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to pick up a candy bar for him. Greg had done well on his report card, and his dad had promised a chocolate bar as a reward. That report card still haunted him.
    “I have my father’s job, and it’s dangerous,” he said. “Haggerston isn’t exactly known for its staggering crime rate—” Greg shot her a wry grin “—but with a job like this, danger is part of it.”
    “So you’re afraid that something would happen to you and you’d leave a family behind.” Emily pulled her glossy, dark hair out of her eyes.
    “That about sums it up.” He shrugged.
    “It must have been tough growing up without your dad.”
    Tough didn’t even begin to cover it. Greg had drawn the attention of a school bully. It was that bullying that sent him in search of some boxing lessons—a successful way to stop the bullying, once he learned what he was doing, but every miserable day of that year, he’d wondered what advice his dad might have given him. He had a feeling his dad would have had the solution—one that involved less fighting. He’d just died too soon to be of much use. Instead, Greg learned to use his fists more effectively than the bigger boy.
    “Yeah, it was tough,” he agreed, keeping his tone neutral. “School can be hard on a kid.”
    A flicker of understanding passed over her face. “Were you picked on?”
    “Remember Richard Pike?”
    She frowned. “Big guy, football team?”
    “That’s him. He made it his personal mission to make me miserable.”
    “Oh, Greg, that’s awful.”
    He chuckled bitterly and waved it off. “I survived, but sometimes a kid just needs a dad to help out with these things. Bullying can crush a person, and childhood is hard enough without trying to take care of those kinds of problems alone. I learned how to box, and it helped, but I wouldn’t want to leave some vulnerable kids behind if something were to happen to me in the line of duty.”
    She nodded. “I get it. I was close with my dad, too. Still am.”
    “Daddy’s girl?”
    “Afraid so. I remember how I used to be afraid of the dark, and he’d sing to me—‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ He said that God gave us stars so that we’d never be in the dark. No matter how dark it might seem, there was always at least one star to light our way. That was something that really stuck for me.”
    “That’s sweet.” A star to light his way—that wouldn’t have been enough back when he was fighting off the bigger boys. He hadn’t needed a far-off twinkle of light; he’d needed someone with bones and muscles to step in and protect him.
    They were silent for a few moments, each in their own thoughts. Outside the kitchen window, the stars glittered like pale diamonds. The velvety night sky felt calm and vast, a comforting blanket of eternity outside the warmly lit kitchen.
    Emily broke the silence. “So have you found out anything about Jessica?”
    “I have. A little bit.” Greg brought himself back to the present. “She worked as the manager of a clothing store. She graduated with high grades from college, and everyone seemed to think she was pretty talented. She lived in a little apartment above an Italian restaurant, and her finances were a wreck. She had several credit cards—the high-interest kind—racked up, and she’d been missing payments. Her credit score was in the dumps.”
    Emily nodded slowly, and he suddenly felt like a fool.
    “I’m sorry. I’m probably being callous here. She’s not a case—she’s your cousin.”
    “No, it’s okay.” Emily gave him a sad smile. “A little bit of emotional distance is a good thing, if you can get it. Do you know anything about Cora’s father?”
    “No. I haven’t gotten that far yet.” He had to admit, that had piqued his curiosity, as well. “You don’t know if she had a boyfriend or anything?”
    “I have no idea.” Emily shook her head. The kettle behind her started to whistle, and Greg moved toward it.
    “I’ll get that.” He poured the