that.”
“I read the report,” Dan said, “and there’s no evidence to suggestthat the disappearance has anything to do with the wolf killings or that the investigation has been mishandled in any way. In other words, there’s no reason for you to get involved.”
“There’re loose ends I’m not happy with,” Geri said.
“You know what I’m not happy with?” Dan was raising his voice. “I’m not happy that it took you thirty-six goddamn hours to get a sketch you should’ve gotten a day and a half ago.” His face was pink, pinker than usual, and veins were showing in his forehead. Then in a more restrained, but definitely not more relaxed, tone he said, “Please, Geri. Leave it alone.”
A few minutes later, Geri was driving back up to Washington Heights with Shawn in the passenger seat, her adrenaline surging.
“You okay?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah, fine,” Geri said. “Why?”
“You’re just acting, I don’t know … distracted.”
That was the last thing Geri needed to hear: somebody else telling her she wasn’t focused.
“I’m not distracted, okay? I’m fine.”
“I was just askin’,” Shawn said. “I mean I heard you in Dan’s office before and—”
“It’s between me and Dan.”
“Seriously?” Shawn said. “’Cause I’m your partner. We’re supposed to share things, right? You know, communicate.”
Geri didn’t answer. She was thinking about the Becker case. So what if Dan wanted her to back off? She’d back off when it was time to back off.
“What?” Geri asked. She knew that Shawn had just asked her a question, but she had no idea what it was.
“I asked if you want to stop for lunch now or get something later,” Shawn said.
“Later,” Geri said.
“See, that’s better,” Shawn said. “At least you’re talkin’ to me, we got some back-and-forth goin’ on.” A few seconds later he added, “Maybe we won’t have to go to marriage counseling after all.”
FOUR
S imon spent the night on the couch. He didn’t
sleep
on the couch because for Simon
sleep
really meant
alert rest
. When he was asleep, he was unconscious, but he was also highly aware of his surroundings, as if every part of his body were asleep except his brain. This style of rest certainly had its advantages. For example, he was hyperaware of sounds and smells, so he was an excellent supplement for the smoke detector, and no one was going to break into the apartment without him hearing. For a while Simon had feared that with his brain so active at night, he’d never get a fully satisfying night’s sleep again, but then he realized that he was waking up feeling fully rejuvenated, and sleep had never been so satisfying. He also didn’t need as much sleep as he used to. He used to be cranky if he got less than seven hours of uninterrupted sleep, but now he felt great with just four or five hours of rest.
When Simon got up, at five A.M. , he felt antsy, as he often did when he hadn’t been active for several hours, and he immediately did about a hundred push-ups and about twenty minutes of crunches and sit-ups, just to get his blood flowing. Then he went into the kitchen and whipped up some bacon and eggs and sausage, for his daily morning protein fix. At sixish he heard Jeremy stirring, even though Jeremy’s room was down the hallway and his door was closed. Simon went into his room and, sure enough, Jeremy was sitting up in bed.
“How did you know I woke up, Daddy?”
Jeremy had been asking similar questions a lot lately—
How did you hear what I was saying, Daddy? How did you hear what Mommy was saying, Daddy?
Like most three-year-olds, Jeremy thrived on question and repetition.
“I just know,” Simon said, saying what he always said, like a line in a script.
“Are you a magic daddy?”
“Yep,” Simon said, “I’m a magic daddy.”
Jeremy stood in bed.
Simon hugged
“I read the report,” Dan said, “and there’s no evidence to suggestthat the disappearance has anything to do with the wolf killings or that the investigation has been mishandled in any way. In other words, there’s no reason for you to get involved.”
“There’re loose ends I’m not happy with,” Geri said.
“You know what I’m not happy with?” Dan was raising his voice. “I’m not happy that it took you thirty-six goddamn hours to get a sketch you should’ve gotten a day and a half ago.” His face was pink, pinker than usual, and veins were showing in his forehead. Then in a more restrained, but definitely not more relaxed, tone he said, “Please, Geri. Leave it alone.”
A few minutes later, Geri was driving back up to Washington Heights with Shawn in the passenger seat, her adrenaline surging.
“You okay?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah, fine,” Geri said. “Why?”
“You’re just acting, I don’t know … distracted.”
That was the last thing Geri needed to hear: somebody else telling her she wasn’t focused.
“I’m not distracted, okay? I’m fine.”
“I was just askin’,” Shawn said. “I mean I heard you in Dan’s office before and—”
“It’s between me and Dan.”
“Seriously?” Shawn said. “’Cause I’m your partner. We’re supposed to share things, right? You know, communicate.”
Geri didn’t answer. She was thinking about the Becker case. So what if Dan wanted her to back off? She’d back off when it was time to back off.
“What?” Geri asked. She knew that Shawn had just asked her a question, but she had no idea what it was.
“I asked if you want to stop for lunch now or get something later,” Shawn said.
“Later,” Geri said.
“See, that’s better,” Shawn said. “At least you’re talkin’ to me, we got some back-and-forth goin’ on.” A few seconds later he added, “Maybe we won’t have to go to marriage counseling after all.”
FOUR
S imon spent the night on the couch. He didn’t
sleep
on the couch because for Simon
sleep
really meant
alert rest
. When he was asleep, he was unconscious, but he was also highly aware of his surroundings, as if every part of his body were asleep except his brain. This style of rest certainly had its advantages. For example, he was hyperaware of sounds and smells, so he was an excellent supplement for the smoke detector, and no one was going to break into the apartment without him hearing. For a while Simon had feared that with his brain so active at night, he’d never get a fully satisfying night’s sleep again, but then he realized that he was waking up feeling fully rejuvenated, and sleep had never been so satisfying. He also didn’t need as much sleep as he used to. He used to be cranky if he got less than seven hours of uninterrupted sleep, but now he felt great with just four or five hours of rest.
When Simon got up, at five A.M. , he felt antsy, as he often did when he hadn’t been active for several hours, and he immediately did about a hundred push-ups and about twenty minutes of crunches and sit-ups, just to get his blood flowing. Then he went into the kitchen and whipped up some bacon and eggs and sausage, for his daily morning protein fix. At sixish he heard Jeremy stirring, even though Jeremy’s room was down the hallway and his door was closed. Simon went into his room and, sure enough, Jeremy was sitting up in bed.
“How did you know I woke up, Daddy?”
Jeremy had been asking similar questions a lot lately—
How did you hear what I was saying, Daddy? How did you hear what Mommy was saying, Daddy?
Like most three-year-olds, Jeremy thrived on question and repetition.
“I just know,” Simon said, saying what he always said, like a line in a script.
“Are you a magic daddy?”
“Yep,” Simon said, “I’m a magic daddy.”
Jeremy stood in bed.
Simon hugged
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