Sand Sharks

had talked about almost bumping into Pete Jeffreys at the restroom door. When I asked if anyone else was there, he had said, “Nobody I knew, but—”

It was at that point that the very sexy and very stupid Jenna had returned with our drinks. By the time she got our orders sorted out, the conversation had moved on.

“But”?

How would Fitz have finished that sentence if she hadn’t distracted him?

“But someone else was there”?

Someone he didn’t know but who recognized him?

Someone who realized Fitz hadn’t yet mentioned him and who was afraid that he might if the police questioned everyone again?

Someone who thought he could get rid of the only person who could link him to Jeffreys’s death?

I looked at the illuminated dial of the clock radio on the nightstand. It only confirmed what I knew: that it was much too late to call Detective Edwards. I lay back down and closed my eyes.

Sleep eventually came, but it was filled with restless, uneasy dreams in which the hit-and-run became the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Instead of a red car, Fitz was gored and tossed through the air by a huge red bull to fall broken and trampled on the ground.

It was a relief to wake up before the alarm went off at seven. Before Dwight was awake, too. I apologized for calling so early.

“That’s okay,” he said through a half-muffled yawn. “I need to be up.”

He was sympathetic about Fitz. Even though they’ve never met, he’s heard me mention the Fitzhumes often enough to know how concerned I was. I told him my theory about why Fitz was hit and for once he didn’t suggest that I mind my own business.

“Did you tell Edwards?” he asked.

“Not yet. I only remembered it after midnight when I was already in bed.”

“You’d better call him right away. He might want to put a guard on your friend’s hospital room.”

“He’s not in a room. He’s in intensive care.”

“Good. He should be safe there for the time being.”

“You really think—?”

“Hell, Deb’rah, I don’t know. But if it was me, I’d rather not chance it. Besides, maybe he said something to his wife. Edwards needs to be told. Now.”

He said it so forcefully that immediately after we finished talking, I scrolled through my contact list for Gary Edwards’s number.

It rang four times before a groggy male voice said, “Edwards here.”

Again I found myself apologizing for calling so early, “But I thought you ought to know,” I said and told him what I’d told Dwight.

Sleepy as he was, he immediately connected the dots and thanked me for calling. “And yeah, I’ll put a man on ICU.”

“Any luck in finding the car?” I asked.

“Not yet. We were able to make out a couple of the numbers and we’re running it through our databases. No matches so far.”

We hung up and I hesitated over my next call. I didn’t want to chance waking Martha in case she had been able to sleep, but I was too worried about Fitz to let it go. There was a phone book in the drawer of the nightstand and I found a number for the hospital, dialed it, and asked for intensive care.

The ICU nurse who answered was very pleasant, but very firm that she could not give me any information about Fitz.

“Even if I tell you I’m his niece?”

“Are you his niece?”

“Yes,” I lied.

She clearly didn’t believe me, but she must have heard the worry in my voice because she kindly told me that there was no change in his condition.

“No change is good, right?” I said. “Means he’s not deteriorating?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Even if you are his niece, you’ll have to speak to his doctor about that.”

Click.

That’s okay, I thought, as I showered and dressed. No change means no change for the worse. I’d take that as a positive sign.

Downstairs, a breakfast buffet of sweet rolls and fresh fruit had been set up for us in the large lobby outside the main halls. In normal times the place buzzes with cheerful talk, bursts of laughter, and lots of politicking and logrolling. In normal times sunlight shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows that line the east side of that wide corridor. Today the mood was as glum as the weather.

The light clouds that raced across the moon last night had stalled and thickened into dark gray. There had been thunder and lightning before dawn, and now the rain had settled in as if it meant to keep falling for forty days and forty nights.