Err on the Side of Violence: Terribly Acronymed Detective Club Series (Book 3)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Joe, Thursday

The call came early in the morning, before they were all ready to leave for work. Lauren answered her phone and listened for a minute, then put her hand to her mouth and said, "Oh, poor Emma. How are you two?"

She listened some more, then said, "Perfectly understandable. What do you think we should do? Naomi could go over there if you're staying in today." She nodded as if the person she was talking to, probably Rachel, was in front of her. "Okay. I'll see you soon."

She hung up and turned to Joe. "The social worker gave Emma the news last night."

"Oh, shit, poor kid," Joe said. "Are Al and Rachel staying home today?"

"Yeah. Both of them had a sleepless night. Emma was in a pretty bad way."

"No surprise there."

"So, it looks like Emma just wants to stay home today, but might be willing to see Naomi if they don't do too much. I'm going to ask her if she wants to go over there. Do you think Tosh might like to see my mom and dad today?"

"Maybe he would. He had a pretty intense day at the beach yesterday, and might just want to chill in a quiet place."

She nodded and went to talk to Naomi. Joe went to finish loading the Highlander with his gear for the day. While he did, he thought about the conversation he'd had with Tej yesterday.

The call was a complete surprise. He was in the trailer they'd set up on the site of an apartment building for which they'd just laid the foundation, reviewing the plans with his subcontractors, when his phone rang. "Excuse me," he told them, walking out the door and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He thought Lauren was calling, but when he checked his screen he found it was Tej. They'd exchanged numbers as a courtesy back when he and Lauren had first reunited with Sunny, but other than when she'd called on Monday about today's beach trip, he couldn't remember the last time they'd called each other.

The beach trip. Suddenly he was worried something had happened to Naomi or Tosh.

He answered. "Tej?"

"Joe, hi, I hope I'm not interrupting you at work."

"No worries, Tej, are you okay? Are the kids okay?"

"Oh, the kids are just fine, a little overexcited, but that's how they are at that age, aren't they?"

He released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yes, they are. Thank goodness they're fine."

"Sorry! I hope I didn't worry you."

"No, no, it's my fault for assuming something was wrong when I saw you called me."

"Why would you assume something was wrong?"

"I guess it's natural isn't it? They're away and not in my supervision. Plus you and I don't call each other just to chat, do we."

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose you're right. Shame, really. We are friends, so we should be able to talk on the phone."

Joe blinked in surprise. "Yes, you're absolutely right. We're talking now, and I'm glad you called."

"Thank you. Me too."

"So..." Now that they'd expressed esteem for each other, suddenly he didn't know what to talk about. "Are you at the beach right now?"

"Yes, actually. The kids are frolicking in the water. Poor Emma got knocked over a couple of times, she can't hold herself up as well when the waves hit her, but Naomi gets her right back up. She really looks after that girl, you should be proud of her."