My Private Detective. Rebecca Winters

      “You’d be teaching ten mystery writers, most of them women.”

      His wink didn’t fool Gideon, who’d been divorced for ten years now. Daniel had been after him to get married again. But Gideon had his own ideas about that. His ex-wife’s betrayal had caused a lot of damage.

      Finding out he wasn’t Kevin’s biological father until Fay asked him for a divorce had killed something inside Gideon. Though he eventually started dating again, he was content with his bachelor status. His son meant everything to him.

      “A couple of these writers are already published,” Daniel explained. “Several seem to be on the verge. Kathie’s counting on me, so I want the best detective on the force teaching this group. How about it?”

      There was no way Gideon could turn Daniel down. They’d been friends and colleagues for too long.

      “I tell you what,” Gideon said. “I’ll check with the sergeant to make certain I’m free on those nights. When he hears that you’re the reason for the request, I’m sure I won’t have a problem. The important thing is for you to get well.”

      “Thanks, Gideon. They’re a nice group. Tomorrow night they’ll be bringing their latest ideas for a mystery. I gave them an assignment. They’ll each have two minutes—no more—to present a synopsis they’ve been working on. I told them I’d pick the one that intrigued me the most, and we’d start there.”

      “Where’s the class?”

      “Mesa Junior High in Mission Beach.”

      “I was there last year for one of Kevin’s soccer games.”

      “Just go to the main office a few minutes before seven. Larry Johnson runs the adult-education classes. He’ll have an attendance roll and room key.”

      “All right. I’ll take care of it. Now I’d better leave. The nurse told me to make this brief. I think I’ve already overstayed my welcome.”

      The older man smiled his thanks. “I owe you for this. Naturally you’ll be compensated.” He sighed in obvious relief. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

      Gideon knew. This class might seem a minor obligation to most people, but Daniel took his commitments seriously. So did Gideon.

      He got to his feet and grasped Daniel’s shoulder firmly. “I’m glad to help out. Take care and mind the doctor. I’ll check back with you tomorrow.”

      The two men shook hands once more, and then Gideon left the room. Daniel’s wife was coming down the hall.

      “Don’t worry about anything, Ellen. I told him I’d take over his class until he’s on his feet again.”

      “Bless you,” she murmured as they hugged goodbye. “Daniel thinks the world of you. He wouldn’t even consider anyone else.”

      “That’s nice to hear. Your husband’s tough. He’ll pull through this and he’ll be better than ever.”

      “I hope you’re right.”

      “I know I am. I’ll call in the morning for an update.”

      “Please do. His surgery is scheduled for 6:00 a.m.”

      “Good. It’ll be over before you know it.”

      Gideon left the hospital and headed for his house in Ocean Beach. En route he phoned his supervisor to see what could be arranged.

      Since the divorce when Kevin was three, Wednesdays had been set aside for the boy’s midweek visitation with Gideon. The decree also allowed visitation every other weekend, every other holiday and six weeks every summer.

      It had never been enough for Gideon, but Fay had remarried within months of their divorce. Because of her desire that Kevin bond with his new stepfather, she’d refused to deviate from the stipulations set by the court.

      Not wanting to cause any more trauma to their son, Gideon had accepted the situation. He believed children needed their mothers. But now that Kevin was in eighth grade, he was begging to live with Gideon full-time.

      Kevin didn’t dislike his stepfather, but he’d never developed any real affection for him. Of course, the boy loved his mother, but she and her husband were both busy stockbrokers. Kevin had been raised by a series of nannies until he started junior high. Then there’d been a string of baby-sitters.

      That was the problem.

      According to Gideon’s attorney, Kevin was now old enough to choose which parent he wanted to live with. But Fay would be impossible if Kevin moved in with Gideon. She would heap enough guilt on their son to traumatize him.

      In the long run Gideon felt it was better to leave things as they were.

      Gideon had explained all this to Kevin, who’d cried quietly, then clung to him, vowing that the day he turned eighteen he was going to come and live with his father.

      They were father and son, no matter that Kevin’s biological father was some high-powered stockbroker from New York who had no idea he had a child.

      Unbeknownst to Gideon, Fay had slept with her boss while she was engaged to Gideon. Afraid to tell him the truth, she’d passed the baby off as Gideon’s. After almost four years of marriage, she got involved with another stockbroker in San Diego and then asked Gideon for a divorce.

      Though he’d known his wife was always striving for something he couldn’t seem to give her, he hadn’t realized she’d gone as far as to have an affair.

      Shocked by her refusal to try to keep their marriage together through counseling, he sued for custody of Kevin. That was when he learned about her previous affair. A DNA test confirmed that Kevin wasn’t Gideon’s son.

      When the judge heard the case, he decreed that Gideon was Kevin’s father in all the ways that mattered and granted him the most liberal visitation rights under the law.

      Unless Fay softened, which would probably never happen, there was nothing to do but go on making the best of a situation Gideon would never have wished on an innocent child. He certainly wasn’t about to tell his son he was another man’s child. It wasn’t information Kevin needed to know. Gideon had consulted several counselors at the time of the divorce, and they all agreed.

      There was a bright side to Daniel’s request for help. Gideon would take his suggestion and bring Kevin to class on the visitation nights. His son had always been curious about Gideon’s work. He could do his homework and listen at the same time. They’d have dinner either before class or after and make a special night of it.

      Once school was out at the end of May, Kevin would be spending the first half of the summer with Gideon. This year they were going to vacation in Alaska for a couple of weeks and do some salmon fishing with Max and his wife, Gaby.

      Since his marriage, Max had resigned from the FBI and was now a detective in the same division of the San Diego Police Department as Gideon. It was a little like the old days, when the two of them had been rookie cops together in New York. Only this was much better because those dark days of pain and lies were behind them both.

      Fortunately Kevin had always been crazy about Max. Now he was equally crazy about Gaby, who was expecting a child in August. Already Gideon’s son had volunteered to baby-sit. Kevin’s happiness was all that mattered to Gideon these days.

      BY FRIDAY MORNING Heidi had reached an all-time low. Mr. Cobb’s office had indicated that he was out of the country and wouldn’t return before Sunday night. On Thursday she’d taken a personal-leave day from school to spend time with her parents while they discussed what to do about Dana’s situation.

      After much soul-searching, Heidi decided she’d have to wait until she could talk to Mr. Cobb before she asked her father to get hold of that other attorney. It was the only honorable thing to do. But it was hard to wait when she knew a week with no news was like a year to Dana.

      When