“I... I think it’s worth a shot.”
“Yes!” she said, then cleared her throat, back to business. “So how old were Nicola and Renee when they were in the foster home?”
“I think they were teens. Nicola said she is younger than Renee, but she didn’t say by how much.”
“Teens,” she said. “So you still haven’t found anyone who knew Renee as a child.”
“No.”
“This is getting strange.”
“Not strange enough to mean anything yet.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Renee Bloom is a private citizen.”
Summer didn’t respond. Quentin heard the clacking of a keyboard.
“If we’re going to even mention the idea that April Cooper might be Renee, we need harder proof or else it looks like malicious intent.”
“Duh, Quentin. Please stop mansplaining First Amendment law to me.”
Out of his window, he saw a family leaving the diner, a young woman in jeans, a pink T-shirt, and matching sneakers, holding the hand of a gangly boy in glasses who looked about eight years old.Mother and son.
The clacking stopped. “Brittlebush,” Summer said. “Sounds like a John Waters movie, am I right?”
Quentin forced a laugh.
“Actually, it’s a type of wildflower. The town is near the Arizona border, so it really wouldn’t be that long a drive. And it’s tiny. I don’t think it should be too hard to find out if this woman’s story checks out.”
“Good.”
“Nicola, right? Like the cough drop?”
“That’s Ricola.”
“Whatever. I’ll check it out. I’m assuming there’s no change in Renee Bloom’s condition.”
“Far as I know.” Quentin realized that he hadn’t checked since this morning. Since the shooting, he’d called the same intensive care nurse three times, and the last time, which had been this morning, she’d simply said, “Same,” and hung up on him. Quentin wasn’t making a lot of friends in Tarry Ridge.
“Listen,” Summer said. “I’ve got some news you’re going to like.”
“Yeah?”
“George Pollard has tentatively agreed to an interview.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Wow.”
“His family still doesn’t know, so he’s asking if we can disguise his voice, not reveal his name... I’m fully expecting him to cancel, but I managed to pin him down.”
“When is the interview?”
“Tomorrow at five.”
