“Okay, fine. No, I don’t think you guys have ever lied to me.”
“Good. We’re not lying about this. I have trouble drawing stick figures.”
She laughed.
“When did you realize you were talented?” Jace asked.
“Second grade. It was something I could do and not have to read or write anything.”
“I want to get you artist supplies if you want to spend more time doing it?” Mack said.
“Oh, well, yes. I think I’d like that.”
“We’ll look online later to find the ones you’d use. Can you paint like this?” Jace asked.
She nodded. “Yes. It’s been a while, but I think I can.”
“Okay. Good. Let’s go home,” Mack said.
“He’s hungry again,” Kaylin said to Jace and snorted.
Both men laughed.
“She said she might be a brat tonight,” Mack said.
Jace’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, really. That’s something to look forward to.”
Kaylin sputtered out a laugh. “Me being a brat?”
Mack chuckled. “No, punishing you for being one.”
****
Early the next day, Brody, the cop, came through the door. “I need to speak to you guys in private.”
Mack nodded. “Sure. Let’s go into Jace’s office.” Mack closed the door and stood by the desk. “What’s up?”
He handed them the picture. “This is a cop.”
Mack’s mouth dropped open. “Are you fucking kidding?”
Brody shook his head. “No. His name is Tomas Swartz, and he’s as crooked as they come. Internal Affairs has been investigating him for over a year.”
“Now, why would a crooked cop want our Kaylin?” Jace asked.
“I’m just glad I was able to delete the email from you before anyone saw it. We have no idea how high up the ladder the corruption goes, so I don’t want anyone to know about this until I talk to you.”
Mack nodded as he studied the paper. “Thank you for that.”
“I was shocked to see this,” Brody said. “I thought it was a picture at first.”
Mack grinned. “We didn’t know either.”
“I hope she’s using that talent. You don’t see someone that good very often,” Brody said.
Jace answered his phone. “Okay, good. We need a meeting later. You won’t believe what we were told.”
Mack heard someone mumble on the other end of the phone, and then Jace hung up.