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one of those snotty prep schools. His dad is Mr. Squishy, the frozen-custard guy.”
    “Who?”
    “You know—the ice-cream stands that are all over town. Mr. Squishy. He’s a self-made bazillionaire, so his kid’s got money to burn, not to mention a fancy Escalade to impress girls with.”
    “How’d Sage meet a guy like that?”
    “Who am I, your spy?”
    He was still smiling when he said it. I wanted to drop-kick his ass out the front door, but I’d had a long day, and my head was fuzzy where Sage was concerned. I knew she had to grow up. Of course I did. I just didn’t want her plunging headlong into adulthood the way I had. Hanging out with rich kids and horny neighborhood guys like Zack seemed like she was going down exactly the wrong path.
    As for Zack, it felt like he was trying hard to become my second kid. I wasn’t sure how to handle him exactly. I wanted to kick him out.
    But he had that sandwich.
    Zack noted the direction of my gaze. He gave me a crafty smile. “You look hungry, Mrs. A.”
    “Quit calling me that. I’m nobody’s Mrs.”
    “Okay, okay.” He paused before saying temptingly, “Want half my sandwich? Consider it a peace offering.”
    In my own defense, I hadn’t eaten anything since a Slim Jim at breakfast. A few oatmeal cookies had only started my belly growling. And the delicious fumes of the sub were soon going to make me drool on the floor just like Rooney.
    With dignity, I decided to accept his peace offering. “If you insist.”
    I sat down in an armchair. Zack hunkered forward and handed over a paper napkin. He plunked half the sandwich down next, which I grabbed and bit into right away. I almost moaned with pleasure. Bruno’s made a sub like no other—orgasm on a fresh-baked roll.
    I ate, and Zack watched as if pleased with the situation. We could hear Loretta and Sister Bob banging around in the kitchen, but the two of us were alone.
    Small talk wasn’t my specialty. But Zack looked like he was expecting a discussion of football scores or something. Probably, he wanted to talk more about Sage, but that seemed like a bad idea.
    My mouth full, I said, “What’s with the shirt?”
    Zack’s grin widened. He was wearing jeans and a blue shirt proudly printed with the words Event Security in bold white letters across the chest. “I got another part-time job until I can take the police exam. I’m working a security detail at a big concert later this week. They even gave me a free shirt. Cool, huh? I get free admission to the concert, too.”
    “I hope you don’t get assigned to the parking lot.”
    He frowned. That possibility hadn’t occurred to him.
    I said, “I thought you got hired full-time somewhere else. What happened? You lose that job already?”
    “It’s only part-time. I got hired at the gun range. But they don’t pay me enough, so I took a security gig, too.”
    “Which gun range? The same place Irene Stossel works?”
    “Yeah. In fact, old Irene hired me.”
    Since I was the same age as Irene, I tried not to be offended. “How’d that happen?”
    “Irene lives next to my uncle and heard I needed some income. I know she’s weird, but she was nice to hire me. But, man, you take your life in your hands at that place. You know how many idiots want to shoot at targets? Half the time they’re waving loaded weapons at each other. Irene’s always in the line of fire, but she doesn’t lose her cool. I’m telling you, it’s dangerous work.”
    The thought of Zack getting himself blown to bits was kind of appealing, actually.
    But further make-nice conversation was in order.
    I swallowed and said, “Your mom’s a volunteer at the big museum, right? Has she ever heard of somebody named Crabtree?”
    Zack’s expression turned to surprise. “You mean Professor Crabtree? The dinosaur guy? He’s way famous.”
    I used the paper napkin to wipe some of the sandwich juices off my chin. “That’s not who I’m talking about. This Crabtree is a