Page 5 of Hello Tease

When I glanced at Nancy, she wore a pinched look on her face under a head of salt and pepper hair. “Have a great day, Mrs. Cappes,” I said.

“You too, dear,” she replied with a wave.

I got into my seat and buckled up. I knew Emily’s dad, Seth, in high school and heard from the grapevine about his divorce—I just hadn’t known his ex was moving to town. Maybe the rumors had been wrong. Glancing to the back seat, I asked Emily, who had her mom’s wavy brown hair and freckles and her dad’s brown eyes, “All buckled in?”

She nodded seriously. Apparently, she’d gotten that from her mom.

“Wanna use the police radio?” I asked her.

Her brown eyes lit up, and she nodded quickly.

“Okay, tell your mama we’re getting ready to go.” I opened the window between the front and back seat and then passed her the mic. When she held it in her hand, I pushed the button that activated the speakers outside the car. “Push the button and let her know.”

“Mommy, we’re getting ready to go!”

I smiled at the excitement in her voice and kept smiling when I saw Larkin’s expression soften through the passenger window. “Now tell your grandma goodbye.”

“Bye, Grammy!”

Nancy waved from the front porch.

“Should I turn the lights on?” I asked.

“Oh, yes!” Emily said.

I smiled, pushing the button to make the lights go, and then began driving away from the Cappeses’ house. Then, I switched the radio to talk with our daytime dispatcher, Whitney. “Officer Madigan to dispatch,” I said.

“Copy,” she replied.

“I have a little kid in the car, Officer Emily Cappes, and will be busy for the next half hour. Let me know if anyone needs backup.”

“Sounds good. Have fun, Officer Cappes!” Whitney replied.

I glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing Emily shimmy happily.

With the speaker back on its rack, I said, “Tell me, Miss Emily, what brought your family back to Cottonwood Falls?”

Despite being so happy just moments before, her features sagged. It was like seeing a light dim. My heart squeezed before she even spoke in a small, sad voice. “My daddy and my mommy divorced.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry,” I said.

She looked up and then back down again, brown hair falling across her face. “My daddy’s with his new girlfriend in Dallas, and Mommy and Jackson and me moved here.”

My lips parted as I tried to wrap my mind around it. Seth was in Dallas with his new girlfriend while his family moved here without him? Larkin wasn’t from around here, but I guess it made sense if Seth’s parents were babysitting.

And I hated to say it, but Seth was always a blowhard growing up. He loved to show off when he got the chance and oftentimes flirted with girls from multiple towns in the area at the same time. Sucked he hadn’t changed much, especially with two babies.

Finally, I said, “I’m sorry, Emily. If you and your family ever need help, I’m right next door, okay?”

She nodded and then looked out the window.

“What’s your favorite thing to do for fun?” I asked her, trying to perk her back up.

Her expression lifted slightly. “I love to go swimming and do crafts. With glitter.”

I chuckled. “I have a niece I think you’d love.”

“I wanna meet her!”

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