Page 53 of Bolo's Curveball
“Yeah.” She set her plate down. “I mean, he hasn’t been in jail yet.” Then she paused. “Has he?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s good. That’ll go a long way with Dad.”
I laughed. “Yeah, until I tell him one day that my boyfriend does illegal things.”
“Yeah, he’s not going to like that much.” She made a face, then sighed. “But, if what he’s saying is true, he’s doing this stuff for a noble reason.”
“There is that.”
“It would be so much easier if they just let the cops handle it.”
“True. But Bolo had a good point when he brought up how many cases I’ve investigated that got thrown out over a technicality. And most of those were just people setting random buildings on fire. But think about the firemen who’ve lost their lives going into those buildings to make sure no one was in there.”
She nodded. We’d all worried about our father during the entirety of his career because of that. We’d often stay up on the nights he worked, talking or playing board games because we were all scared he wouldn’t come home. Mom had given up on trying to get us to sleep through most of those nights. She’d just ended up joining us. It’d made us so much closer as a family, though. I truly believed that was part of why we were so close with our parents, and each other.
They never said it out loud, but when I took the fire investigator job, all of them, including Dad, breathed a sigh of relief. I only ever went into buildings where the flames were already extinguished these days.
“I keep thinking about how the people they help must be so grateful.”
She picked her plate back up. “But it must be a nightmare for their wives.”
“Bolo only mentioned two other women.”
She cocked her head and pointed at me with her fork. “Maybe you should talk to them.”
I hesitated. “What if they’re not allowed to really say anything?”
Soph shrugged. “If Bolo wants you to be able to accept this and stay with him, then he might need to make sure you can ask your questions and get honest answers.”
I thought about that and nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll see what he says.” We were quiet as we ate for a few minutes. I only got about seven bites in before I was full. It wasn’t a surprise: I wasn’t eating a whole lot these days. But the food was staying down and I considered that a win. “Am I crazy?”
She looked surprised at the question. “No. Actually I’m shocked you didn’t just immediately walk away from this.”
I gave her a guilty smile. “I thought about it.”
“I know.” Her smile was slightly smug as she said that. “But I’m proud of you. You’d be crazy if he told you he was an ax murderer and you were contemplating staying with him.”
“Yeah, but he’s not some boring accountant, or something. He’s like…the boring accountant who’s actually Superman.”
“Reporter.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “Clark Kent was a journalist at the Daily Planet.”
I squinted at her, trying to figure out why that little detail was important right now. It wasn’t so I just shook my head. “Reporter. Whatever. Actually, he works in construction. But then there’s this whole other side to him.”
“Is it really that surprising?” she asked.
My eyebrows shot up. “Um…without knowing the full details of what he and his MC brothers get up to? Yeah, I’d say it is.” I laughed at the ridiculousness that we were even having a conversation like this. Who dealt with this kind of stuff in real life?
“I just mean…he was in the military, right?” I nodded. “And you’ve gotten that protective vibe from him before?” Another nod. “Okay, so that extends a bit further than just his family. But really, at the root it’s probably all about their families.”
“Huh?” I asked, not quite following.
“Okay, so the city is overrun with dangerous criminals. Murderers, robbers, whoever, right?” She circled her fork at me. “You’re married to Bolo and you and your kid are walking to your car after a day at the zoo while he’s off at work. Some mugger comes up and points a gun at you. You’re smart so you go to give him all your valuables, but someone else walks up and startles the guy…” She trailed off, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say what could happen next. She swallowed hard. “If they do their best to get those kinds of people off the streets before they become a problem, the city is safer for their families as a result.”
