Hidden in the Blood: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 5)

Chapter Thirty-Six: Al, Friday

"Are you doing well in school, dear?" Mom asked.

Emma looked to Rachel, who smiled and said, "As well as she can. She has her Special Education Assistant, and she likes her a lot, don't you, Emma?"

Emma nodded, and Mom said, "Al has good news, did he tell you yet?"

"What?" Rachel asked with bated breath.

"I'm coming home soon," Al said.

"Yay!" Emma cheered.

"When?" Rachel asked.

"Carl, my physical therapist, thinks the doctors will sign me off soon. Maybe in the next day or two."

"Jesus, that's fast," Rachel said, but she was grinning like the cat who got the cream. "Good thing Joe and Logan finished renovating the basement."

"Logan's been helping Joe?" he asked in amazement. He shouldn't have been so surprised; the boy had liked his summer working with Joe at his construction sites, even if the work was arduous.

Rachel nodded, looking sheepish. "It's why he hasn't come by to see you."

"Hey, that's okay. Helping Joe renovate the basement for our comfort is his way of showing us how much we mean to him."

"Yeah." Rachel looked preoccupied, though.

"What is it?"

"I appreciate the work Logan is doing, but I'm starting to get the feeling he's doing it to be around Joe just as much as he's doing it for the work experience. Those two are more father and son than Joe is with Tosh."

Al grimaced and looked at Emma, who huddled against Mom and nodded sheepishly. "I see it, too," she said. "I feel bad for Tosh."

"Don't be too hard on him," Mom said. "Boys look for role models that align with their interests. It's not that he doesn't like you, Al."

"I know," he said. "He and I don't have a lot in common,  but I knew that right at the start when we took these two in. It's just how it is." Still, he couldn't ignore the stab in his heart.

As if Emma could read his mind, she came forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I like you better than Joe, don't worry."

"Oh, sweetie," he said, embarrassed to feel tears in his eyes as he squeezed her back. The girl always knew how to destroy his defences.

"Me, too," Rachel said, smirking.

"Gosh, I didn't even know that was in question," Al said, chuckling and wiping his eyes. After Joanie's frank statements about Rachel and Joe, he couldn't help worrying a little.

"Did Al mention the other thing?" Mom asked.

"What other thing?" Rachel asked.

Al cleared his throat and looked at Mom, who nodded encouragingly. "Richard came to visit on Wednesday."

Rachel looked at Mom and gasped. "You mean your... uncle?"

"You have an uncle?" Emma asked in amazement. She looked at Mom and asked, "Is he your brother, Grammy?"

Mom chuckled and said, "Oh, no, sweetie, he's Al's father's brother."

"Oh, right, and your dad's dead, right?" she asked Al. 

The girl was sweet and guileless, but it also meant she had no sense of tact, and her statement fell like a hammer blow. He flinched and said, "Well, yes, he passed away fourteen years ago."

"How did the visit go?" Rachel asked.

"It was... enlightening. He gave me his card, so we'll probably talk again. Do you know he was also a psychologist?"