"Is it true, or am I dreaming?"Connie said, "It's true. We're a family."That evening, Donna spent hours on the phone, telling all her friends about th... hearing. Supper was a fruit and veggie plate, with Italian bread and wine. The relief was palpable. I fell asleep on the couch with my head on Connie's shoulder.On Connie's birthday, the three of us went to Nona's for dinner, then Connie and I went dancing until the wee hours. Donna happily went to Yvonne's for the weekend. Connie and I made. “They weren’t important to the case, but my supervisor wanted me to read you in on them. They were ... curious.”“DNA?”“Yes,” said Linda, handing Lacey a sheet of paper. “Two DNA samples from the good guys side of things came back as being close relatives. The statements didn’t make mention of that. Not that that’s critical to the case. It just seemed odd.”“Who were they?” asked Lacey.“You and someone named Robert Shepard. Does that mean anything to you?”“Bob? He was my bodyguard.” She almost. It was the length of his damned forearm. Stars danced before his eyes and his erection flared, meeting her waiting hand. She gripped it softly, her touch exploratory. Her other hand rested on his chest, her splayed fingers almost large enough to cover it, the alien pushing him down onto the mattress to lie prone. Osha loomed over him in the near darkness, her white fur bleached orange by the flickering firelight. Her eyes glowed in the dark shadows, leering at him hungrily.He had never felt. ..but not great." What happened?" I asked."Someone wrote some shit on my locker. No big deal, guys do it all thetime trying to hassle each other. Probably that prick Chuck and hisdumbass friend Rick. They're the only ones on the team that don't like mebecause Chuck wanted to be QB."Phew - I was out of the woods. Martin hadn't connected Cat to the crime.And it didn't even bother me that he thought I - the real me - was aprick, because I had been, to him. And I was starting to feel bad aboutit.