other hand, plenty who don’t deserve it get it.”
She glowered up at him. “You’re so cynical, McCallum! Don’t you believe anybody can be basically good?”
“No.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I give up. You’re a hopeless case.”
“I’m in law enforcement,” he pointed out. “What we see doesn’t lead us to look for the best in people.”
“Neither does what I see, but I still try to believe in basic goodness,” she replied.
He looked down at her for a long moment, letting his eyes linger on her soft mouth and straight nose before they lifted to catch her eyes.
“No, you don’t,” he said abruptly. “How can you still believe? What happens is that you just close your eyes to the ugliness. That’s what most people do. They don’t want to know that human beings can do such hideous things. Murder and robbery and beatings are so unthinkable that people pretend it can’t occur. Then some terrible crime happens to them personally, and they have to believe it.”
“You don’t close your eyes to it,” she said earnestly. “In fact, you look for it everywhere, even when you have to dig to find it. You have to try to rise above the ugliness.”
His eyes darkened. He turned away. “I work for a living,” he said lazily. “I haven’t got time to stand around here socializing with you. Get that fan belt seen to.”
She looked after him. “My goodness, do I reallyneed a big, strong man to tell me how to take care of myself?”
“Yes.”
He got into his car, leaving her aghast, and drove off.
Five
F or several days, McCallum scoured the area for any clues as to the identity of the baby called Jennifer. He checked at every clinic and doctor’s office in the area, as well as the local hospital and those in the surrounding counties. But every child’s parents were accounted for. There were no leftover babies at any of the medical facilities. Which meant that the baby had probably been born at home, and a midwife had attended the birth. There were plenty of old women in the community who knew how to deliver a baby, and McCallum knew that he could spend years searching for the right person. Prospects looked dismal.
He was just leaving the office for lunch when Jessica Larson walked up to him on the street.
“I need to get your opinion on something,” she said, and without preamble, caught his big, lean hand in hers and began to drag him off toward a parked car nearby.
“Now, hold it,” he growled, hating and loving the feel of her soft hand in his.
“Don’t grumble,” she chided. “It won’t hurt a bit. I just want you to talk to these young people for me before they make a big mistake.” She paused at the beat-up old Chevy, where two teenagers sat guiltily in the front seat. They didn’t look old enough to be out of school.
“This is Deputy McCallum,” Jessica told the teens. “Ben and Amy want to get married,” she explained to him. “Their parents are against it. Ben is seventeen and Amy is sixteen. I’ve told them that any marriage they make can be legally annulled by her parents because she’s under age. Will you tell them that, too?”
He wasn’t sure about the statutes on marriageable age in Montana, having never had occasion or reason to look them up. But he was pretty sure the girl was under the age of consent, and he knew what Jessica wanted him to say. He could bluff when he had to.
“She’s absolutely right,” he told them. “A minor can’t legally marry without written permission from a parent. It would be terrible for you to have to—”
“She’s pregnant,” Ben mumbled, red-faced, and looked away. “I tried to get her to have it… Well, to not have it, really. She won’t listen. She says we have to get married or her folks’ll kill her.”
Jessica hadn’t counted on that complication. She stood there, stunned.
McCallum squatted down beside the car and looked at Amy, who was obviously upset. “Why don’t we start at the
She glowered up at him. “You’re so cynical, McCallum! Don’t you believe anybody can be basically good?”
“No.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I give up. You’re a hopeless case.”
“I’m in law enforcement,” he pointed out. “What we see doesn’t lead us to look for the best in people.”
“Neither does what I see, but I still try to believe in basic goodness,” she replied.
He looked down at her for a long moment, letting his eyes linger on her soft mouth and straight nose before they lifted to catch her eyes.
“No, you don’t,” he said abruptly. “How can you still believe? What happens is that you just close your eyes to the ugliness. That’s what most people do. They don’t want to know that human beings can do such hideous things. Murder and robbery and beatings are so unthinkable that people pretend it can’t occur. Then some terrible crime happens to them personally, and they have to believe it.”
“You don’t close your eyes to it,” she said earnestly. “In fact, you look for it everywhere, even when you have to dig to find it. You have to try to rise above the ugliness.”
His eyes darkened. He turned away. “I work for a living,” he said lazily. “I haven’t got time to stand around here socializing with you. Get that fan belt seen to.”
She looked after him. “My goodness, do I reallyneed a big, strong man to tell me how to take care of myself?”
“Yes.”
He got into his car, leaving her aghast, and drove off.
Five
F or several days, McCallum scoured the area for any clues as to the identity of the baby called Jennifer. He checked at every clinic and doctor’s office in the area, as well as the local hospital and those in the surrounding counties. But every child’s parents were accounted for. There were no leftover babies at any of the medical facilities. Which meant that the baby had probably been born at home, and a midwife had attended the birth. There were plenty of old women in the community who knew how to deliver a baby, and McCallum knew that he could spend years searching for the right person. Prospects looked dismal.
He was just leaving the office for lunch when Jessica Larson walked up to him on the street.
“I need to get your opinion on something,” she said, and without preamble, caught his big, lean hand in hers and began to drag him off toward a parked car nearby.
“Now, hold it,” he growled, hating and loving the feel of her soft hand in his.
“Don’t grumble,” she chided. “It won’t hurt a bit. I just want you to talk to these young people for me before they make a big mistake.” She paused at the beat-up old Chevy, where two teenagers sat guiltily in the front seat. They didn’t look old enough to be out of school.
“This is Deputy McCallum,” Jessica told the teens. “Ben and Amy want to get married,” she explained to him. “Their parents are against it. Ben is seventeen and Amy is sixteen. I’ve told them that any marriage they make can be legally annulled by her parents because she’s under age. Will you tell them that, too?”
He wasn’t sure about the statutes on marriageable age in Montana, having never had occasion or reason to look them up. But he was pretty sure the girl was under the age of consent, and he knew what Jessica wanted him to say. He could bluff when he had to.
“She’s absolutely right,” he told them. “A minor can’t legally marry without written permission from a parent. It would be terrible for you to have to—”
“She’s pregnant,” Ben mumbled, red-faced, and looked away. “I tried to get her to have it… Well, to not have it, really. She won’t listen. She says we have to get married or her folks’ll kill her.”
Jessica hadn’t counted on that complication. She stood there, stunned.
McCallum squatted down beside the car and looked at Amy, who was obviously upset. “Why don’t we start at the
Similar Books
