Gifted Connections 4

“How do the guys watch you with the others and aren’t fazed by it?” Lincoln asked abruptly. I was surprised by his quick change of subject, but I knew it was from his need to get his mind off of the current situation.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. They tell me it’s because they knew for years they were meant to share, and they were already used to it.”

I continued to rub on his back unconsciously.

“I was an only child,” Lincoln said with a shrug. “I didn’t live a privileged life, so when I got something I wanted, I generally coveted it.”

“Is that your subtle way of telling me you’re going to be leaving soon?” I asked matter-of-factly.

He opened his mouth just as a cop car pulled up in front of the house. The cop got out of his car and started to walk up the front porch. I noticed the man walking his dog was now gone, but I swore I saw the curtains twitch next door.

“He’s going the wrong way,” I cursed silently.

We watched as the porch lights came on and, moments later, a woman came out dressed in a bathrobe. She must be his wife. Again she looked so ordinary, so All-American. She climbed down the steps, followed closely by the officer.

The door above us opened, and the man from earlier stepped out.

“Is there anything I can help you with, officer?” he asked with a friendly smile.

His smile made my skin crawl, knowing the secrets and lies they hid.

“A neighbor thought they saw someone lurking around the garage,” the officer said in a laid-back tone. “They were concerned they were trying to break in.”

The man’s smile wavered for a moment before he stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “It was probably me,” he laughed. “The wife doesn’t like me playing in the house when the kids are in bed.”

From his wife's smile, I imagined she had no clue the man that she slept with every night had the soul of the devil.

“So you didn’t see anyone lurking around?” the cop asked.

He puckered up his lip and shook his head. “No, no one.”

“Okay, well, sorry to bother you.” The officer laughed. “Have a great night.”

“Good night, honey,” the woman said with a large yawn. “You have an early morning.”

“Yes, dear,” he called back. “Love you.”

The cop began to walk down the driveway, and I realized he was leaving. Just like that. He probably didn’t get that many calls in cookie-cutter America. It was easy to believe in appearances here.

“No!” I screamed. “You can’t leave! Check the garage.”

The cop stopped and turned around. His head was cocked to the side. His eyes scanned the area and fell on Lincoln and me from our positions on the bottom of the stairs, our bodies cast in the shadows. His eyes widened for a moment.

“Something wrong, officer?” the man asked with his hand on the doorknob of his garage.

“Um yeah,” the cop said tentatively. “Do you mind if I check in your garage?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. You don’t have probable cause to search it,” the man said with a smile. “Unless you have a warrant, I really don’t feel comfortable with that. I’m sure you’re an upstanding young man, but with the way things are nowadays…you understand. Right?”

The cop nodded, and I could see the battle in his eyes.

“What do you need for probable cause?” I asked the cop insistently.

“He needs to see a crime being committed or suspicious of one,” Lincoln explained to me.

“How about a rock through a window?” I asked Lincoln.

“That would work,” the cop murmured out of the side of his mouth.