his mother greeted him with something like relief. She was setting the dining room table while Louise carried plates in from the kitchen. “Where have you been all day?” “On the boat,” he said mildly, adding, since he was fairly sure they already knew, “Took Chrissy over to the seal island. I’ll wake Dad up.” In this way, amid the effort of dragging his dad from slumber and persuading him it was time to eat, he glossed over Chrissy’s presence on the boat and avoided, with luck, interrogation. But Louise was nothing if not single-minded. “Chrissy have a nice time?” she asked when they were all seated. She reached for a slice of bread and butter. “Think so,” Aidan replied noncommittally. His phone buzzed, and he checked the message in case it was a response to the picture he’d sent in with a request for identification and a list of known associates. At least that was what he told himself, but in fact he wouldn’t have minded receiving a text from Chrissy saying…well, anything to show she was happy and not regretting what they’d done on the boat.
