“No, not at all,” she replied. “But I want to just the same.”
CHAPTER15
Noah loved the evening hours, seated here on his back porch. The valley was beyond quiet. There were no streetlights, and the nearest neighbor was two hundred yards back up the valley road. On clear nights like this, the stars formed a silver wash, so bright they turned the pastures into pewter seas. The wind had died to a soft whisper, carrying enough of a chill that he and his two remaining guests had slipped into jackets. Sparsely planted cottonwoods and a few oaks marched down to the valley’s far end, where they joined with gnarled olive trees. They shone in the dim light like ancient sentries.
There were only three cars still parked by the old farmhouse. Noah’s pickup stood between a San Lu unmarked detective’s ride and a sheriff’s car. Zia’s wife had left almost an hour earlier, their sons in tow. Zia and Amos were both on late duty. They rocked quietly, cradling mugs Noah kept charged, whiling away the hours before they went on patrol. Noah was tired, and with Wallace and the electricians both scheduled for the next day, his morning would be an early one. Just the same, he was grateful for the company.
Finally, Amos said, “All the things I might have expected to hear tonight, Jenna’s story would never have made the list.”
“I knew there had to be a connection deeper than her skippering the old man’s boat,” Noah agreed.
“Makes sense, though,” Amos said. “One of Dino’s spoiled offspring catches wind that the lady who’s keeping them out of the house is about to inherit the old man’s favorite possession. So they do a number on the boat.”
Noah asked, “Any chance you could go after them?”
“You heard what Zia told you back before the auction. Forensics turned up nothing. Hard to get prints off a boat partially sunk in eight feet of water.”
Zia, however, was thoroughly unimpressed. “You might want to stop and think. The lady, she could be scamming you.”
Amos stared at his friend. “Say what?”
“I’m serious, man. She could be playing our pal big-time.”
“First time we met,” Amos replied, “I knew there was something seriously twisted about you.”
Noah said, “I don’t think that’s happening here.”
“You don’t think,” Zia scoffed. “How many good men got taken down by conniving women when the guys were thinking with something other than their brains.”
Noah shook his head. “And I know that’s not happening here.”
“What about the lawyer?” Amos demanded. “He sat there and confirmed everything the lady told us.”
“Who knows what any lawyer is really thinking.”
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?” Amos poked his buddy in the chest. “You’re the one who suggested Noah use Sol.”
“Hands off the merchandise.”
“I was right there beside you, listening to your wife talk about how great Sol Feinnes was. Not to mention his newest partner.”
“The lady,” Zia said, nodding. “Megan Pierce.”
“Best friends with your wife, didn’t I hear you say that?”
“Again, another lawyer.”
“Tell you what,” Amos said. “Next time we want to hear from the crazy fringe element, we’ll come looking for you. Until then, you best be keeping your opinions in your back pocket. Where they belong.”
“I’m just saying.”
“And I’m telling you, Jenna Greaves is as real as they get.” Amos turned to Noah. “I like her.”
“That makes two of us.”
Zia rose and tossed the remnants of his mug over the railing. He jammed his hat on his head and started down the steps. “I can smell trouble on the wind.”
“You’ll have to excuse my friend. He doesn’t know when to stop playing cop.” Amos said it loud enough for the words to track Zia across the lawn.
