Quinn bowed her head and waited on her son to start.
“Grace.” JJ giggled and opened his eyes, earning a smile from Reid. The boy was definitely a jokester.
“You’re so silly.” Quinn winked at JJ.
“What about Mr. Reid?” JJ turned to him. “You say grace. But not like I did.”
Reid’s throat went dry, and his hands turned clammy. “Um.”
“I’ll say it.” Quinn saved him. Then, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. JJ followed suit.
He studied her profile. The bruise, dark and gruesome yesterday, seemed like it might be slightly better today.
“Thank You, Lord, for this day. Thank You for Your continued protection. Thank You for sending Reid to us. Lead us and guide us and bless this food. Amen.”
JJ echoed her amen.
Quinn looked at JJ and smiled before taking a bite of her food.
Reid and Quinn ate in silence because JJ was extra chatty, talking about what he’d seen around the cabin, and then, he moved on to talk about superheroes. Quinn had to interrupt him a couple of times to remind him not to talk with food in his mouth. When they finished eating, Quinn took JJ for a bath while Reid set up his new phone.
Once the phone was working, he called his old number and changed the voice mail message to include his new number.
“Momma, can we watch TV?” JJ brought out a DVD and gave it to his mother.
“Just one episode. Then, it’s off to bed.” She started the DVD and joined Reid at the table. “I thought I’d search for news stories from the time Joe and I…” She took a deep breath. “When we were together. Maybe, Victoria was right. Maybe, whatever Joe was working on back then has come back to haunt us.”
“That’s a good idea. Now that the phone is set up, I can look, too. When were you and Joe together?” He knew the year, but knowing the month would narrow his search tremendously.
“We started dating in April, and he left in June.”
A flash of the television screen caught his eye. “Is that a dancing vegetable?”
Quinn laughed. “Yes, it is.”
“I’m not going to ask.” He shook his head and went back to searching. A few articles came up but nothing helpful. “I’m not finding much. Looks like a new mayor, some really bad car wrecks, and a bank robbery.”
“The local newspaper may keep their old articles archived online. Thanks to feeling bad for the local paperboy, I get the daily paper, complete with online access.”
He continued looking but kept coming back to the same articles. He put the phone down and rubbed his burning eyes. “Any luck?”
“Nope. Same as you. Wrecks, drugs, and bank robberies.”
“How many banks are there in town?” Were the robbers clearing out the town?
“Two or three, but these weren’t in our town. One was two cities east in March, and the other two cities west in July.”
It couldn’t be a coincidence. The article he’d read was for a bank here in town in May. Three robberies in close proximity every other month. “Was anyone arrested for the robberies?”
She shook her head. “Not that I’ve found.”
Would the robberies spread out more? His phone vibrated in his hand before the default ringtone sounded. Caller ID showedPrivate. “This is Reid.”
“Reid Lucas?” The voice on the line was the same from his voice mail.
“Yes.”
“Joe Lockhart said if anything happened to him, I should call.”
