“Dad,” Liam said.

“Son,” Charles said.  He held out a hand.  Liam took it.  His father’s grip was warm and strong and didn’t linger.  “How have you been?”

“Swell,” Liam said.

One dark eyebrow went up, but all his father said was, “I was sorry I couldn’t make it back in time for the funeral.”

“Either of them,” Liam heard himself say.

The eyebrow came down.  “I called you.”

“Yes.”  Both times.

“I was on duty when Charlie was buried, Liam,” Charles said in a level voice.  “In the Gulf.”

Translation:  I was under arms, serving my country in the front lines.  Personal considerations must be sacrificed when the fate of the nation hangs in the balance.  “I know,” Liam said.

“And as for Jenny, it happened so fast.  I couldn’t have made it back in time.”

You fly jets at twice the speed of sound, Liam thought.  You couldn’t have signed one out for a cross-country check ride, two days there and back again?

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Excerpt from So Sure of Death, the second Liam Campbell novel. I’m working on the fifth book in the series now.

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