My Private Detective

“Great! Where’s Gaby?”

“She had to attend a seminar after work.”

“Heck,” Kevin muttered.

Gideon grinned. “So, lonely old you took us up on our invitation. I guess we’re better than nothing.”

Max grinned back. The guy was crazy in love with his wife, Gideon mused for the thousandth time.

At twenty-two, Gideon had fallen for Fay. He’d thought she’d loved him, too. But the affair she’d had during their engagement, plus the other affair after their marriage, had destroyed that belief.

He’d had several serious relationships with women since his divorce. But something had always prevented him from proposing. It wasn’t only the trust factor. Now that he’d turned thirty-seven, he realized he’d been waiting for his soul mate all along.

Someone who spoke to him, body, mind and soul.

Instantly an image of Heidi Ellis filled his head. She’d been making an appearance there more often than not since last Friday night. Just the prospect of seeing her in a little while practically doubled his pulse rate.

“Did I tell you Gaby saw the doctor last week and we’re having quadruplets?” he teased.

Gideon nodded.

“Dad! Hey, Dad—”

“What is it, son?”

Both Max and Kevin broke into laughter. Gideon looked at the two of them. “What’s wrong?”

Max turned to Kevin. “How long has your dad been like this?”

“Since last Friday.”

“What happened last Friday?”

“Daniel Mcfarlane had to have an operation, so he asked Dad to teach his criminology class at Mesa Junior High. That’s where we’re going after we eat. It’s a bunch of mystery writers who signed up for adult education.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah. He read me their stories. Most of them are pretty weird.”

Gideon saw the gleam in Max’s eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking before he spoke.

“Mystery writers, eh? My guess is, most of them are women.”

“Two are men,” Kevin volunteered.

“Interesting.”

“I liked the one about the mummy that was discovered in the basement of this museum in New York. But it smelled, so they unwrapped it and found a corpse. The person had only been dead for about a week and—”

“Kevin, let’s change the subject. The waitress is bringing our orders as we speak.”

While their hamburgers and shakes were being served, Max’s shoulders shook in silent laughter.

“Why didn’t you pick that story, Dad?” Kevin asked after taking a huge bite of his burger. “It’s a lot better than the one about those call girls who poisoned the brownies.”

At this point Max let out a burst of laughter. “I think I’m going to have to come to class with you.”

By now Gideon was chuckling.

“Dad? A call girl’s a prostitute, right?”

“Yeah, Dad…” Max baited him gleefully.

“You’ll learn everything you need to know in class.”

“Chicken,” Max said under his breath.

“I’ll remind you of this moment when your son or daughter starts asking questions one day.”

“I can hardly wait.” Max was no longer joking, and the emotion in his voice said it all. The man was counting the hours until he could hold his own child in his arms. Gideon glanced at his son. Thank God for Kevin.

“So, tell me more about your students.”

“Dad says most of them are older ladies.”

Kevin’s running commentary was getting Gideon into deeper water by the second.

“They’re a happy, enthusiastic group of people.”

“Which one isn’t older?” Max asked dryly before filling his mouth with fries.

“Kevin? Would you mind telling our waitress to bring us some more water?”

“Sure.”

The second he got up, Max said, “Who is she?”

“It’s a moot point if she’s already taken.”

“But you’re interested.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe, hell! Is she married?”

“No.”

“What’s she like?”