Dying Embers (40 page)

I dropped Bart Shephart at the Detective Bureau and headed for my office. My car had been dropped off with a new windshield in place. The keys were supposed to be under the mat, but the doors were locked. What the hell, the Jag needed one more ride.

I pulled off the blacktop at the end of the lake and looked across the water to my house. The sun lay dim and low in the clouds that threatened from the west. For now, the lake rested without a ripple. Lights from the house reached across the water in reflected streaks to point my way home.

The card I'd bought for Wendy lay heavy in my pocket—the little boy and girl on the cover. I took it out and read aloud, “When you're young at heart/Life is forever new.” I took out my pen and wrote, “Let us begin, again.”