Zeke:tell me where you are in LA, I just landed
Zeke:and I’m sorry about before
Zeke:not that I should apologize over text, I know
Three dots appeared as he was typing, and then the cellular bars disappeared from her phone again.
Sybil typed in a reply:Not in LA anymore!
She tried to send it three times, but it kept getting bounced as undelivered.
“Do you know when we will get cell service again?”
“Is this part of twenty questions?”
“No,” she said.
“Usually outside Reno,” Levi replied.
So they were headed to Reno.
She typed:meet me in Reno???Hit send, held her breath hoping it would go through. Finally, after a long gap, she heard the whoosh of a sent text.
“Oh!” she said, just remembering something. She should have written down all of her questions, been better prepared. The old Sybil Foster wouldn’t have arrived at Levi’s doorstep anything less than over-overprepared. “Betty’s Bible.”
“Betty’s Bible?”
“Yes, we found it in a flour tin. In Zeke’s bathroom cabinet. It’s a long story.”
“You foundBetty’s Bible in a flour tin in a bathroom cabinet?”
“Yes, but that’s not my question. My question is…I haven’t asked: Are you sure she didn’t set the fire? I know you want to protect her but, isn’t it possible—”
Sybil’s phone vibrated, then dinged, and she lost her train of thought.
Zeke:I’ll be on a flight to Reno in an hour. Tell me where to meet you.
“Zeke is meeting us in Reno,” Sybil said to Levi. “Can I give him a meeting spot? An address?”
“I’ll tell you when we get closer.”
“Okay, not to be overly dramatic, but I want to confirm that you haven’t kidnapped me?”
“No, I haven’t kidnapped you.”
Another text:
Zeke:also, I know who started the fire
Sybil started to type back, but an SOS appeared in lieu of reception bars. She raised her cell to the roof of the car but still nothing. All she could do was dip her head back and exhale. Sybil had never been good with patience, but now the only thing to do was wait.
64
Morning
Sybil
January 18th
