shorter.â
âIâm
shorter.â
âWhat can I say? I have a bad habit of getting jammed up.â
âHowâd you get out of there without being seen?â
Jake didnât feel like telling Maria about Jasmine. âSometimes Iâm as lucky as I am unlucky.â
âIâve read transcripts of your interviews with Geoghegan. Youâre good at being evasive.â
âI have a strong sense of self-preservation.â He pulled into the motel parking lot. âI assume youâre staying within view of my room?â
âYou know it.â
âItâs not smart to stay at the same location as your stakeout subject, you know.â
âItâs not like I have backup. It isnât easy watching someone 24/7.â
âI could have seen you.â
âYou saw me plenty of times. I guess I never made much of an impression on you before.â
âI never saw your legs or that tan before, and eyes are a personâs most identifiable feature.â He parked, switched off the ignition, and faced her. âDo you want to have dinner?â
âSure, why not? Weâve still got plenty to discuss. As long as itâs on you. Iâm tapped out, and Iâve already charged more than I can afford.â
Jake didnât want to answer any more questions, but he saw no point in avoiding Maria since they were going to be traveling together anyway. âJust donât expect anything fancy. We have to go somewhere with a patio, so I can bring Edgar.â
âI approve of your chaperone.â
They got out at the same time, and Jake took Edgar out of the backseat. âHow about we meet down here in an hour?â
âMake it an hour and a half. I want to shower.â
Jake showered too and shaved. Then he picked up his phone and struck a number in his contacts. The phone on the other end rang two and a half times.
âHello?â The boyâs voice was so much deeper than it had been the last time they had seen each other.
âHey, Martin.â
At the mention of Martinâs name, Edgar hopped around in his cage.
Thatâs a good sign,
Jake thought. Sheryl had told him Edgar was losing a little more of his humanity each day.
âJake! Do you have any news?â
Jake felt a weight on his shoulders whenever Martin asked him that question. âI donât want to get your hopes up, but I think Iâm onto something.â
âYou serious?â
Jake heard the restrained excitement in the boyâs voice. âIâm serious that it may be nothing. I wonât know for another week or so. I wouldnât even tell you this, except Iâm going to be incommunicado at least that long, and I donât want you to worry.â
âOkay.â
âYou listening to your mother?â
âYes.â
âTell her I said hello, and keep your fingers crossed.â
Maria stepped out of the shower and toweled herself dry. She blow-dried her hair, put on a bra and panties, then picked up her phone and touched a number.
âSpeak of the
diabla,â
Bernie Reinhardt said in his customary monotone. âI was just thinking of you. How goes the Sunshine State? Do you look like Malibu Barbie yet?â
âI could star in a Coppertone commercial,â Maria said.
âWhen are you coming home? I get lonely poking at these stiffs without you. I keep catching myself talking to them.â
Maria lathered cream on her legs. âMaybe another week.â
âThatâs a long time. What gives?â
She drew a disposable razor along one leg. âI followed Jake to a meeting in a nightclub. One thing led to another, and I ended up walking three hombres into the meeting at gunpoint.â
âApparently you lived to tell the tale.â
âJake and I are flying to Pavot Island. Before you ask,thatâs in the Caribbean.â
âPlease tell me you arenât eloping. It will break your