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They were getting close to cracking the Upgarde case; she could feel it, and it made it hard to sit idling, the first car at a light. As the signal turned, she was about to step on the gas when a young businessman, carrying a computer case, his coat billowing behind him, flew in front of her car, racing to reach the opposite curb. The car beside her started, then hit the brakes and banged on his horn, while Settler’s heart beat a little faster.
“Guess he’s late for a meeting,” Martinez drawled.
“Could’ve been way late.”
* * *
“Remmi?” Aunt Vera said from the other side of the screen door. She seemed about to faint at the sight of her niece on the doorstep of the same cottage where Remmi had spent most of her less-than-happy high school years. The house was now a gun-metal gray that matched the morning sky. Though the loose board Remmi remembered on the step had been fixed, the yard was still untended, a crow picking through the tufts of grass, dry leaves, and dozens of walnuts still in their oversized green skins.
Even through the battered screen, Remmi saw that Vera, like the house, had aged. Her dishwater-blond hair was now turning gray, her eyelids sagged a little, a few more wrinkles had formed around her mouth, and her waist was a bit thicker than it had been. In jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, she forced a smile. “What a surprise!” she said, reaching for the delicate chain of gold with its tiny cross that still dangled from her neck.
Remmi didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “I want to talk to you about the book.”
Her gaze moved from Remmi to Noah. “The book?” she said, as if she didn’t know what they were talking about.
“About Mom. I’m Not Me.”
She visibly started, then inhaled slowly as if trying to pull herself together. “Didi,” Vera said flatly. “Always Didi.”
“This is Noah Scott,” Remmi introduced.
Vera’s body stiffened. Obviously, she knew the name.
The sound of a truck’s engine cut through the morning air, and Vera looked up sharply as a small tow truck wheeled into the driveway, startling the crow. Cawing loudly, it flapped wildly to perch on a branch in the walnut tree.
Jensen Gibbs cut the engine and, after throwing open the door, hopped down from the cab. He, too, was heavier than she remembered, his blond hair thinning, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth.
He spied Remmi and he grinned. “Holy sh—,” he started but caught a warning glance from his mother behind the door. “Remmi? Criminy, I never thought I’d see you again.” He actually broke into a smile as he tossed his cigarette into the grass, stomped on it, then strode up the cracked cement of the walkway. “What is this? Some kind of freakin’ family reunion or something?”
“Watch your mouth,” his mother warned.
“I said ‘freakin.’ Holy crap, girl, what’re you doing here?” He actually appeared glad to see her.
“I wanted to talk to Vera. About the book.”
“The one about your mom?” he asked, bounding up the steps. “I read it. It was pretty good.”
“You read it?”
“Hell, yeah. I wanted to find out all about that ‘mysterious’ aunt who disappeared.” Smelling of smoke, he actually gave Remmi a hug when he reached the front porch, then stuck his hand out to Noah. “Jensen Gibbs.”
Noah introduced himself, and Jensen’s eyes narrowed. “You were in the book, too. Well, come on in. Ma, watcha doin’ standin’ in the doorway?”
“I was going out to church.”
“When you’re supposed to be watchin’ Monty? No way.” He strode inside and held the screen door open for them to pass.
Reluctantly, Vera backed up a step.
Jensen explained. “Monty’s my son.”
“You have a kid?” Remmi was surprised.
“Sure do. Didn’t you tell them?” he asked his mother as Remmi and Noah followed him into the living room, with Vera bringing up the rear. The same worn furniture and pictures of Jesus were in place, just as Remmi remembered, though now, along with pictures of Jesus on the mantel, there were several photos of a smiling, bald baby. An overflowing basket of toys sat near the recliner facing the television. “Where’s Monty?” Jensen asked his mother. “Napping?” Before she could answer, Jensen waved Remmi down the hall.
“Don’t you dare wake him!” Vera hisse
d. “He was fussy, just went down.” She hurried after Remmi and her son down the hallway.
