Detective Cross (Alex Cross 24.50)

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” I said, pausing to give Jannie a hug. “No phone at the table. No phone behind the wheel.”

She scrunched up her nose, but put her phone in her pocket. “A deal’s a deal.”

“Thank you for remembering,” I said, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Ali said, “I can’t believe she’s getting a car just for controlling her texting!”

As I was leaving the kitchen, Jannie said, “Maybe you’ll believe it when you need a ride.”

The doorbell rang again. I hustled down the front hall and opened it to Kate Williams.

“Welcome!” I said.

“Not too early?”

“Right on time. I hope you’re hungry for a home-cooked meal.”

Kate smiled. “It’s been a long time. It smells outstanding! I’m just happy to be invited, Dr. Cross.”

“Upstairs, I’m Alex. And you do look happy.”

Kate stopped in the hallway, grinning and lowering her voice. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but I got a call from the lab at Quantico this morning. There’s a slot open in TEDAC, the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center. They want me to interview for it!”

“Wow. That is great news! How did that happen?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe your friend? Agent Mahoney?”

“I’ll ask him if you want.”

“No, no, it doesn’t matter. I’m just…I can see a way forward now, Dr.…Alex, and I’m grateful.”

“You deserve it. Want to meet the rest of my family?”

“I’d like that. But…I wanted to say thank you. For all the help you’ve given me.”

“Glad I could help, Kate,” I said. I smiled, and gestured toward the kitchen.

Following her, remembering the near-suicidal woman who’d sat down in my office not two weeks before, I couldn’t help thinking—maybe that suspension wasn’t such a bad thing. Sometimes miracles really do happen.