Page 389 of A Matter of Time

“Maybe that’s what you think you and Caleb touched, but⁠—”

“That’s all we touched, Dane.”

“Well, Moore told me they found Caleb’s prints all over everything. Her books, boxes in the basement, the chest at the end of her bed… They said the two of you must have tossed the place.”

“We did not,” I told him. “We went in the back door and that was as far as we got. I don’t know where he’s getting all that, but if he finds my prints or Caleb’s on anything else, he’s lying.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t think he is, I’m just saying… I think he got it wrong. If someone was looking for something, it had to be the guy we’re after, not me or Caleb.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll ask him again.”

“Fine.”

He brushed my hair back from my face. “After you rest a little, we can go see Sam.”

“Sounds good,” I said, closing my eyes.

“After that, you’re coming home with me.”

“I don’t wanna go with⁠—”

“Do I care what you want anymore?”

“Aww…c’mon, Dane, I⁠—”

“Detective Hefron wants you to go back there with him tomorrow and show him exactly where you were in the house. He also wants you to look at everything in contrast to Ms. Fain’s cleaning lady. He wants to see if she notices anything different from what you did.”

“Like what, if anything, is out of place.”

“Exactly.”

“Fine. Whatever. I wanna see Caleb and make sure he’s all right.”

“He’s all right, Jory. Just rest.”

“But—”

“Rest,” he insisted, and he had his scowl going, so I didn’t want to mess with him.

I closed my eyes and told myself I would pretend to rest so he would stop bugging me. But it backfired, and I fell asleep.

The shaking was insistent, and I was irritated as I opened my eyes. This was a hospital; they were supposed to let you sleep. I was surprised to find Aja, looking just as annoyed.

“What’s the matter with you?” I asked her quickly.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she snapped at me. “Between you and Sam, where should I start?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. For goodness’ sake, Jory, my heart can’t take all this. Worrying about you, worrying about Sam… Could one of you,” she said, glaring at me, “quit?”

“I will. I’ll stop.”

As I sat up, I realized I wasn’t hooked up to anything anymore. Very exciting. “Hey, look—I got no strings on me.”

“I’m thrilled,” she said snidely. “Will you be doing any more running around, or are we through with that?”