Identity

“I’ll do that.”

Miles said nothing until they’d gotten in Jake’s car. “Are you leaving anything out?”

“Nothing, except what I could read between the lines. They think he’ll kill first chance he gets when he feels he’s shaken them off. And he’s got a head start.”

When no one answered the door, Miles felt his nerves start to fray. Their cars, all three, sat in the drive, but no one answered the door.

“Let’s walk around back,” Jake suggested. “It’s a nice evening. They could be sitting outside and didn’t hear the bell.”

“It would send an alert to their phones.”

They’d barely gone halfway around when he heard the laughter. Giddy, female laughter. And the weight in his gut dropped away so fast he might’ve staggered.

And there they were, all three of them, with a pizza box on the table, cocktail glasses. If he wasn’t mistaken, all three were just a little bit drunk.

“Ladies,” Jake began.

Audrey let out a squeal that turned into more laughter. “Oh my God, you scared ten years off me.”

“Rang the bell. I guess you didn’t hear it. Or have your phones handy.”

“No, we…” Her laughter died, and she closed a hand over Morgan’s arm. “Baby.”

“Say it fast,” Morgan said. “Please.”

“They don’t have him yet, but he hasn’t killed anyone else they know of. I do have an update.”

“Okay. Okay.” Morgan rubbed her hands over her face. “Sorry. I guess we all left our phones inside. We’ve been drinking. Fall specialty drinks. Quite a lot, really.”

“Pull up some chairs,” Olivia invited. “We can all handle our liquor when we have to. Information’s power, Morgan. We have the power here.”

They listened. Miles said nothing while Jake ran it through, just watched Morgan’s face as she took it all in.

“Nevada, Arizona in August.” She kept her hands folded on the table. “That’s not just sun, that’s brutal sun and heat, isn’t it?”

“Never been, but yeah. The hope is he’ll believe he’s shaken loose, treat himself to a fancy hotel. He doesn’t look good, Morgan. I can show you if you want. They gave me the go on that.”

“I would, yes. I would like to see.”

Jake pulled out his phone, brought up the feed, then handed her the phone.

“Oh. I wouldn’t have recognized him, not right away. He looks older—not just the hair, the facial hair, he just looks older. And the weight. He looks puffy.”

“He looks crazy,” Audrey said as she looked over Morgan’s shoulder.

“But it shows, and it didn’t. It didn’t.”

“I’d like to see.” Olivia held out a hand. “So there he is. He knows the camera’s on him.” She glanced up at Jake. “We have security cameras in the shop. I’ve seen some think about a little shoplifting, look at the cameras, pretend they aren’t looking, aren’t checking.”

“I agree.”

“He’s lost a lot of the style, and again I don’t just mean the hair, the weight. He had style, confidence, charm. And I know now he used those as weapons. But he doesn’t seem to have them anymore.”

“Beck and Morrison agree with that. And like any addict, he’s jonesing for a fix. He’s not coming after you when he’s in this shape. That’s their take, and one I agree with. But we’re going to keep a close watch. That’s a promise.”

He rose. “If you have any questions. If you want to talk to me about anything, you call me. Any time of the day or night.”

“Thanks.” Morgan looked at Miles. “Are you staying or do you have to get back?”

“I’ll stay awhile. Thanks for the lift, Jake.”

“Anytime.”

When Jake left, Audrey shifted to Miles. “We had a contest to pick the fall specialty drink.” She kept her smile bright, her eyes direct. “Not an easy choice, and we’ve taken our task seriously. Morgan, why don’t you go in and make Miles a glass of the winner. He has a vested interest, after all.”

“I do.” Understanding, he looked at Morgan. “That’d be great. I’ve heard about your planned desecration of coffee, so that’s a pass for me. But I’ll take the drink. And don’t forget your phone.”

“Sure. Just give me a couple minutes.”

She looked off, he thought, between the alcohol and the update, just a little off. But she got up, went inside.

“What do you want to tell me?” Miles asked when Morgan was out of earshot.

“Not tell, ask. Take her home with you, Miles. She needs to get this out of her head. If she stays here, she’ll end up in her room with this preying on her mind. Mom?”

“Take her for a walk with the dog, take her to bed. Distract her.”

Though he hadn’t planned to, Miles took the ring out of his pocket. “I have a distraction in mind.”

As Audrey pressed a hand to her lips, Olivia’s eyes narrowed on the ring. “That’s Lydia’s engagement ring.”

“Good eye. It’ll be Morgan’s if she’ll have it.”

“Oh no, you don’t.” She pointed at Audrey. “Don’t you start, and make me start. She’ll see and misinterpret, and he’s sure as hell not going to give her that here and now. Suck those tears up, Audrey Nash, and we’ll have a good, happy weep when she leaves.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m so happy. Miles, I couldn’t be happier.”

“We’ll see what she has to say.”

“Audrey, put those sunglasses back on. We had three contenders,” Olivia began. “Here she comes now, so you can judge for yourself.”

He took the glass Morgan offered, studied it. “It’s got visual appeal. What’s in it?”

She managed a smile. “Try it, then guess.”

Because he thought she needed it, he played along. “Bourbon,” he said after he sampled. “Bourbon, ginger, and the pear comes through. Honey?”

“Very good, and some lime. What do you think?”

“I didn’t make the cut to judge the other two, but it’s good. Says fall or winter. What are you calling it?”

“It’s basically a Prickly Pear—not the fruit, in fact it doesn’t use prickly pears. Some slight adjustments to that, and I’m thinking maybe Pear It Down.”

“Should work. Nell will like it.”

“That’s the hope.”

“She claimed to like your coffee sabotage. It’s nice out here. That frog doesn’t quit. Makes me wonder where I’d put something like that.”

“I need to get up in your attic.”

He sipped his drink, watched her. “Do you?”

“There’s bound to be all sorts of things up there. You could use a mirror, some old piece with an interesting shape, behind the daylilies in the back.”

Conversation equaled distraction. It wasn’t his best thing, but he could manage. “Why would I put a mirror in the garden?”

“Light, reflection, interest. You’ve probably got more than one up there.”

“Maybe. Let’s go look.”

“Now? I didn’t mean now. I should—”

“Go,” Audrey said. “Between the pizza and the cocktails, I feel an early night coming on. You and Miles run along.”

“He hasn’t finished his drink.”

“Good thing.” Setting it down, he rose. “Because you’ve finished more than one, so I’m driving, and you’re not. I rode with Jake, so this solves how I get home.”

Taking her hand, he tugged her to her feet.