“But I don’t understand,” Lucy objected. “What’s this all about?”

Gabe was still holding the bottle of water. He swallowed another drink and spoke almost normally for the first time. “It’s about diamonds,” he said, “diamonds in a peanut butter jar.”

CHAPTER 25

THE MOTHER OF SHINING FALLS looked and looked for her daughter, but she could not find her. Then suddenly, she heard her daughter’s voice. And Shining Falls sounded happy—­just the way she used to back when she sang to the children.

The mother followed the sound of the voice. She kept looking and looking. As the light came and went on the surface of the water in the charco, she could see little Shining Falls’s face smiling up at her. Sometimes the mother could see her daughter’s face very clearly. Other times she could see it only faintly. But always she could see her daughter smiling and hear her singing.

LANI STIRRED AS HENRY ROJAS accelerated away from the Border Patrol checkpoint. Her shoulders were cramped. Her hands were strapped together with tie wraps while a third one secured her right arm to the armrest on the door. She had no memory of his stopping long enough to cuff her or strip off her coat. Her lab coat had been used to cover the restraints, and no one at this checkpoint had noticed anything amiss. She’d been out cold. She was about to say something when Henry spoke. At first she thought a third person must be in the car with them, but then she realized he was talking to himself.

Dan had told her that during the long hours when he was alone in the car, he often carried on extended conversations with Hulk. Henry didn’t have a dog, so he didn’t have anyone else to chat with along the way.

Lani twisted in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. Then she closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She realized he must have given her something other than scopolamine. She was too wide awake and connected for that. Succinylcholine, maybe? But where would that have come from? Had Lucy stolen it from the hospital pharmacy? Was she in on this, too?

“Going with some money is better than going with no money,” Henry was saying aloud. “Either she gives me enough to get away, or I go to the cops and blow the whistle. It’s about time she paid me what I’m worth. She thinks that she can just order me around like she’s some high and mighty general while I’m her lowly PFC? Screw that. I’m the one who’s been taking all the risks, and I’m the one who’s about to lose everything.”

What risks? Lani wondered. And she wished she knew who “she” was. Was he referring to Lucy, or was there some other woman involved?

And that reminded her suddenly of the vision she’d had on the mountain—­on Ioligam. How many hours ago was that now? Less than a day, but it seemed like years since she had seen that ghostly woman in the smoke, an evil Ho’ok, a witch with silver hair. Was that Henry’s mysterious “she”?

And what about Gabe and Tim? Lani had seen the blowtorch and knew someone had been trying to break into Henry’s garage structure out at the airport. Maybe the boys had been there—­locked inside. But were they dead or alive? And was Henry Rojas the person who had killed Carlos and Paul José?

Lost in thought, Lani realized that Henry’s monologue had changed. “I need to talk to Francisco,” he said with some urgency. “And I need him now!”

Lani hadn’t realized she’d heard him dialing the phone, so maybe she wasn’t quite as with it as she had first thought she was.

A long silence followed. Lani imagined that telephone-­hold elevator music was playing from somewhere. She heard Henry sigh in frustration and what sounded like fingers drumming impatiently on the steering wheel. He was still on hold when Lani felt the buzz of her own cell phone in the pocket of her jeans. When she went to the hospital and slipped on her lab coat, she routinely switched her ringer to silent. Sometimes she forgot to turn it back on. And this was one of those times. Between the road noise and the music on his own phone, Henry evidently didn’t hear the sound.

Lani whispered a small prayer of gratitude. As long as she had her phone—­as long as he didn’t realize she had one and took it away—­there was a chance someone could figure out where she was.

“Organ Pipe won’t work,” Henry said a long minute or so later. “Something’s come up. We’ll have to meet up somewhere else.” There was a pause. “How should I know? I’m inside the Tucson sector right now. Just crossed the checkpoint at Three Points. The fewer checkpoints I have to go through, the better.” Another pause was followed by “No, not Nogales. Too many ­people know me there. What about Agua Prieta or even somewhere in New Mexico? There’s a lot of empty terrain down by the Peloncillos.” Lani heard another voice in the background, speaking loudly enough that his voice carried even without being on speaker.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Henry said. “Changes in plan mean you raise the price. I’m good with that. Call me back when you have the arrangements in place. The number you have for me works.”

Henry ended the call and the car slowed. Lani wondered where they were, but she didn’t dare open her eyes. She needed him to continue believing she was still out of it.

AFTER A BUSY AND PURPOSEFUL day, Brandon Walker was surprised to find himself at loose ends. Ava Richland had seemingly gone to ground. With her husband hauled off to TMC, there was no point in hanging around in town. A glance at his watch told him Diana was most likely still caught up in her dinner, so he headed home.

On the way, he tried calling Lani to see if any progress had been made on finding Gabe Ortiz and Tim José, but Lani didn’t answer. When he dialed Amanda Wasser’s number, she did answer, telling him that she had arrived safely at the hospital in Mesa, but that her father was still in surgery. She promised to call him with news when there was some.

Brandon had just ended that call when a new one came in. “How are you getting on with my friend J.P.?” Ralph Ames asked.

“Surprisingly well,” Brandon answered. “He put me in touch with a pal of his, a guy named Todd Hatcher. In a matter of minutes he was able to track down an address that I needed here in Tucson. That was a huge help.”

Ralph laughed. “Todd may be a forensic economist, but he comes with a lot of hidden talents. He’s also a great guy. If it weren’t for him, Beau’s wife, Mel, might very well be a goner now.”

“How come?”

“Beau and Mel Soames used to work together on the Special Homicide squad,” Ralph explained. “That’s where they met.”

“Mel Soames,” Brandon mused. “Why is that name so familiar? Oh wait, now I remember. She had something to do with putting the Kenneth Myers homicide together with the Mangum missing persons report.”

“Sounds like Mel, all right,” Ralph said with a chuckle.

“How exactly did Todd Hatcher save Mel’s life?”

“When Mel was appointed chief of police in Bellingham, her second-­in-­command got his nose seriously out of joint. The guy took Mel against her will and was about to toss her off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean when Todd managed to locate her phone so Beau could ride to the rescue.”

“So this Todd character is what you might call a forensic economist superhero?”

“You could say that,” Ralph agreed, “but don’t tell him I said so. He might get a swelled head. In the meantime, I’m glad you and Beau are able to work together. Getting back in the game will be good for him.”

“We’ll see,” Brandon said. “Talk to you later.”

He had arrived at the house and pulled into the garage. When he opened the door, Bozo was waiting right outside. Brandon gave the dog a pat on the head. “Hey, boy,” he said aloud. “It’s way past your dinnertime. Let’s find you something to eat.”