What We Found by Kris Bock

the windowsill. I twitched, a slight movement but surely noticeable to the man whose hand was still on my arm. I forced a pleasant smile. “The restaurant here is very good.”
    “Is that why you’re eating pork rinds for lunch?”
    I would have sworn his eyes had been on my face the whole time, never glancing down toward my hand hanging at my side. I tried to think of a joking comment, but the moment for a natural response passed. I shrugged. “I’ll see you in a little while.” I edged past him, around my desk, and picked up the phone. I held it to my ear as they left the room.
    I didn’t want to call Jay. As much as I dreaded seeing him in person, I didn’t think I could be convincing on the phone.
    I gave them a minute, then peeked into the hallway. No one in sight. But what if they were hiding to spy on me if I left? I should have pretended I needed to go somewhere, rather than pretending I needed to make a phone call. It’s a good thing I had never dreamed of being a master criminal, since I obviously wasn’t cut out for it.
    I pressed my fingers to my temples. I was over-thinking everything. Even if Jay had told the truth already, the police didn’t have any reason to suspect me of involvement in the murder. And they probably had better ways to keep track of people than lurking in the hallways. A phone tap, maybe. All the more reason to see Jay in person.
    I hurried down the hallway, trying to look as if I had an important appointment or something. What did that look like, anyway? I didn’t know how to act natural anymore. It would be suspicious to glance around, showing I was worried about being watched. I kept my gaze ahead and frowned thoughtfully.
    I took the back exit and walked alongside the golf course to the greenhouse, trying not to glance across the fairway to the woods. I paused with my hand on the greenhouse door and closed my eyes. I was already trembling slightly from nerves. I was hardly ready to confront someone I found intimidating at the best of times. But what choice did I have?
    I would give Jay one last chance to come clean on his own, if he hadn’t already. And then….
    I wouldn’t think about then. Surely he had to understand by now how important the truth was, and how risky it was to keep pretending. Probably he had already told the truth when the police confronted him. I was just confirming, and getting permission to do the same.
    I nodded once and pushed through the door.
    A voice broke off as I entered. “We can’t, now that they’re—”
    I blinked, adjusting to the dimmer, greener light as I breathed in the musty scent of damp earth and growing things. Jay and the other groundskeeper—Roberto? No, Rodrigo—turned toward me from the other side of a long table filled with young shrubs.
    I tried to ignore the scowls. “Jay. I need to talk with you.”
    He stared for a moment, then jerked his head toward his office. I trailed after him, eyes down and hands fisted at my sides. He didn’t look like someone who had come to terms with an unpleasant situation.
    He stomped into the office, turned, and leaned against the desk with his arms folded. I shut the door and stood just inside it. My shallow breathing seemed to echo in the small room as I glanced around, looking anywhere but at Jay.
    He didn’t speak, just stared. I rubbed my lips together, swallowed a couple of times, and finally forced words out. “I heard the police interviewed you.”
    He snorted. “You’re damn right they did. Thanks to you.”
    I finally looked at him. “I didn’t say anything about you!”
    “Yeah, well, no thanks for that favor. People saw us together.” He kicked at his chair. “The cops saved that bit of information until after I’d sworn I hadn’t been near you or the woods all day.”
    “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
    “It’s a little late for that now.”
    I leaned against the door and forced myself to breathe. I couldn’t back down now. “That’s right. They know so much, we