Motive (38 page)
“No hassle at all. Glad you’re okay.”
“I’m better than okay, I’m great!”
“May I ask—”
“Where was I? Hold on … I’m in a different room, Dad’s kind of a … he’s kind of conservative.”
“Parents can be that way.”
“Especially parents who’ve careered in the military. Where’ve I been? Traveling with a friend. A doctor. Also a dentist. He’s both, an oral surgeon. We met at a party and just hit it off and decided what the heck, both of us had been working way too hard for way too long, why not? So we flew to Maui and—hold on, I think I hear Dad … no, it’s fine … where was I?”
“Maui.”
“Oh, yeah, we went to Maui and had
fun
.”
“Fun is good,” said Milo.
Merry Santos said, “Honestly, sir, it’s been a real long time since I had any. Same for Darren—that’s his name. He was in Iraq and so was I. He spent two years doing field surgery, came back and now does reconstruction at the Westwood V.A., plus he moonlights to work off his school debt. I’ve been grinding, too, sir. Lawyers can be real jerks, they think keeping you late and taking you out to dinner makes up for treating you like a peon. But no complaints, you do what you have to do.”
Milo said, “See what you mean about fun, Meredith.”
“Bet you do, sir. Being a homicide lieutenant and all that. Anyway, I wanted you to know that I appreciate the time you put into trying to find me.”
“Happy endings make it worthwhile, Meredith.”
“Well, then, this was super-worthwhile, Lieutenant. Anyway, Darren and I just went!”
Soft laugh. “We played, Lieutenant. We did nothing but play.”
To Faye—of course
FICTION
ALEX DELAWARE NOVELS
Motive | Flesh and Blood |
Killer | Dr. Death |
Guilt | Monster |
Victims | Survival of the Fittest |
Mystery | The Clinic |
Deception | The Web |
Evidence | Self-Defense |
Bones | Bad Love |
Compulsion | Devil’s Waltz |
Obsession | Private Eyes |
Gone | Time Bomb |
Rage | Silent Partner |
Therapy | Over the Edge |
A Cold Heart | Blood Test |
The Murder Book | When the Bough Breaks |
OTHER NOVELS
The Golem of Hollywood | Double Homicide |
True Detectives | The Conspiracy Club |
Capital Crimes | Billy Straight |
Twisted | The Butcher’s Theater |
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Silent Partner
(2012)
The Web
(2014)
NONFICTION
With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars
(2008)
Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children
(1999)
Helping the Fearful Child
(1981)
Psychological Aspects of Childhood Cancer
(1980)
FOR CHILDREN, WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED
Jonathan Kellerman’s ABC of Weird Creatures
(1995)
Daddy, Daddy, Can You Touch the Sky?
(1994)
J
ONATHAN
K
ELLERMAN
is the #1
New York Times
bestselling author of more than three dozen bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series,
The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted
, and
True Detectives
. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored
Double Homicide
and
Capital Crimes
. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored the first book of a new series,
The Golem of Hollywood
. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including
Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children
and
With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars
. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California, New Mexico, and New York.