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you next time.”
    “But it won’t be a vacation without you,” he objected.
    “You’ll have another week coming,” I said. “We can all go somewhere together then.”
    “Well, I don’t know. I just don’t like going anywhere without you.”
    “I know, and I’ll miss you, too. But I definitely think you should go.”
    The program resumed, and we went back to watching.
    At the next commercial, he said, “Yeah, I suppose now would be a good time to go home. When do you think we should go?”
    “The sooner the better,” I said. “How about this Thursday?”
    He looked at me suspiciously. “The day after tomorrow? Are you serious? No way I couldn’t leave that soon! I have to clear it with my boss, see if Dad will be able to pick us up, pack, let the gang know. All sorts of stuff. Maybe Saturday, that way I won’t miss more work than I have to.” He turned to face me full-on. “Something else is going on here. Tell me.”
    He deserved the truth. My trying to protect him with evasions and half-truths hadn’t worked, and he was right to resent my trying.
    So, I told him.
    “Look,” I said, trying to appear as casual about it as I could, “if—and that’s a big if—you’re right about Clarence Bement’s not having committed suicide, that means somebody killed him. And if whoever did it knows you and Mr. Bement talked a lot, it’s not impossible he may think Mr. Bement told you something he shouldn’t have.”
    “But he didn’t!” 
    “You and I may know that, but the guy who called you to come out to a deserted stretch of road doesn’t.”
    “So, it wasn’t a stone that broke my windshield.” It was more a statement than a question.
    I shook my head. “Afraid not.”
    “And if I hadn’t swerved to avoid that pothole…”
    I reached over to take his hand, entwining our fingers.
    “But you did,” I said, “and that’s what matters.” I squeezed his hand. “Look, we can’t be sure about any of this. The window could have been an accident and your being followed a coincidence.”
    “But you don’t think so.” 
    “Hey, I’m a private investigator. I see bad guys lurking behind every tree whether they’re there or not. But just to be safe, I want to look into it further, and I’ll be able to do that a lot easier if I don’t have to worry about you and Joshua while I’m doing it.”
    “You’re doing it again.”
    “Doing what?”
    “Trying to protect me. I do appreciate it, but I really can take care of myself.”
    “I know you can, Babe, and that’s not the issue. It’s not even a question of just you and me. We have Joshua to think about now, too. Just in case there is a real problem here, we can’t let him be involved. I can’t help but worry about you and try to protect you—that’s what I’m here for. So humor me. Look on it as my being selfish—by protecting you, I’m protecting myself. You’d do the same for me.”
    He smiled. “Of course I would. But I’d try not to be so obvious about it.”
    *
    We watched the late news in relative silence, and I could see, glancing over at him frequently, that he was thinking about everything that had been going on. I was very impressed that he seemed to take the possibility someone might have deliberately taken a shot at him and then followed him as calmly as he was.
    As the news ended, he looked at me and said, “You’re right. We really should go. I’ll check with my boss tomorrow then call Dad to see if it’s okay with him and if he can pick us up in Rhinelander. I’ll have to miss chorus practice next week—I’ve never missed a practice before.”
    “I’m sure they’ll understand.”
    He was silent a moment, then said, “I’m glad you suggested this trip, but I’m really going to miss you.” Picking up the remote to turn off the TV, he stood up. “Want me to show you how much?”
    Oh, yeah! I thought, but said nothing and merely got up from the couch, took his extended hand and let him lead me toward