“No.” I clutch the pipes tighter, ready to fight for them if needed.
She pushes the glasses back with one finger. “All right then.” And drives off, leaving me sort of caught in the middle of the road.
I throw the pipes inside my truck and jump in, hoping there will be no more witnesses.
I see the girl’s face in the window bay when I take off. She’s smiling a shark smile and showing me two thumbs up. I think I can count on her.
39
Jericho
I park in front of the diner, right behind Cheryl’s cruiser. I decide not to wait and go to my demise without postponing.
Cheryl’s leaning one elbow on the counter with a smug look on her face. “Figured you’d be coming here.”
“Yep.” I pop thep.
Her laser eyes are focused on the pipes under my arm. “I think I need to know in case there’re questions.”
“There won’t be,” I say, cutting further questioning at the root.
“You sure?” She looks highly amused for someone who helped cover up a crime a few minutes ago.
“Positive.” I nod and walk past her to the kitchen.
She follows me. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t do the same if I didn’t wear this uniform.”
“Do what?” I turn to her with a deliberately slow blink.
“What’s going on, guys?” Nora asks, walking out of the kitchen. A quick exchange of meaningful looks betweenCheryl and I, where I mentally beg/order her to stay quiet, seals the deal to keep our mouths shut while Nora is here.
“Nothing,” I reply, heading to the kitchen with the pipes under my arm.
“Oh! You found them!” She claps her hands, the happiness in her voice makes it worth the hiccup with the law.
“Yep,” I say as I shoot a glare toward Cheryl. “Found them in my truck. Had some leftovers from renovating the house.”
Cheryl scowls in response but keeps her mouth shut. I don’t want to involve Nora in any of my shenanigans, especially when it consists ofborrowingsomething from Dick. If I get caught, I’ll be the only one responsible for that, so the less she knows, the better.
“I’m gonna be here.” I jerk my thumb at the kitchen.
“How long will it take to fix it?” Roman asks, materializing out of thin air.
“Maybe an hour.”
“Great.” He walks to one of the booths. “I’ll take a nap then.”
I crouch next to the sink and get to work. The counter and half the wall make me invisible to the main room, but I can still hear everything going on out there just fine. Nora and Cheryl start talking about something unrelated to my sticky fingers, so I zone out while I get to work. I like it like that, me working at Nora’s place, and her voice in the background making the atmosphere comfortable.
But then, from the front, I hear a new voice. New. Male. Confident.
“Hey, you’re Nora, right?”
Didn’t you see the sign that it’s closed, moron?
“Yeah,” she says. Friendly. Open. The way she always is.
“I’m Nick. I think we met at the store yesterday?”Is he asking her or saying? Ball-less. “You told me to come here instead of that new place—Dick’s, was it?”
