“She met with him,” I mumbled. “In Denver.”
And he would know her.
But he didn’t see the woman I saw.
“This is her driver’s license picture from back then,” Byron said, and turned his laptop to me.
It was her.
And I was right, she’d aged well. She certainly hadn’t struggled through life after she left her kids behind. A woman didn’t keep skin like hers unless she ate well, lived well and had regular spa visits.
“That’s her,” I confirmed.
The men exchanged looks.
I started to feel cold.
“Byron’s taking this to the men,” Tex grunted. “You got any other questions before he goes?”
“Wouldn’t they have vetted Knox pretty thoroughly when he started with them?” I asked.
“Mother out of the picture, not in his life, not for a long time, yeah. Probably. But when they didn’t find much, because of that and because Knox didn’t care to find her himself, they probably didn’t look any deeper,” Tex said. “Especially why she left.”
“Battered women, undoubtedly particularly those whose spouses are a criminal element, find new identities,” Byron explained.
“Did you find evidence of a new identity?” I queried.
He shook his head. “And I looked. But just to say, a new identity is put in place for precisely this reason. So no one can find you. I would assume, since Knox certainly told them of his family history, they would assume this was the reason she left no footprint.”
He was making sense, but I didn’t like this.
Something was hinky about it.
She told Knox she had no money and that was why she kept away.
But didn’t new identities cost a lot of money?
She introduced herself to me as Cynthia Chambers.
And if she was so keen to stay away from Knox’s dad, and stayed away because she thought he was a danger to her, would she get even as close as Phoenix to him? Especially if Gypsy was talking to her, and shit was going down with that whole crew. If there was ever a hazardous time to be around a Chambers, it was now.
“He needs to get to the boys, Luna. You got any questions?” Tex prompted.
I shook my head.
Byron slammed his laptop closed.
Tito slid out.
“I’ll get you a dirty chai for the road,” I told Byron.
He nodded.
I hustled behind the bar and got started on his chai.
Raye wandered in while I was doing that.
She felt the vibe immediately and came to me.
