'I don't know. Got tired of chasing after speeders on the Long Island Expressway. So I got into my car and drove north.'

'And stopped in Hanover?'

'And stopped in Hanover.

I liked Dartmouth Hall. I spent my first night here in the completely unaffordable Hanover Inn, and heard the clock tower out of my window playing songs. My first day they played a slow version of "Seasons in the Sun."'

Kristina laughed. 'You stayed in Hanover because the Baker tower played "Seasons in the Sun"?'

'I stayed in Hanover so I could give all you posh Dartmouth girls and boys parking tickets.' Spencer said it seriously, but he was kidding, and Kristina laughed again. Spencer liked that Kristina could tell when he was kidding.

'Now I live in Hanover so that I can feel like I'm going to Dartmouth without actually spending twenty-five thousand a year on my education.'

'Without actually getting an education either.'

'Touche,' he said, shaking his head. 'Good. You think I don't get an education watching all you people?'

'Really?'

'Really.'

'You like your job then?'

Spencer nodded. 'Very much.'

'What don't you like about it?'

'The worst part is every time there's a big case, they bring on the gang from Concord -' He saw her quizzical expression and explained. 'The assistant district attorneys, their own investigators, and sometimes even the state police guys from Haverhill. It really pisses me off. Like I can't do my job or something. I tell them, I can issue parking tickets with the best of them, give me a chance.'

Kristina laughed. 'What was your biggest case?'

'That Ethiopian premed student hacking his girlfriend and her roommate with an ax.'

Kristina widened her eyes. 'Oh, that was horrible.'

'Yes, it was. I was the first officer on the scene.'

Kristina made a disgusted face. 'You found the bodies?'

'Yes.'

'Yuck. Was it awful?'

'As awful as you can imagine.'

'I can't even imagine.' She lowered her voice. 'I've never even seen a dead body.'

'Really? Never?' Spencer found that hard to believe. He'd been going to funerals of his parents' relatives since he was two.

'Never.' She cleared her throat. 'My grandmother - she died just a few months ago, but I didn't go to the funeral.'

'Why not?'

Shrugging, Kristina said, 'I wasn't invited.'

'You weren't invited to your grandmother's funeral?' It was Spencer's turn to widen his eyes. 'What kind of family do you have?'

'Not a very close one,' she admitted, changing the subject. 'The Ethiopian, do you think that was power and intimidation?'

'That's all it was,' said Spencer. 'The girl didn't want to marry him, and he wanted to let her know how he felt about it.'

'I see. What's happened to the guy now?'

'He's behind bars for life.'

'Ahh. Just punishment.'

'Just? I don't know. He killed two people in cold blood. Maybe he should have died himself.'

'Do you think he should have, Spencer?'

'For premeditated murder? Yes.'

They were done drinking their hot cocoa and eating, but Spencer definitely did not want to get up and go.

Kristina asked him if he was the boss at work.

'I wish. No, there's the chief above me. Ken Gallagher.'

'Irish, like you.'

He nodded.

She seemed thoughtful. 'I didn't know policemen made enough money to live in Hanover.'

'I know - you kids drove the price of this town way up. Three-bedroom houses start at two hundred and sixty thousand. Two-bedroom apartments rent for nine hundred.'

'You must be making good money.'

'Nah - I gave up smoking.'

'What, so you could afford a place in Hanover?'

'That's right.'

Smiling, Kristina said, 'Didn't give up taking girls out for coffee, though.'

'Did.' He paused. 'But I just fell off the wagon.'

'I see.'

'What kind of a name is Kim?' Spencer asked her.

'An unusual one?' she offered. She didn't seem to want to talk about it, so he left it.

'Go back much to visit your family?'

'Not much,' said Spencer. 'You?'

'Not much,' said Kristina.

'Your folks, they must be pretty proud of you, going to Dartmouth and all. Me, I just went to a state university for a year and then joined the force.'

'Do you miss home at all?'

Spencer nodded. 'I miss my brothers and sisters.'

'Oh yeah?' She smiled. 'How many have you got?'

'More than you've had dinners,' replied Spencer, repeating Kristina's own expression. 'Eight. Five brothers, three sisters.'

'My God, I've never in my life met anyone with that many siblings. I barely read about that many siblings.'

'Yeah, we had a big family.'

'Are you guys Catholic or something?'

'No, no, Protestant,' said Spencer. 'Of course we're Catholic. With a last name like O'Malley?'

Kristina sat back. 'Gosh, how did your mother do it?'

'I don't know. I think she was done by her fifth kid. I was pretty much looked after by my sisters.'

'Still, though - nine kids.'

'Eleven,' Spencer corrected her. 'Twin boys died of pneumonia when they were babies.'

'Oh, no.'

'Yeah.'

They were silent for a while.

'Eleven names your mom had to think of,' Kristina said thoughtfully. 'I had difficulty thinking of one.'

Spencer studied her face before he asked, 'Did you have... reason to think of one?'

'No, no,' she said quickly. 'But you know, people - boyfriends, girlfriends talk. I thought of Orlando. Or Oscar.'

'These are not budgies, Kristina, these are babies. Oscar? Orlando?'

'See what I mean?'

'Don't feel bad,' Spencer said. 'When I was born, my mother forgot she'd already named one of her sons Patrick O'Malley, so she named me Patrick O'Malley.'

Kristina laughed.

'I didn't think it was so funny. Finally one of the kids told her. Not my brother Patrick, mind you. So she renamed me Spencer. Spencer Patrick O'Malley.'

'After the actor?'

'Yeah, Mom really loved Spencer Tracy.' He paused. 'I would've preferred Patrick.'

Kristina, licking the tips of her fingers, stared at Spencer.

'I like Spencer.'

Tilting his head, Spencer said softly, 'Well, thank you.'

'What's your mom doing now?'

'Being a grandma. Eight of the nine children are married.'

'They have lots of kids?'

'You could say that. Twenty-one already. You know, be fruitful and multiply.'

'God almighty. You really took to heart the multiply part.

Are you...' She paused. '... one of the married ones?'

Why had Spencer steered the conversation this way? But once steered, he wasn't going to be rude to this beautiful, curious, fresh-faced girl with black pools for eyes.

'I was one of the married ones,' he said slowly and quietly.

'Ahhh,' she said with an understanding look. 'Didn't work out, huh?'

'You could say that. She died in a car accident.'

Kristina put her hand to her mouth. 'Oh, I'm sorry.'

He waved her off. 'It's okay. It was tough at first. I'm learning to live with it now, you know. It's been a few years.'

'How many?'

'Five.'

'Is that why you left Long Island?'