Page 23 of Return of the Spider
“Me too,” she said and blew me a kiss across the table. “To change subjects, you haven’t told me about your day.”
My smile faded. “I caught another murder case today. Kid from the Charles School in Alexandria.”
“I saw that on the news,” she said. “They think it’s a random thing?”
“Sampson and the chief are leaning that way.”
“You’re not?”
I shrugged. “I’ve just got this odd feeling that it was more than random.”
“You think the shooter knew the victim?”
“Either that or the shooter knew it was a place where young couples go.”
“And what? Took advantage of the time and place to kill a teenager in cold blood?”
“Bad either way. But I don’t know which one is right.”
“You sound frustrated.”
“I am,” I said. “I feel like I haven’t had enough police training.”
CHAPTER
15
Maria frowned, set downher glass. “You went through the academy, Alex. You rode patrol.”
“For two months before I was moved to major cases. There’s a lot that I don’t know about investigations, and there are times, a lot of times, where I feel like I’m playing catchup.”
“You are playing catchup,” Maria said. “But that’s to be expected. They did not hire you for your years on the street. They hired you because you have unique insight into how bad guys think, a mindset taught to you by bad guys.”
“True.”
“Give them insight, then. Do that tomorrow and the day after that.”
I laughed and saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“At ease, or whatever,” she said. “And one more thing to think about.”
I held up my palms. “Swing away.”
“Use your imagination, but make sure it’s imagination rooted in experience and reality. My mother taught me that was what being creative was—learning a skill well enough that you can use your imagination to improve it.”
“Like she did with her pottery.”
“Like she did with her pottery.”
“Message heard. I will take the facts as I find them, then use my imagination to explore reasons to explain them.”
She threw her arms wide and cackled. “And the student becomes the master!”
I couldn’t help myself. I got up, went over, and kissed her.
“I want more of those,” Maria said.
“Me too. I’m going to take up yoga for my back.”
