A noise drew her back to the present, where the sun was rising, and no loved ones were being found murdered. She spun on her heel and found the caretaker for the course watching her with narrowed eyes.
"You got business here, Ms. Kay?" he asked, leering at her.
Frank Connor. The man who toted his national pride around like a cudgel, always believing that the border should be an impenetrable wall. He openly disdained her for her dark hair and skin.
"I can't see how my life is any of your business, Frank," she said, turning away.
"No? I say it's strange that you're turning up at this crime scene when your mother was suspected for the last one. You following in her footsteps, hey?"
Rosa felt all her muscles lock and a burning heat rise through her, part anger, part searing pain.
"That's enough out of you," came a new voice. "If you can't keep a civil tongue in your head, Mr. Connor, you can move along."
Rosa looked up to see Pastor Ian striding towards them. He gave Rosa a small smile then turned a steely glare on Frank.
Muttering profanities, Frank left, his scrawny limbs all moving in the same jerky fashion that always put her in mind of a strutting cockerel.
"Thanks."
Ian turned his eyes on her. "I saw you from the window there," he said, pointing at a house used for immigrants. "Got a couple this morning. So I was settling them in."
She nodded again and turned away, seeing his eyes glancing over her pajamas and slippered feet.
"I can give you a ride if you want," he offered.
Rosa took a breath, working hard to keep her eyes seeing the world around them and not the last memories she had of her mother and father. They had been arguing too soft for their words to be understood, but their faces made it clear that they were both angry and fearful in equal measure.
"Sure."
They walked slowly back to his car, and he paused in the act of opening the door for her. Rosa followed his gaze vaguely, still fighting off her demons. Reality crashed back solidly, turning the past back into ashes. She took in a sharp breath through her teeth, pulled the door open herself, and got hastily into the car.
"You know him?" Pastor Ian asked once they were both in the car, and he had started the engine.
"He came to the house yesterday. I was alone, so I didn't let him in."
Ian's brows creased. "Who is he?"
"An FBI agent. Something Reis."
Pastor Ian fell into the deep silence that Rosa had always associated with careful thought and did not interrupt. She didn't know why Agent Reis had been in town so early, but she had little doubt that it would likely come up when he came around today. She stifled a groan. After she had told Lucia about the FBI's appearance, she had been ordered, along with Cam, not to leave the house. Lucia told them to answer their questions as succinctly as possible and even then only if addressed directly.
"You look slightly ill," Ian said, casting her a sideways glance as he pulled into her street.
"I'm fine. I just know Lucia's going to skin me."
Her words were made a reality as he pulled up to the curb, and the front door opened, revealing a fuming Lucia, already fully dressed despite the early hour.
Ian chuckled. "Lucia's always been a bit of a firebrand." He looked at Rosa again and sobered. "If you need help dealing with that agent, you girls just give me a call, okay? I'd be happy to come over."
Rosa met his kind eyes briefly and nodded. "Thank you. I'll bear that in mind if I am still alive ten minutes from now."
He chuckled again, bid her farewell, and Rosa got out of the car.
She passed Lucia, who waved to Ian and then slammed the door shut.
"Where were you?"
"I had another nightmare," Rosa told the mat at her feet. "The ones that don't go away when I wake."
Lucia cursed, then sent up a prayer for patience. "You went to Turquoise Valley?"
Rosa nodded, and her sister muttered another profanity in Spanish.
"Okay. Did anyone other than Pastor Ian see you?"
Rosa winced. She had hoped that they would skip over this part. "Frank Connor arrived while I was there."
Lucia made a noise in her throat then waved Rosa away. "Go clean yourself up. We don't know how early those FBI people will be here, and I have to go out. Take a shower and watch over Camelia. She's still asleep."
Rosa felt alarm rise in her throat. "Out? What if they arrive while you are gone?"
"It is the crack of dawn, Rosa. I'm surprised that bum Frank was even awake. I'll be back before six. I just have a delivery to make."
Rosa watched her eldest sister leave and was beset by the same fear as always. Something about Lucia always made her think of her mother. On days like today, when the past was just hovering on the edges, she became fearful that, like their mother, Lucia might one day vanish into the air.
An hour later Rosa was dressed and had begun making breakfast for Camelia, who she could hear moving around upstairs. Her cell rang and she saw it was
