“You’d be willing to give up your car.”
She nodded. “The only thing that bothers me is that I’d be putting someone else into danger, impersonating me.” She hesitated. “Maybe it’s not a good idea after all.”
Colin held up his other hand, stopping her. “Let me call Kyle,” he said. “We have people who know how to protect themselves.”
Maren let her breath out in a relieved sigh. “Yes, thank you.”
And who says watching TV rots your brain?
Colin gave her hand one last squeeze, then stood and pulled out his phone. He walked to the edge of the garden, far enough from the house that the girls wouldn’t overhear, Maren realized. She watched his shoulders, the way he held himself—tense, but listening.
He walked back to the table and sat down across from her. “Kyle and Gina are on their way. But they want to hear it from you,” he told her.
Maren’s stomach flipped. “Really?”
“Really. Kyle said—and I’m quoting here—’If Maren Walsh has an operational idea, I want to hear it before I tell her why it won’t work.’”
“That’s not very encouraging.”
Colin’s mouth twitched. “That’s Kyle taking you seriously.”
They went inside to wait. Arden and Ellie were making snacks for the girls. Colin briefed Mac, who nodded at Maren. “Beauty plan,” he said.
“You think so?”
“I do. I think the boss will, too.”
Kyle’s truck pulled up a few minutes later. Maren watched Gina get out first, Fleur at her heels. Kyle followed, his face expressionless. Arden went to Kyle immediately. He touched her lower back, a quiet, automatic reassurance. Then they went straight to the garden table—Maren, Colin, Kyle, Gina—who actually sat for once—and Mac. Fleur settled at Gina’s feet, watchful.
Kyle turned his attention to Maren. “Colin says you have an idea.”
Maren’s mouth went dry.
It had sounded better when it was just her and Colin and the flowers and the distant sound of Juni laughing. Now, with Kyle and Gina sitting in front of her, it sounded like something an exhausted medical coder from San Diego had pulled out of three seasons of true crime and a half-remembered episode of a network procedural.
Which was exactly what it was.
“Yes.” She folded her hands on the table before she could twist them together. “Maybe a bad one.”
Gina’s mouth curved faintly. “Let’s hear it.”
Maren explained her plan. “I think Iowa works as a believable destination,” she told them. “But if you think there’s a better one, then you can take my car anywhere, I don’t care. Just so long as it keeps everyone here—all of you—safe.”
When she finished, she waited.
Kyle looked at Gina. Gina looked at the table for a long moment, then back at Maren.
“It’s smart,” Gina said.
Maren’s breath caught. “Really?”
“Yes. It’s civilian logic. That’s what makes it smart.”
“Civilian logic?”
“IfIbuilt a false trail, someone like me might recognize the fingerprints.” Gina folded her arms. “But you, Maren, built one out of normal panic behavior.”
Maren half-laughed. “Well, I certainly was panicked.”
