Books of a Feather (27 page)

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After the police had dragged the three stooges away, Mom, Dad, Gabriel, and Alex sat with me in the living room and listened to Derek and Crane fill in the blanks.

“I had just arrived here when Bai pulled up,” Crane said. “He was conciliatory, humble. He told me he needed to talk and wondered if he could come with me upstairs. When I agreed and Derek buzzed me into the building, Kea ran up and joined us.”

Derek continued where Crane left off. “As soon as they walked in, Kea pulled the gun on me. I felt like a bloody fool.”

I had my arms wrapped around Derek like a neurotic koala bear and I wasn't about to let go for a while. I glanced over at my parents. “Now that we've heard their story, I'm wondering about you guys. Not that I wasn't thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“We came to drop off a present for Derek,” Mom said. “We wanted to surprise you, but it looks like we were the ones who were surprised.”

“We'll always be grateful that you chose that moment to visit,”
Derek said, still sounding a little sluggish. But his eyes were able to focus and his skin had returned to its healthy natural color, no longer that pallid sheen I'd found so frightening. “I personally owe you my life,” he said, “and I can't imagine what you brought me, but it wasn't necessary.”

“Except for the part where they showed up and saved our lives,” I said, smiling at Derek.

Derek grinned. “Yes, except for that part. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to thank you enough.”

“Seeing as how we weren't able to walk in and foil Goose's killer,” Dad said, “this is sort of a nice full-circle thing.”

“Very well said, Jim.” Mom stood up and handed Derek a large gift bag. “I hope you use this in good health.”

“Unlike the last guy,” Dad muttered.

Perplexed, I gave him a look, then got distracted watching Derek pull out the wads of pretty tissue paper to get to the treat at the bottom of the bag.

“What's in there?” I asked.

Derek lifted the rich, thick navy material out of the bag and beamed at my parents. “A new
bathrobe.”

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