she was gone a long time , which was fine with me . lots of little things are going to add up to one big enough to lock you down for a while . the police were on the scene within minutes . my father is , whatever else , a great warrior . `` hello , '' he murmured in a voice he 'd never used with me . she poured coffee into her mug . he found himself grinning from ear to ear . something was wrong , because he lived alone . 