Against the Sky by Kat Martin Page A

talk.”
    â€œWe’ve always talked before. What’s different this time?”
    Jimmy just shook his head. His expression looked bleak, as if he carried the weight of the world on his thick shoulders.
    â€œYou know you can trust me, Jim. If you told me something in confidence, it would stay that way. I give you my word on that.”
    Jimmy swallowed and glanced away. Nick noticed the hand that held the rod trembled.
    â€œYou’re scaring me, buddy. We’ve been friends since I first started coming up here on weekends. If something’s going on, you can count on me to help you. You can trust me. You can tell me anything, Jimmy.”
    The boy looked up. Nick thought he caught the sheen of tears in the kid’s dark eyes. “You’re a cop. If I told you something bad, you’d have to tell the police.”
    â€œI was a cop. I’m not a cop anymore. I’m your friend, Jim. Friends help each other.”
    Jimmy glanced away. His voice came out little more than a whisper. “I told you once, but you didn’t believe me.”
    Christ. Was this about his father’s death? Had the kid told one of his friends, the kid made fun of him and they got into a fight? Maybe seeing a shrink really was the answer.
    â€œIf you told one of the kids you thought your dad was murdered, I can see where that could be a problem. Kids can be cruel sometimes. If one of them made fun of you—”
    The boy seemed not to hear him, just stared at him with such desolation, Nick felt a clutch in his chest.
    â€œIf I tell you what happened, they’ll kill her, Nick. They’ll kill us both. I can’t talk about it. I can’t tell you anything, okay? If you’re my friend you won’t ask any more questions.”
    Nick’s pulse began to slow into a rhythm he recognized only too well. All his cop instincts were suddenly kicking in, his brain analyzing the situation, searching for clues, trying to sort out the facts.
    â€œOkay, I won’t ask. I’ll start by promising you again that you can trust me to keep this between the two of us—at least until we can find a way to get all of it sorted out. You don’t have to tell me anything. I’ll just make a few guesses, see if I’m on the right track, okay?”
    â€œMaybe we should go back,” Jimmy said nervously, glancing toward the shore.
    Nick pulled the cord and started the motor, headed the boat farther out into the lake where no one could possibly hear them. He shut off the engine and casually cast his line into the water, the buzz of the reel a friendly, familiar sound.
    â€œGrayling are good eating,” he said. “Be nice to take some home to your aunt for supper.”
    A shudder rippled through Jimmy. He looked back at the shore, then cast his line into the water on the opposite side of the boat.
    â€œYesterday morning you came to see me,” Nick said easily, keeping his attention on his rod and reel. “You had something you wanted to tell me.”
    â€œI just . . . I wanted to talk to you.”
    â€œAbout?”
    â€œI thought . . . I was hoping you would change your mind about helping me.”
    â€œHelp you look into what happened to your dad?”
    Jimmy nodded.
    â€œWhy would I do that?”
    â€œI don’t know . . . I . . . I’ve been riding the bus into town, getting off at my dad’s office. I thought if I saw the man Dad was arguing with that night in the study, I could get his name. Maybe I could figure out what they were fighting about, see if that was the reason Dad got killed.”
    â€œThat’s what you came over to tell me? That you’re still convinced your father was murdered?”
    He swallowed. “I figured the man must be a client or someone who worked with my dad at the office. I was watching the parking lot a couple of days a week, but I never saw him.”
    â€œSomething happened yesterday,” Nick said, careful