“And you don’t think it’s suspicious that the cameras inside the laundry room weren’t working?” Lyla looked to Kekoa. “Right?”
“They were working, but the angle is blocked so you can’t see anything.”
“See?” Lyla said. “I’m not a conspiracy person, but that seems suspicious to me. Especially with everything we’re learning.”
“I’m not disagreeing, but we have to approach this without prejudice to make sure we’re not forming this investigation into what we want it to be.” He waited for Lyla’s argument, but she simply exhaled and nodded. Nic didn’t want to focus too hard on her assent in case she was just trying to come up with an argument she could win. He turned to Kekoa. “Can we contact the editor for theLondon Telegraphand get R.D.’s contact information?”
“We’d never get it,” Kekoa said. “The media protects their journalists, especially the ones whose stories drive attention. Articles by R.D. Leto are very popular.”
“I have an idea.” Lyla straightened. “What about Mason? He’s a journalist in New York. I’m sure he has connections that might help us find R.D. Leto. Or at least he might be able to get a message to Leto’s publisher that could get us into contact with him. What do you think, Nicolás?”
Nic turned to Lyla. She was waiting with hesitation lingering in the depths of her blue-green gaze like she was afraid of his answer. He frowned. “What doIthink?”
“Yes.” The timidity in her answer was unusual. “Do you think reaching out to Mason for help is a good idea? I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”
Nic hesitated, which had nothing to do with the assignment but everything to do with the prospect of Lyla turning to Mason for help. Kekoa cleared his throat and Nic blinked. “I think he’s the right choice.”
“I won’t tell him anything he doesn’t need to know.” She picked up her cell phone from the table. “And I trust him to keep everything confidential.”
“I trust you.” Nic saw a flicker of something turn the edges of her lips upward. She stepped away to make the call.
“Brah, you don’t got to worry about that high maka maka braddah. You know Lyla isn’t into that.”
Nic stared at Kekoa. “Brother, I have no idea what you just said.”
“Lyla doesn’t like Mason.” Kekoa spoke without a single hint of his island accent. “She’s not into men from uppity families, so you do not have to worry.”
“I’m not worried.” Nic folded his arms but couldn’t resist looking over to where Lyla was talking on the cell phone—smiling. Even in the middle of all the stress and fear, her smile always showed off her confidence. The self-assurance and poise that defined her character was even more radiant than her beauty.
Nic didn’t know if she realized that sharing the small glimpses into her childhood with him had revealed a seesaw of insecurity, but it was becoming clear that Lyla’s personality was defined by the faith others had in her. And he’d been robbing her of that every single time he questioned or doubted her.
Maybe this was the nudge he needed to solidify his decision. Leaving SNAP might not be what he wanted, but if it allowed Lyla to thrive and smile...he’d do it.
“Brahhh,” Kekoa whispered. “You’ve got it bad.”
Nic swiveled in his chair. “Brah, you need to stick—” He frowned. What was that? “Um, I think there’s an alarm going off in your office.”
Kekoa shot out of his chair, sending it rolling backward, and jogged to his office. Nic righted the chair and caught Lyla watching him. He shrugged, then followed Kekoa.
“What’s going on?” Lyla came up behind Nic.
“I don’t know.”
They watched Kekoa quickly tapping on his keyboard, humming the theme song toMission: Impossible.
“Gotcha!” Kekoa leaned back in his chair and flexed his fingers. “Genevieve’s cell phone came back online, and I have a location.”
“You do?” Lyla pushed in closer and put her hand on Nic’s back. He sucked in a breath at the totally innocent touch. “Where?”
“Falls Church.” Kekoa frowned. “Maybe near her home ... maybe not.”
“What does that mean?” Nic leaned over Kekoa’s shoulder to look at the map on the screen where a little dot was highlighted. “You have the address, don’t you?”
“I have a location.” Kekoa tapped the screen. “It’s near her home address, so she’s probably there. But this doesn’t give me an exact location. She could be in her car. In her backyard. Borrowing sugar from her neighbor.” Lyla gave Kekoa a playful punch in the arm. “All I’m saying is that right now, she’s there, and if you want to talk to her before she shuts off her phone, you need to go right now.”
19
As Lyla and Nicolás drove to Genevieve’s home in Falls Church, Lyla prayed Jerry’s sister was all right. Kekoa would let them know of any movement or if she turned off the phone.
