead?” Brill inquired again.

This time, I pulled the cell phone out of my purse. “You get a connection, you win the prize.”

Brill depressed the power button. “You know there are lots of new products on the market with longer battery life.”

“I’ll buy a new one tomorrow … today.” I rubbed my forehead. “As soon as the stores open.”

“And your friend didn’t have a cell on him?”

“No.”

“He’s a nurse, but he doesn’t carry a cell?”

“He’s a nurse, Detective Brill, not a doctor. He’s not on call.”

“This is the same guy you sent away at Boss’s?”

They were covering the same ground, but I had no choice but to bear with it. “Yes.”

“And the same guy was with you at the hit-and-run?”

“Yes.”

“You two have run into an amazing spate of bad luck.”

“We’ve had other uneventful dates, Justice.” I regarded Lieutenant Stone. “Are you going to send a shooting team?”

“To do what, Decker? We don’t have the Nova in our possession and the plates on it were stolen, so we can’t get an address on them through the DMV. When and if the Nova’s found, then we’ll talk.”

“Any hospitals report admissions of gunshot-wound victims?”

“Still checking.”

The door opened and my father walked in. One part of me was vastly relieved, the other part immediately tensed.

“Mack,” he said.

“Pete.” Stone stood and they shook hands. He made introductions. “Detective Brill, Detective Lieutenant Decker.”

“We’ve met,” Dad answered.

Stone said, “I think you know the other party here.”

“Yes, we’ve met as well.”

Daddy placed his hand on my shoulder. I craned my neck up. “The plates were stolen. I’m voting Germando El Paso over the hit-and-run guy, but you never know.”

“El Paso’s locked up,” Brill pointed out.

“His buddies aren’t,” I countered.

“Koby won’t leave until you tell him to do so,” Decker informed me. “It’s two-thirty in the morning. The guy could use some sleep.”

“He’s still here? I told him to go home as soon as he was done being interviewed.”

“I think he’d like to say good-bye.” Decker looked at Stone. “Borrow her for a couple of minutes, Mack?”

“As long as you bring her back.”

“Promise.”

“Don’t know if I believe you, Pete.”

“If I could get away with kidnapping her and locking her in a closet, believe me I’d do it.” To me, Decker said, “C’mon.”

I stood up. “Excuse me.”

When they were out of earshot, Daddy took me aside several yards away from the squad room. No one was in the hallway. He spoke softly. “Where’s your gun?”

“They took it.”

His voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you clear his prints before you gave it in?”

I regarded my father with surprise.