Mackenzie looked at Eliza. She had her arms crossed and her gaze was a thousand miles away.
She nudged her with her foot. Eliza looked up.
“Please?” Mackenzie mouthed.
“I’d be happy to talk to her,” Eliza said. “Thanks for your help, Mike.”
“No problem. I’ll send her number over and give her a heads up.”
Mackenzie let out a sigh. Mom met her eyes, shaking her head.
“Thanks, Mike! And Margie!” Granny said, waving at the phone. “Toodles! We’ll be in touch.”
“Toodles,” Mackenzie repeated with a smile.
Eliza turned to her. “I’ll be the one talking to this agent, okay?”
Mackenzie put her hands up. “Sure! As long as you tell her about the tassel in Joey’s plane.”
She sat, staring at the table. “I will.”
“Good,” Mackenzie said.
Mom nodded. “We’ll figure this out. Try not to panic.”
“We will.” Granny stood, a smile on her lips. “I think a nice cup of tea always puts things in perspective. Chamomile, anyone?”
Twenty-six
The storm wiped all the stars from the night sky, leaving an opaque, dusty black. Whenever Eliza caught a blip of light behind a cloud, it disappeared as soon as her eyes focused.
She turned from the window and slipped into bed, her eyelids heavy. After a cup of chamomile from Granny, she’d done as they wanted and called Mike’s FBI friend. Her name was Ramona and she’d agreed to meet the next morning in Seattle.
Eliza booked the flight and excused herself, hoping for just a few moments alone to absorb what had happened.
Talking to the FBI seemed drastic, but then all of it felt drastic – the bag full of money, Stacy showing up, Granny chasing Stacy off.
Worst of all, the look on Joey’s face when she’d told him how she felt.
She couldn’t tell anyone about that, about how his face hardened when she told him what she knew and what she believed. She didn’t care if he was the robber. It hadn’t come out right, but it was true. No matter what, he was going to leave. That was what she cared about. That was what bothered her the most.
Telling Mackenzie or Granny or Mom about it was impossible. How his face twisted when he backed away from her. How he walked into the storm rather than face her...
In her dreams that night, she ran after him, his dark form disappearing into the rain. A dream lawyer appeared at her door with a message – a box of chocolates and a note. “My client thanks you for your interest.”
She woke with a start, her hair soaked and cold.
Eliza got out of bed quietly, peeling off her pajamas before stepping into the shower. She stood under the hot water until her skin turned pink.
Her flight was before sunrise. The strangest part wasn’t sneaking out before everyone awoke; it was looking at the pilot’s face and not seeing Joey – not his hair, not his nose, not the grin that reached his eyes.
She met with Agent Ramona at a coffee shop. She had round brown eyes, creased at the sides, and purple bags underneath.
She listened to Eliza’s story from the beginning, only looking away to write down a line or two.
“My sister is confident Stacy is involved, but I don’t know what to think. I just know I wasn’t involved and someone’s trying to make it look like I am.”
Ramona frowned, her sky eyes scanning her notes. “I looked into Stacy. Did you know she used to work for the DEA?”
