When Joe returned home from work, he found that Emma was still there, lazily watching TV with Naomi on the couch while Tosh read a book in the armchair.

"Hi, Emma," he said. "Where's your..." He just stopped himself from saying mom or dad. "Where are Rachel and Al?"

"On their way," she said without looking up from the TV. "They're taking Skytrain and walking up. They said Lauren was working late and couldn't drive them home."

"Oh. Huh." Lauren usually called him when she ended up having to work late, or she at least texted him. Did she forget? Or did she neglect to on purpose? Normally Lauren didn't hide her anger, but occasionally she expressed it in pissy little passive aggressive gestures like not calling or texting and letting him pick up the ball for childcare, picking up the kids, reaching out to the in-laws, things like that. It worried him when she did that, since families ran on open telephone lines; one dropped call, one missed communication, and a child was left stranded after a game or school function, prey to any creep who wanted the opportunity. Luckily, all the kids were home today, and maybe Lauren knew that and felt safe enough not to call. He had to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"It's dinner time," he said, seeing the time on the oven clock. "Are you hungry?"

"We had snacks earlier," Naomi said. "We knew you'd be late so we tided ourselves over, if that's okay."

If Naomi's idea of snacks had been apples or grapes (safe to have with no dog in the house), he might have felt better about it, but his kids, like most kids, raided the chips and candy before they sought out more nutritious snacks.

"Sweetie," he said, "if you knew your mom was going to be late, you should have asked one of us what to have for snacks."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Do we have to ask your permission to go to the bathroom too?"

Joe blinked in surprise. He was now on the receiving end of cheekiness his daughter reserved for Lauren, and he found it not so amusing anymore. Now he understood Lauren's frustration. "Naomi, can I talk to you over here for a second?"

She sighed and slumped over to him. He sat on the bottom stairs to put himself more at her eye level. Her nose twitched, and she waved her hand. "You need a shower, Dad."

"I'm aware. What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Normally you don't give me back talk. Is everything okay?"

She shrugged. "Fine."

He didn't think she was telling him the whole story, but to press her would be like punching a brick wall. "Okay. Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah, Emma and I sunbathed in the yard for a while--"

"Did you use sunscreen?"

"Yes, Dad," she said with an eye roll.

"Hey, come on, I'm just making sure you're not harming yourself. Aren't I allowed to do that?"

She gave it some thought, then nodded earnestly and said, "Yes."

"Thank you. Well, if you three don't need to eat right away, I'll have a shower and then think about making dinner. If Rachel and Al come to get Emma, don't let them leave, I can give them a ride back to their place."

"Okay, will do."

He hurried through his shower and dressed in sweats. When he returned to the main floor, he found Rachel and Al in the living room, looking a little stony. Emma was getting her shoes on, excitedly planning the next day with Naomi.

"Hey," he said. "Everything okay?"

Rachel and Al looked at each other and then turned to him. "Physically, we're okay," Rachel said.

"Did you find out something more about..." He gestured with his head to Emma.

"Ask Lauren about it later."

"Okay. Let me take you home."

"Thanks, man," Al said. 

He turned to his kids and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"See you tomorrow!" Naomi said to Emma.

"Are you sure you don't have a camp?" Joe asked.

"Not until next week."

"What kind of camps are you doing, kiddo?" Rachel asked.

"Digital photography and Badminton."

"Oh, wow, interesting variety. I like Badminton."

"Can I go to those camps?" Emma asked hopefully.

"Uh, I don't know," Rachel said. "Maybe we can see if there's room. I can't promise anything, though; they might have closed registrations by now." She turned to Naomi. "Do you still have the information about those camps?"

"Um..." Naomi looked to Joe, who suddenly felt very inadequate as a parent. Lauren took care of stuff like this. 

Joe looked to the cork board in the kitchen, which hung over the utility drawer. "Oh, wait." He went over and looked at the papers pinned to it. "Here we go." He found the sheets that had information for both camps, which ran out of the Confederation Community Centre. He handed them to Rachel.

"Thanks!" she said. "We'll see if we can get you in. Do you like photography, Emma?"

Emma shrugged. "Maybe I do." For her, the fun would be hanging out with Naomi all day.

Joe drove them back in the Highlander, and when he pulled up to their townhouse, he got out with them. When Rachel and Al looked at him in question, he shrugged and said, "What we talked about yesterday. Just want to make sure the coast is clear."

"That's... mighty heroic of you," Al said, smirking.

Emma had no idea what they were talking about, and when they opened the door, she made straight for her room. Joe felt the need to accompany her, as that was where they'd found the incriminating items, and he had visions of interrupting a burglary in progress and a violent encounter. 

Nothing like that happened. The place was empty. Joe felt a little silly, but Rachel and Al didn't call him on it. The looks on their faces earlier said something was wrong, and the way they thanked him, he knew they appreciated his presence there.

"Call me if you get anymore news, or if you need anything," he said as he walked out the door.

"Thanks again, and see you tomorrow," Rachel said.

Joe drove home and started dinner. If you had no idea what to make for dinner, his mother always said, boil a pot of water and make pasta. That was always his go to when Lauren was working late and he was responsible for dinner. Luckily, Naomi and Tosh, though both identified greatly with their Japanese heritage, never turned down a heaping plate of penne with his mother's meat sauce, which she supplied to him regularly, and which was always on hand in the fridge or freezer. 

They ate at the dining room table, and then, while the kids were back in front of the TV, he went upstairs and called Lauren.

She answered after a few rings. "Hi." Her greeting was flat.

"Hey, babe," he said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm working. What's up?" She seemed to want to hurry him along.

"It's just you never called or texted that you'd be late."

Silence for a few moments. Then, "Oh, so now you're concerned about communication when something changes?"

Shit. She knew. "Okay. I was with Joanie last night."

"Was that so hard? Of course you were with her, I smelled her on you."

Of course she had. He should have showered while he was at Joanie's, but they'd only had the two condoms, and if he showered, more than likely she would have joined him, and then they might have gotten themselves into trouble without an extra condom. "I'm sorry, it was a weird situation. Johnny called me while I was on the road; he had to cancel, and I didn't want to have to come home and tell you why and worry you before bed--"

"So you thought it would be better to go and fuck your mistress?"

It sounded so cheap when she said it like that. She was the one who'd engineered this whole arrangement, after all.

"Wait, why would it worry me?" she asked suddenly.

"They had to take Callie to the vet."

"What?!" she squawked. "Why?"

"She got into some grapes."

"Oh, fuck, don't they know?!" She was both frantic and furious, and this was why he hadn't wanted to tell her. She was more upset that her favourite pooch was sick than that he'd seen Joanie.

"Sometimes dogs are just naughty and snatch things when you're not looking," he said.

She sighed in frustration. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I talked to Johnny earlier. She's fine, just staying at the vet another night for monitoring and fluids; they had to flush her out and make sure she's peeing, that means her kidneys weren't damaged."

"Thank fuck for that. Fucking Johnny."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but you wouldn't have been able to sleep last night, and you need your sleep."

She was silent for a moment, then she said, "Thank you for your consideration. It doesn't hurt that you got to hit it when you hadn't been planning on it."

"Okay, yeah, win-win."

She burst out laughing and said, "You're not off the hook yet, buddy. You still broke the rules. I'm going to have to think of a suitable punishment for you."

"Do you mean, spank the naughty boy punishment or serious legal consequences punishment?"

"We'll see," she said, rather mysteriously.

"I guess I'll deserve whatever you decide," he said. "Oh, hey, I drove Rachel, Al and Emma home--"

"Oh, thanks, babe." At least she was calling him babe again. That was a good sign.

"They didn't look good, and when I asked what was wrong, they said to talk to you about it. Am I missing something?"

She sighed. "Well, for one thing, the Ministry called them last night after we left and confirmed Emma and Logan's mother is indeed dead."

"Oh. Shit."

"Yeah. Then, well, I had another look at the memory card today, you know, picking up where we left off yesterday."

"Okay..." he said, dreading what she would say next.

"We might have sealed Logan's fate giving that memory card to the police."

"I don't understand. What else did you find?"

"Would you believe a picture of a document registering ownership of the fishing trawler to Logan Davenport?"

Joe was flabbergasted. "You've got to be shitting me."

"I'm not."

"What the fuck? Can a sixteen-year-old even own a boat?"

"I imagine it's a bit of dirty pool on the part of the real owners of the boat to avoid asset forfeiture in any lawsuits. Still, though, I wonder if Logan even knew he had a boat in his name."

"I bet he didn't. And I bet he had no idea what was on that memory card."

"I agree. This poor kid, Joe. He's getting thrown under the bus."

"Do you think the cops will see through that ownership thing?"

"I bloody hope so. But it is suggestive, isn't it. Logan must know somebody very close to the operation, and it might not necessarily be the blackmailer. I'm starting to think we need to find the father and suss him out."

"Lauren," he warned. "Didn't you say yesterday it wasn't a good idea to go sniffing around this case?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"I mean, you spooked me to the point that I escorted Rachel, Al and Emma into their home and made sure the coast was clear."

Lauren was silent for a moment, then she said, voice heavy with emotion, "This is why I still love you, even if you were a shit last night."

He burst out laughing, but her profession of love also made him tear up. "And I love you with all my heart," he said. "Joanie won't ever hear those words from me."

"She better not."

"And because I love you, I implore you not to go looking for these people, at least not without me with you."

"Babe, I'm sorry, but after that beating you took nearly two years ago, I'm hesitant to take you anywhere near these people."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said sarcastically.

"But you're right," she said. "This is for the police to do."

"Good. I guess I should let you go."

"Have the kids had dinner?"

"Yes. How long do you think you'll be out?"

"Unfortunately, this is going to be a double. Had to cover a hole in the rota; someone called in sick today."

"Shit, babe, I hope you'll be able to take the time back."

"Don't worry, I will."

"You're going to be tired tomorrow."

"I'm tired all the time, it's nothing new."

"Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks, babe. Love you."

"Love you too."

He hung up and went back downstairs. "Mom's going to be late tonight, probably won't be back before your bedtime," he said to the kids.

They grunted in acknowledgement. When they were younger they'd often become distressed when their mother wasn't home in time to tuck them into bed, but they were inured and jaded now. He wished he was. He still worried about her out there, even though she mainly stayed in her car when on surveillance and didn't encounter her target.

He felt both tired and antsy with nothing to do. He sat in the armchair and stared at the TV, not taking in anything about the program. 

Thanks for reading this far! If you like what you just read, hit "Vote" and leave a comment. To read about Joe's wedding day, when he first met Joanie, click on "Continue reading."