Lisa Gardner - Love You More

Sufficiently chastised, D.D. shed her heavy winter coat and took a seat. Bobby was already munching on a Nilla wafer. D.D. eyed them. When her stomach did not flip-flop in protest, she reached out carefully. Simple foods such as crackers and dry cereal had been good to her thus far. She took several experimental bites, then decided she might be in luck, because now that she thought about it, she was starving.

“How long have you known Tessa Leoni?” D.D. asked.

Mrs. Ennis had taken a seat, clutching a mug of tea. Her eyes appeared red, as if she’d been crying earlier, but she seemed composed now. Ready to talk.

“I first met Tessa seven years ago, when she moved into the building. Across the hall, apartment 2D. Also a studio, though she changed to a one bedroom not long after Sophie was born.”

“You met her before Sophie was born?” D.D. asked.

“Yes. She was three, four months pregnant. Just this little thing with this little belly. I heard a crash and came out into the hallway. Tessa had been trying to carry a box filled with pots and pans up the stairs and it had broken on her. I offered to help, which she declined, but I picked up her chicken fryer anyway and that’s how it began.”

“You became friends?” D.D. clarified.

“I would have her over for dinner on occasion and she would return the favor. Two lone females in the building. It was nice to have some company.”

“And she was already pregnant?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“She talk much about the father?”

“She never mentioned him at all.”

“What about dating, social life, visits from her family?”

“No family. No boys either. She worked at a coffee shop, trying to save her money for the baby’s birth. It’s not an easy thing, expecting a baby all alone.”

“No male companionship?” D.D. pressed. “Maybe she went out late a couple of nights, hung out with friends…”

“She doesn’t have friends,” Mrs. Ennis said emphatically.

“She doesn’t have friends?” D.D. repeated.

“It’s not her way,” Mrs. Ennis said.

D.D. glanced over at Bobby, who also appeared intrigued by this news.

“What is her way?” D.D. asked at last.

“Independent. Private. Her baby mattered to her. From the beginning, that’s what Tessa talked about and that’s what she worked for. She understood being a single mother was going to be tough. Why, it was sitting here at this very table she came up with the idea to become a cop.”

“Really?” Bobby spoke up. “Why a trooper?”

“She was trying to plan ahead-she couldn’t very well support a child working in a coffee shop her whole life. So we started to discuss her options. She had a GED. She couldn’t see herself behind a desk, but some kind of job where she could do things, be active, appealed to her. My son had become a firefighter. We talked about that, and next thing I knew, Tessa had homed in on joining the police force. She looked up applications, did all sorts of research. Pay scale was good, she met the initial requirements. Then, of course, she found out about the Academy and the wind went out of her sails. That’s when I volunteered to babysit. Hadn’t even met little Sophie yet, but I said I’d take her. If Tessa could get that far into the recruitment process, I’d assist with childcare.”

D.D. was looking at Bobby. “How long’s the state Police Academy again?”

“Twenty-five weeks,” he supplied. “Live in dorms, only allowed home on the weekends. Not easy if you’re a solo parent.”

“I will have you know,” Mrs. Ennis said stiffly, “we all did just fine. Tessa completed her application before giving birth. She was accepted into the next recruitment class, when Sophie was nine months old. I know Tessa was nervous. I was, too. But it was also exciting.” The older woman’s eyes flashed. She considered D.D. “Are you a single woman? Have any children of your own? There’s something invigorating about embarking on a new chapter in your life, taking a risk that might provide a whole new future for you and your child.

“Tessa was always serious, but now she was dedicated. Diligent. She knew what she was up against, a single mother trying to become a police officer. But she also believed that becoming a state police trooper was the best shot she had for her and Sophie. She never wavered. And that woman, once she puts her mind to something…”

“Single, dedicated parent,” D.D. murmured.

“Very.”

“Loving?”

“Always!” Mrs. Ennis said emphatically.

“What about when she graduated from the Academy,” Bobby spoke up. “You come to cheer her on?”

“Even bought a new dress,” Mrs. Ennis confirmed.

“Anyone else there in her corner?”

“Just us girls.”

“She’d have to start on patrol right away,” Bobby continued. “Working the graveyard shift then coming home to a small child…”

“She had thought to put Sophie in daycare, but I wouldn’t hear of it. Sophie and I had done just fine during our Academy days. Easy enough for me to cross the hall and sleep on Tessa’s sofa instead of my own. Then when Sophie was awake, I’d bring her back over to my place until after lunch so Tessa could get some rest. It was hardly a bother to entertain Sophie for a few hours. Lord, that child… All smiles and giggles and kisses and hugs. We should all be so lucky to have a little Sophie in our lives.”

“Happy child?” D.D. asked.

“And funny and feisty. Beautiful little girl. ’Bout broke my heart when they moved away.”

“When was that?”

“When she met her husband, Brian. He swept both her and Sophie off their feet. Regular Prince Charming. Least Tessa deserved, after working so hard on her own. And Sophie, too. Every girl should have a chance to be Daddy’s Little Princess.”

“Did you like Brian Darby?” D.D. asked.

“Yes,” Mrs. Ennis stated, though her tone was noticeably more reserved.

“How did they meet?”

“Through the job, I believe. Brian was a friend of another trooper.”

D.D. looked at Bobby, who nodded and made the note.

“He spend much time here?”

Mrs. Ennis shook her head. “Too small; it was easier for them to go to his place. There was a spell when I didn’t see Tessa or Sophie too much. And I was happy for them, of course, of course. Though…” Mrs. Ennis sighed. “I don’t have grandkids of my own. Sophie, she’s like my own, and I miss her.”

“But you still help out?”

“When Brian ships out. Those couple of months I come over, spend the night with Sophie, just like the old days. In the morning, I get her off to school. I’m also listed as an emergency contact, because with Tessa’s job, she can’t always be immediately available. So snow days, maybe Sophie isn’t feeling too good. I handle those days. And it’s no bother. As I said, Sophie’s like my own.”

D.D. pursed her lips, regarded the elderly woman.

“How would you describe Trooper Leoni as a mother?” she asked.

“There isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for Sophie,” Mrs. Ennis replied immediately.

“Trooper Leoni ever drink?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Gotta be stressful, though. Working, then coming home to a child. Sounds to me she never had a moment to herself.”

“Never heard her complain,” Mrs. Ennis said stubbornly.

“Ever get a call just because Tessa’s having a bad day, could use a little break?”

“No, ma’am. If she wasn’t working, she wanted to be with her daughter. Sophie’s her world.”

“Until she met her husband.”

Mrs. Ennis was silent for a moment. “Honestly?”

“Honestly,” D.D. said.

“I think Tessa loved Brian because Sophie loved Brian. Because, at least in the beginning, Brian and Sophie got along so well.”