Kevin said, “Okay, I spoke with my mother. Mrs. Tanner died three years ago, but there’s a daughter, Deidre. She’s in her fifties. She might be able to help you. I have her contact information. I’ll text it to you.”
“Thank you, Kevin. I owe you.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said. In a more earnest tone he added, “I really do love spending time with you, Alex. And I’m sorry for what I said before about chucking your job. That was stupid. And you don’t need anyone to take care of you. You do fine all by yourself.”
“Why this sudden change of heart?” she asked, her tone suspicious.
“Talking to my mother. Listening to her made me think how narrow-minded and shallow my family is.”
“Your family gives a lot to charity.”
“We only give enough to keep up with our ilk and put our name on buildings.”
“But you still do it, when you don’t really have to.”
“I suppose.”
This sort of talk was unusual for him, Alex noted, and she wondered where it was leading.
“I spend all my time making money because that was what I was taught that you did with your life. The fact is, my family has enough money. You’ve showed me another slice of life, Alex. One I needed to see. But for you, I’m just another guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth who thinks he made it all on his own. I had no clue about the reality of most peoples’ lives. Not that I couldn’t have discovered that on my own, and I should have. But I can thank you for showing me that side of life. It’s…it’s made me think. It’s made me think about what’s important. And what’s important is…I love being around you. Because…you’re just a terrific person. And you make me want to be a better person.”
This caught her by surprise. “That’s…that’s really nice to hear you say, Kevin.”
“Do you think we can get together at some point?”
She hesitated. “Yes. I’ll give you a call. And thanks for doing me this favor.”
“Okay, Alex, I hope it will help.”
“Me too.”
He clicked off and Jamison sat there, once more full of doubts.
Chapter73
T?HANKS FOR THE INFO, ALEX,”Decker said. “I really appreciate it.”
She said, “No problem. I hope it helps.”
“So, this guy you’re seeing? You don’t think it’s going to work out? Does that mean you’ll be heading back to DC at some point?”
“Um, I’m not sure, Amos. I’ll have to let you know. But keep me in the loop on your case.”
“Sure, okay.”
He clicked off and stared down at his phone.
It’s her life, Decker, not yours.
He looked at the contact information she had forwarded him. Deidre Fellows. Divorced and in her midfifties. That meant she would have been a teenager back in 1981. He wondered if she had been in Miami that night. Fortunately for him, Fellows now lived in Florida. On Sanibel Island, not that far from Fort Myers.
He called White and filled her in.
“Sanibel tomorrow morning then?” she said.
“Yeah. I’ll call the woman ahead of time. Hopefully, she’ll agree to meet with us.”
“And if she won’t?”