Faye Kellerman - Serpent’s Tooth

Rina excused herself, went into the kitchen to clean up. Cindy suggested they talk in the living room. Decker took a seat on the suede couch, patted the space next to him. Cindy sat, but her spine was ramrod straight. She was all tics and fidgets. Finally, she said, “I quit the program.”

Decker absorbed her words. “You quit the program. Meaning you’re no longer in school.”

“Yes. I have my master’s, I’m tired of all the bullsh … of all the academic hurdles. I don’t need a Ph.D. It does me no good other than to teach the same material to other Ph.D. candidates.”

Decker rolled his tongue inside his cheek. “After six years of tuition and room and board, when you’re finally self-supporting with scholarships and fellowships, you now decide to quit ?”

Cindy glared at him. “You are kidding, aren’t you?”

“Of course I’m kidding.” Sort of. Decker leaned back. “So …”

“So …”

Decker said, “I guess I should be a parent. Maybe ask about your plans. Like … do you have any?”

“I think I need to get a job.”

“Good start.” Decker bit his mustache. “Want me to ask around the department … see if I can get you on as a part-time consultant?”

“Won’t be necessary.”

“You’ve found a job.”

“Yes, I have.” She closed her eyes, then opened them. “Daddy, I joined the Police Academy. Actually, I signed up a while ago. But you know how it works. There’s the exam, then the personal checks, then I had to wait until they started hiring again. Anyway, it’s a done deal. I’m starting in three months, right after the first.”

Decker stared at his daughter. “This is a joke, right?”

“No joke.” She opened her purse, pulled out a few sheets of paper. “Here’s a copy of their letter of acceptance. Here’s my letter of commitment—”

“So you haven’t mailed anything in.”

“Yes, I have. See, these are just copies. The originals are at home or with the Academy.” She held the paper up for her father to see. “See, right here—”

Angrily, Decker batted them away. He stood up and began to pace. “Cynthia, what on earth could have possibly possessed you—”

“Dad, before our emotions get the better of us, can we be reasonable?”

“No, we can’t be reasonable! Because you did something unreasonable. How could you act so … so damn impulsively?”

“It wasn’t an impulsive decision. I told you I signed up a while ago.”

“So you’ve thought about this? For a long time?”

“Yes.”

“And it never even dawned on you to talk this over with me?”

“Of course it dawned on me, Daddy. I thought about telling you for quite some time. But I knew you couldn’t possibly be objective—”

“Cindy, that’s a truckload of bull.”

“Can we keep this civil?”

“Are you trying to get even with me for not being around when you were growing up?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re obviously trying to rile me—”

“Dad, believe it or not, I really want to be a cop, actually a detective.” She smiled sweetly. “Just like you.”

“Oh, cut the crap !”

“Peter!” Rina said.

Decker whirled around, focused on his wife. “Rina, this isn’t your affair. Would you kindly leave, please?”

“Last I checked this was my house, too.”

“I’m not telling you to leave the house, just the room.”

“She can stay,” Cindy said. “I don’t mind.”

“You stay out of this!” Decker directed a pointed index finger at his daughter. “This is between me and my wife.”

“No, Daddy, it’s between you and me and you’re taking it out on her.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, talking to me like that—”

“I’ll leave,” Rina said.

“Good idea,” Decker said.

Rina went into the bedroom without slamming the door. Which surprised Cindy. If that had been her, she would have made her displeasure known very loudly. Dad was talking, more like ranting … as usual.

“… even bother to come and talk to me about it?”

“I knew what you’d say,” Cindy retorted.

“So you’re a mind reader.”

“No, just a dad reader. And I’m right. You’re not objective.”

“It’s not a matter of objectivity,” Decker shot back. “Not only would I discourage you from joining, I’d discourage anyone from joining.”

“Good thing you don’t write ad copy for LAPD.”

Decker honed in on her. “Cindy, there are some cop types. And even most of them don’t make good officers. But if you’re of a certain ilk and if you have a little bit of brainpower and if you have untold patience and if you can keep your mouth shut and if you have a good intuition and if you think before you react, then maybe you’ll make a good cop. And yes, political correctness notwithstanding, it helps to be big and strong. Which you are not!”

“I’m not a ninety-pound weakling—”

“Any man your size with normal musculature could take you down in a minute.”

“So that’s where my superior brain will come in.”

“You do have a superior brain. You just aren’t choosing to use it. Cynthia, you don’t have patience, you don’t like orders, you’re not detail-oriented, you’re way too emotional, and you’re impulsive … like just … dropping out of school—”

“I thought about it for a long time—”

“Then you didn’t think it through. And I don’t care how much you work out, you’re no match for most men. Someone my size could squeeze you like a tomato.”

“We’re going around in circles, Daddy.”

“You’ve neither the temperament nor the inclination. You’d make a lousy cop and a lousy cop is a dead cop—”

“Gee, Dad, thanks for the encouragement—”

“Better for you to be furious than for me to accept a flag at your funeral.” He turned to her, his eyes burning with anger. “Do yourself a favor. Find a better way to get even with me.”

“So you think I’m doing this from some sort of Freudian revenge motive?”

“Frankly, I don’t know why you’re doing this. This isn’t the first time in your life that you’ve done something outrageous. But it is the most dangerous stunt you’ve ever pulled.”

Cindy’s eyes filled with water. “You’re not being reasonable or fair.”

“And you, Cynthia Rachel, are crying. You think I’m talking tough, just wait. You think your drill sergeant’s going to be impressed with your tears? Or worse, how ’bout your perp. ‘Better stop shitting around or I’ll charge you with ten to fifteen for felonious tear-jerking.’”

Angrily, Cindy dried her eyes. “Touché.”

Decker suddenly stopped pacing. He closed his eyes, tried to vent some of the rage. This was his daughter he was talking to. Gently, he put his hands on Cindy’s shoulders. Angrily, she wiggled out of his touch. What did he expect?

“Cindy, I’m not trying to win points. But I am being brutally honest. This is one area I know.”

Her voice was a whisper. “And I respect that. But with all due respect to your knowledge, I’m twenty-four. I’ll make my own decisions. And suffer the consequences if they’re bad ones. Dad, I think we’ve both said enough—”

“No, we haven’t said nearly enough—”

“Telephone, Peter,” Rina said.

Decker whipped his head around, asked her a testy “ Who is it!”

“Marge.”

Decker barked. “Is it an emergency?”

“I don’t know,” Rina answered quietly. “Would you like me to ask her?”