She has a point,amigo.
“I ran into her at the police station when I went to get that mug shot of the bastard who tried to kill his wife. She looked upset. I offered to drive her back to hercar—”
“And ended up at a restaurant instead. Hmm. Wrongturn?”
“I owe her a debt of gratitude for what she did forElena.”
Cate pinned him with her gaze. “Did you sleep withher?”
“That’s nobody’s business—but, no, Ididn’t.”
Not that he hadn’t thought about it. Alot.
“You need to stay away from her. It looks bad for her, Joaquin. Even if she had nothing to do with last night’s homicide, they found bloody towels and Andrew Meyer’s driver’s license in a wood chipper at the Botanic Gardens where sheworks.”
Old news.“I think someone’s trying to set herup.”
Cate rolled her eyes at this. “Really?”
Joaquin told her most of what he knew, leaving out any mention of the woman across the street and her videos. Darcangelo had sworn him to secrecy on that score. “If you want to be a top-notch investigative reporter, you’ve got to keep an openmind.”
Cate balked at this, her gaze dropping slowly to her feet. When she looked up at him again, there was curiosity in her eyes instead of anger. “They didn’t say anything about the strange text message at the pressconference.”
Mierda.
“Yeah? Well, don’t print that.” Joaquin didn’t want to give away info that could ruin the cops’ investigation. “They keep certain details to themselves, things they think might help them prove a suspect’sguilt.”
“How did they manage to clear the two of you soquickly?”
“My cousin has video surveillance outside hisrestaurant.”
“Lucky for you.” Cate frowned, crossed her arms over her chest. “I still think you should have told me that you knewher.”
“It wouldn’t have changedanything.”
“Maybe not, but at least I wouldn’t have to wonder if a co-worker is keeping secrets about one of my stories. Are you going to see heragain?”
“I don’t know.” He had decided last night after that impulsive kiss that he would leave that up to Mia. It had only been a kiss on the forehead, the kind of kiss he’d give Elena or hisabuelita. But she wasn’t family, and he hadn’t asked herfirst.
“Oh, Joaquin, help me out here.” There was a pleading tone to Cate’s voice. “What can I do to get ahead of the other papers on thisstory?”
“You could interview people who knew the two men. You could request their military files, though I don’t know what the government will release to the general public. You might not get morethan—”
Tom stepped into the hallway, a scowl on his face. “Ramirez. My office.Now.”
“He was just bringing me up to speed on what he knows about last night’s homicide. I’ve got a couple of new angles to goon.”
Joaquin didn’t need Cate to protect him. Tom intimidated a lot of people, but he didn’t scare Joaquin. “I’ll be there in aminute.”
This was going to be a long damnedday.
7
Mia found a table at the crowded coffee shop, sat, and took a sip of her coffee, the strong taste of dark roast bringing some life back to her brain andbody.
She’d barely slept last night, her mind unable to let go, her thoughts jumping from Andy’s disappearance to Jason’s murder to Tell al-Sharrukin to Joaquin and back again. She’d given up trying to sleep at five, packed her backpack full of everything she’d need for the day, and hopped the light rail, which had lots of surveillance cameras. First, she’d gone to the gym and done her workout. Then she’d showered and taken the light rail downtown. She’d been careful to choose a coffee shop that had video surveillance and made sure to look directly into thecamera.
Twice now it seemed that someone had tried to make her look guilty of a serious crime. She wouldn’t stay at home alone where she could become a target like Andy and Jason—or find herself without analibi.