No Way Out, Fern Michaels [korean ebook reader TXT] 📗

really hard. He underlined the first letter of each planet. M is for Most. And it comes before Earth—E—so it can’t be Mars. Right?”

“Right.”

“V is for valuable. So it has to be Venus. Then Earth. Then Mars. Jackson, Jupiter!” He squealed with delight. “Saturn, Uranus, Neptune! And a period for Pluto!”

“Excellent! ”

“Wow. That was kinda hard. But I think I’ll remember them!” Jackson looked up at Frank, and they gave each other a high five. “How come you were never a teacher?”

“I taught other things.”

“In a classroom?”

“Sort of,” Frank explained. “I worked with men in the military, and I had to teach them tactical things. You play video games, right?”

“Only when my mom lets me.”

“Well, you know you have to develop skills to win, right?”

“Oh, sure.”

“That’s kind of the same thing. I taught soldiers how to win.”

“Cool.” Jackson took out a clean sheet of paper and drew his circles again. This time, he included the names of each planet inside the circles as he was going through the mnemonic Frank had just taught him. When he finished, he slid the paper over to Frank. “Did I get it right?”

“You did indeed! Good job!” They gave each other another high five.

“Is there anything else you need to work on today?”

“Nope. And ya know what, Mr. Chadwick? It didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”

“Glad to hear it. Now go change your clothes, then you can head over to Buddy’s.”

“Yay!” Jackson bolted from his chair.

“Hold on a second. Put away your papers and pack up your bag so it’s ready for you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.” Jackson spun around and did what he had been told.

“Good boy!” Frank patted him on the shoulder.

Jackson whipped down the hall and put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He grabbed his ball and glove, donned his cap, and marched toward the front door.

“Do you have a key?” Frank asked.

Jackson halted and thought a moment. “In my backpack.”

“Maybe you should take it with you.”

“Good idea, Mr. Chadwick. Jeepers, you are full of good ideas.”

“I don’t think my wife would agree with you.” Frank laughed, and so did Jackson.

Both left the house, with Jackson locking the front door. Frank went to his house, and Jackson headed to Buddy’s.

Right on schedule, Colleen returned home just before 4:00. She changed into a pair of linen pants and a clean blouse, checked her makeup, and ran a brush through her hair. She refreshed her perfume just a little. She didn’t want to knock Officer Pedone over when he came into the house. On the other hand . . .

When the front doorbell rang, she got butterflies in her stomach. She was almost giddy. She smoothed the front of her pants and opened the door.

“Good afternoon!” She was beaming.

“Good afternoon to you.” Officer Pedone removed his hat.

“Please come in.” She swung the door open and stepped back to let him in. She had forgotten how tall he was. Probably because she had been sitting down most of the time when he first came. He was also in great shape. She could see the muscles pushing against the sleeve of his shirt. Calm down, girl. “Sit. Please.” She motioned toward the dining-room table. “What kind of coffee do you prefer? Decaf? Caffeinated? Espresso? American?”

“Wow. This is like a Starbucks,” Pedone joked. “Do you have something between espresso and American? Or did I come to the wrong coffee bar?”

“I have a Nespresso coffee maker. It uses capsules. I have a nice one that might be to your liking. Decaf or regular?”

Pedone checked his watch. “Better do decaf; otherwise, I might be up all night.”

“Decaf it is. How do you take it?”

“You are quite the barista, eh?” Pedone teased.

“Yeah. Just in case I need to get a second job.” She wasn’t joking.

Pedone sensed she wasn’t kidding. “Seriously?”

“Well, yes and no. But if Mitchel doesn’t have a job and can’t come up with child support, I just might have to.”

“What’s he doing to find gainful employment?”

“I have no idea. We haven’t spoken since that night.” Colleen was working on the coffee.

“How do you communicate about Jackson?”

“Through his mother, Vivian.”

“And how is that going?” Pedone asked.

“Not too bad, considering.”

“Considering what?”

“I don’t want to speak ill of people, but let’s just say that Vivian can be difficult at times.” Colleen was not exaggerating. There were always arguments as to who was going where during the holidays, and Vivian had never been flexible. And in Colleen’s mind, there was no reason for her not to be. It was just Vivian that Vivian had to worry about. It wasn’t as if she hosted a dozen people. Greg and Elaine were always flexible, so they weren’t the issue. After enough fights with Mitchel, Colleen acquiesced and spent her holidays resenting Vivian’s stubbornness. “But I have to admit, she’s been fine lately. No one can seem to guess what’s gotten into her.”

“What do you mean?” Pedone was curious.

“I don’t want to gossip, but evidently when she took Jackson and Mitchel out last Saturday, she came back in a most upbeat mood. Everyone was in shock. It was as if she’d had some kind of epiphany.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Pedone nodded in her direction.

“True. I just hope it lasts.” Colleen took the mug from the coffee maker. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Just a little cream, please. Thank you,” Pedone said politely.

Colleen poured some into the mug, got a napkin and some cookies, and placed them on the table. “I baked them on Saturday. I think they might still be fresh. Or close.”

“A barista and a baker? You sure you don’t want to open your own café?” he teased her again.

“Not if I don’t have to.” She smiled and took a seat across from him.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Pedone finally got to the point.

“I have new neighbors moving in across the street.” Colleen was fidgeting with her spoon. “They have two children. A son and daughter. The son is twelve, and the daughter is a little younger than Jackson.”

“Well,