“I’m sorry, Beth.”
“So am I. Do you want to know the stupid part? I’m in love with him.”
“Then why did you turn him down?”
“Because he wanted me to relocate to California and leave the bureau. I’m not ready to do that. Does that sound crazy?”
“He wanted you to change.”
“Yes, he wanted me to change.”
Some cops couldn’t change but had to continue to fight crime and chase down evil. They were on a mission that often precluded them from having normal lives. He knew the deal because he’d been living it for most of his life.
“It doesn’t sound crazy at all,” he said.
Two weeks later, he took Daniels out to dinner. She was going to physical therapy every day and was already strong enough to walk without assistance. He showed up at the Pearls’ place at a few minutes before six. He’d gotten a haircut and bought himself a new pair of chinos and a Tommy Bahama dress shirt with fancy buttons.
The first thing he’d noticed was how quiet the neighborhood was. The street in front of the house hardly had any traffic. The last Cassandra video had been posted, and like magic, Nicki’s stalkers had crawled back under their rocks and stopped pursuing her.
The Pearls greeted him at the front door with hugs and smiles. Nicki told him how her parents had agreed to let her start taking horseback-riding lessons and how excited she was. Then Daniels came downstairs dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a shimmering gold blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the makeup she wore made her look like an actress. Before they left, Melanie snapped a photo on her cell phone.
“Where are you taking me?” Daniels asked in the car.
“I made a reservation at 50 Ocean. The views are amazing,” he said.
“Sounds wonderful,” she said.
A bootleg Jimmy Buffett concert played on the car’s stereo, and she hummed along while he drove. Something had changed, and he sensed that she wanted to talk about it but didn’t know how to begin. If they didn’t get past it, the night would be ruined.
“You seem different,” he said.
“How so?” she asked.
“Like a dark cloud’s been lifted. You almost seem happy.”
“I am happy. The nightmares I’ve been having since college have stopped. I’m waking up in the morning feeling great. It’s an amazing feeling.”
“That sounds like cause for celebration.”
“What are we celebrating? That Mates and Holloway are dead? That seems a little morbid, don’t you think?”
He stopped at a traffic light and faced her. “Mates and Holloway were evil, and evil never wins. That’s what we’re celebrating.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I sure do. The world is a good place, and so are most of the people who live in it. Evil people are a minority, and they’re not supposed to win. When they go down, we have every right to pop a bottle of champagne and cheer.”
She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I knew there was a reason I liked you,” she said.
50 Ocean was located on the same block as Boston’s, across the street from the ocean. He decided to park in a public lot a few blocks away to avoid the flooding.
“You strong enough for a little walk?” he asked.
“I did a mile today on the treadmill,” she said proudly.
As they walked to the restaurant, she talked about her childhood, and how she’d aspired to be a surgeon like her father and save lives. That dream had carried her to Dartmouth, and she would have gotten a medical degree and gone to work doing research had Mates and Holloway not abducted her. Lying in the trunk of their car, her life had flashed before her eyes, and she’d accepted that she was about to die. When the trunk had sprung open, bright sunlight had flooded over her, and she’d felt like she’d been reborn.
They came to the restaurant. The road in front looked different, and it took a moment for him to realize why. The water had receded, and the pavement was bone dry.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
“This road had six inches of water the last time I was here.”
“That’s so strange. Does anyone know what causes the flooding?”
“No one knows what causes the King Tides. It screws everything up when it’s here, and when it’s gone, it’s like it was never there in the first place. I guess it’s the price we pay for living in paradise.”
“I want to stick my feet in the ocean,” she said.
They crossed and walked to the ocean’s edge. Taking off their shoes, they stood in the wet sand and let the gentle waves tickle their feet. The world felt normal again, and they stayed until the sun went down, knowing the feeling would not last.