“Wu is a good guy. If he said he’ll do it, he will. I’ll check to make sure the order has gone through. What’s your address,Mia?”
Mia gave him the information, then thanked him. “I’m sure I soundcrazy.”
“You don’t sound crazy at all. You sound scared, and I don’t blame you. Let me check on this, and I’ll call you back. You still got your Glock,Ramirez?”
“Yeah, and Mia has a shotgunupstairs.”
“Good. Keep the firearms close by andready.”
“Will do. Thanks, man. I oweyou.”
“No, you don’t.” Julian ended thecall.
Mia let out a relieved breath. “I know this will sound nuts, but I feel better. Just knowing they’ll look into this makes me feelsafer.”
He took her hands, kissed them. “If you feel safer, then it was time wellspent.”
They settled on the sofa, Mia’s shotgun propped against the wall nearby, and turned on the TV news, waiting for Julian to call them back. Wall Street down three hundred points. A school shooting in Alabama. More turmoil inSyria.
“This war—I feel like it’s never going to end,” Miasaid.
Joaquin’s phone rang, making Miajump.
“It’s Darcangelo.” He answered. “Hey, what didyou—”
Joaquin’s eyes went hard, his jaw tight, making Mia’s pulse ratchet. “Got it. Yeah. Will do. Thanks,man.”
He ended the call, got to his feet. “The lab started the DNA test on the towels this morning. The blood on the towels and bath mat isn’t human blood at all. They don’t know what it is yet, but it’s nothuman.”
Mia’s mouth wentdry.
* * *
Joaquin ranup the stairs behind Mia. “Darcangelo has a unit on the way. They’ll escort us to the police station and from there, Darcangelo will take us up to the Cimarron. He woke up Wu, who put a BOLO out onMeyer.”
Mia stopped so suddenly that Joaquin bumped into her, a stunned expression on her face. “Powell’s leg. His shrapnel wound. He has a limp. The man at the nightclub, the man who shot at me—he didn’t. That’s it.That’swhat’s been eating atme.”
¡Carajo!Thatright theresettledit.
The killer wasn’t Powell. It had never beenPowell.
It was AndrewMeyer.
“That’s what your nightmares have been trying to tell you.” Joaquin texted that information to Darcangelo, then followed Mia the rest of the way up thestairs.
He hadn’t yet unpacked, so he grabbed his toiletries out of her bathroom, shoved them into his backpack and was ready to go. Mia had put everything away, so he helped her pack panties, toiletries, and a few changes of clothes into her duffel bag. They walked downstairs together and put their bags by thedoor.
Then there was nothing to do butwait.
Joaquin pulled Mia away from the windows, not sure who might be out there. He was taking no chances where her life was concerned. He drew her into his arms. “You areincredible.”
“Not so incredible. If I had remembered the limp sooner, the police might have Meyer in custody instead ofPowell.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You haven’t seen Powell in, what, fiveyears?”
“I guess. You did your part tonight,too.”
“I supposed I helped—alittle.”