He looked slightly ashamed. "I got a little carried away this morning."
"You don't say."
His scowl returned. "You had no business sleeping with Clay. Word about the two of you is spreading all over town. You think that's going to help him, for folks to believe you're partial to him? When everyone expected you to finally come up with the truth?"
She knew it wouldn't help anyone. That was why she felt so bad. "You're right. And I'm sorry for that. But I'm out of the spotlight now. I shouldn't cause you any more trouble."
"Dammit, Allie." A muscle twitched in his cheek. "Okay, you win. You can have your regular job back. Just stay away from Clay Montgomery."
She needed to stop seeing Clay, at least until things settled down. Since he hadn't called her, she assumed he'd come to the same conclusion. But that didn't mean she was going back to work for her father. She'd already crossed too many lines; she couldn't be impartial in the investigation the mayor was insisting they launch. "I can't, Dad. I wouldn't be any good to you,"
she said. "I think it's best if I sit this one out."
His thick eyebrows rumpled. "It's a job. What about Whitney? How will you put food on the table?"
"I'll manage."
"She's my granddaughter."
"She'll be fine."
They stood staring at each other. Allie was so caught up in the moment that at first she didn't realize Jed Fowler had poked his head out of the house across the street. Even when she sensed him watching, she couldn't be completely sure she wasn't imagining it. The streetlight was too far away to reveal what he was looking at.
"I've got to get some sleep," she said, wanting to go back inside and lock the door against both men.
"That's it? You won't come back?" her father asked.
"I won't come back."
He drew himself up straight. "Suit yourself," he said and stalked to his cruiser.
Reverend Portenski tried not to show the depth of his concern as he listened to Evelyn McCormick. He usually enjoyed her visits. They shared books, debated the nature of God, planned various outreach efforts on behalf of the church.
But this was the first time she'd ever come to him in tears.
"I don't know what to do, Reverend," she said. "Dale can be harsh, but he's always been a good father."
"There's no doubt about that," he concurred.
"So I'm not complaining."
"Of course not." Portenski could tell Evelyn didn't want to malign her husband's character--and yet she was angry with him.
"It's just that I'm afraid what he's done will only tempt Allie to get more involved with Clay. I mean, without our influence, what's to stop her?"
Nodding, Portenski conjured up an expression of understanding and commiseration, but his mind had turned to the Polaroid pictures he'd put back in the hole beneath the floorboards.
Those pictures constituted a pretty powerful motive for murder. Allie, as a police officer, would know that instantly. If she ever saw them...
Did she realize who she was flirting with? That she was ruining her relationship with her parents for a man who could soon be dragged off to prison? The Vincellis were pressing hard for just that.
"She's always been a good girl," Evelyn went on. "Dale's pushed her too far, that's all."
"How does Dale feel about the situation?"
"He admits saying some things he's not proud of."
"I see."
"If only he'd waited until later, when we could've spoken calmly with her, the situation might've turned out differently. I mean, she would've had to listen to reason. We all know what Clay's done."
Portenski didn't respond to that comment. "Women seem to like Clay."
"Well, he's a handsome man, but considering his past..."
"Has he broken off his relationship with Beth Ann?" Portenski asked.
"That's what I'm hearing."
"And now he has his eye on Allie."
"Apparently."
"Chances are, the affair will be brief," he said, hoping to convince himself of that, as well.
He didn't like holding the missing piece of the puzzle, didn't like the responsibility it placed on his shoulders. He was damned if he revealed the pictures, and damned if he didn't.
"But a lot can happen, even in a brief relationship," Evelyn argued. "It'll destroy what's left of her reputation, make her an enemy to most of our friends." She lowered her voice. "And what if she were to get pregnant?"
Portenski shuddered at the thought. He'd always been partial to young Allie. "Allie's very levelheaded. Surely she understands the dangers."
"Normally, I'd agree with you. But her divorce was hard. She's on the rebound and...vulnerable in a way she's never been vulnerable before."
"I see."
"Do you think I should send Dale over to her house again?" Evelyn asked.
"Will he go? Is there any chance the two of them could work this out on their own?"
She twisted the tissue he'd given her. "I'd have more confidence in that if they weren't so darn alike. Now that they're at a standoff, this could go on forever."
"Why not talk to Allie yourself?"
"I've tried, Reverend. I've asked her to move home, for Whitney's sake, for my sake, for her sake. Danny's called her, too. And I'm worried about Whitney--she's had a terrible cold all week.
But Allie won't hear of it."
"How's Allie getting by financially?"
"Her savings, I guess. I helped furnish the house, but she won't even let me buy groceries for her."
"Will she let you see Whitney?"
"Yes, and I'll babysit once Allie finds work, of course, but I had to insist on that much."
"Where does she plan to work?"
"She's trying to get on with the Iuka police force."
"Will she be able to? Without a recommendation from Dale?"
"I'm sure she'll use her track record at her old department in Chicago."
Portenski rubbed his chin, trying to decide the best way to proceed. "Are you sure she's still seeing Clay?"
"It was less than a week ago that Dale found them at the cabin together. And it's true, you know, the rumors that they were...intimate." Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Maybe her falling out with the two of you has opened her eyes."
Evelyn chuckled bitterly as she dabbed at her face. "No. If anything, it's made her more determined to go her own way. Dale has all but thrown her into that Montgomery boy's arms."