Noah groaned. “They know.”
“Well, of course. Seeing as how I needed to vent. Being so hot and all. And then Aldana called Ryan. I believe Zia’s wife was also brought in on the discussion. Which means you’ve got three police and sheriff departments out for your sorry hide.”
Noah asked, “What do I do now?”
“You want my advice, I’d say just hang tight.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think?”
“Don’t do anything. Wait.”
“See, I knew you weren’t as dumb as Aldana’s been saying.”
“That’s going to be really, really hard.”
“Aldana would tell you, hard is exactly what you deserve.” Amos walked over, stood there a long moment, then kicked the rocker’s base. “Enough. Get on inside, shower off the day. I’ll fix you something to eat. We’ll talk our way through this mess.” When Noah didn’t move, Amos kicked harder. “That was an order, recruit.”
CHAPTER28
Jenna picked at an early dinner, tried to watch television, failed at reading a book, then gave up on the day. She went through the motions of preparing for bed—lay down, cut off the light, and stared at the ceiling. Images from the conversations flashed with cinematic clarity. The day’s events left her feeling like Noah had punctured her heart and all the life-force had been expelled. She heard him discuss selling the boat with that deadly calm. Impatiently she wiped her face on the edge of her sheet and turned over. She wished she knew what to do.
It seemed as though a few breaths passed, not longer. Then the phone chimed. When she opened her eyes, it was to sunlight glaring through the east-facing window. She had not bothered to close the drapes, since she knew she wouldn’t sleep.
She settled her feet on the carpet, rubbed her face, then picked up the phone and saw it was Amos. Calling her at 9:19 in the morning. “Amos?”
“We’re across the street. And we’ll stay right here unless you give us the word.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “We?”
“Zia and I. He’s got something I think you should hear.”
She was mildly angry with herself, how disappointed she felt that it wasn’t Noah. Then she pushed it away, classing it as a momentary lapse, down to still being barely awake. “Give me ten minutes,” she said. “Then come on up.”
* * *
She was showered and dressed and making breakfast when they knocked on her open door. Amos called, “Jenna?”
“In the kitchen.” She smiled a welcome and kept slicing peaches into a bowl. Jenna pointed to three mugs and a pitcher and sugar bowl stationed by the coffee maker. “Help yourself.”
“Don’t want to take too much of your time, coming in unexpected like this.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” She saw how Amos studied her for visible cracks. How Zia remained vaguely ashamed. It was the first time she had seen the San Lu detective since the agent had come probing. “Want some breakfast?”
“What are you making there?”
“Plain Greek-style yogurt. Peaches, berries, a sprinkling of granola. Breakfast of champions.”
“Make that a pair of egg and chorizo burritos,” Zia said. “Maybe a cerveza, I’ll be interested.”
“Something about a lady offering me a too-healthy meal brings tears to my eyes,” Amos said.
“Liar.”
“Tell the truth, your breakfast takes me straight back to Aldana’s tofu diet phase. Made it herself, these big square pans of fresh baby barf.”
She spooned in blackberries. “I bet you ate it and loved it.”
