Lucia sat back, eyebrows raised, clearly unwilling to say more.
Reis accepted the stalemate and flicked through his notes again.
"Does your mother have any family on this side of the border?"
"No."
"You're certain, Lucia?"
Lucia narrowed her eyes. "I'm certain."
Her eyes traveled slowly over the three of them, and he moved on. "Do you know where your mother might be?"
They all tensed, and Lucia bit out another no.
"So you don't think she was involved in this?"
Rosa felt her fingers tighten. "She wasn't guilty last time, and you want to drag her into it again?"
She knew Lucia was going to go berserk later, but he sounded just like Frank had, blaming her mother again, out of prejudice or something equally unfounded in any facts.
"Let me ask you then, Rosa," Reis said, leaning forwards again. "Do you believe that the man who went to prison for your father's murder was guilty?"
Rosa held his gaze for a long moment and felt the fog freeze. Whatever she drew out of him next would either solidify it again or shatter it beyond aid.
"That is what we were told. That all the evidence fell pointed at him."
"That isn't really an answer, Rosa," Reis said, his eyes so sharp it felt suddenly as if they were the only two in the room. "Do you, based on your own gut feeling, believe the man was guilty?"
Rosa caught the keyword this time and felt her eyes widen incrementally. "He isn't in prison anymore, is he?"
The question had come out on a whispered breath, into a quiet world, where only she and Agent Reis sat.
"You keep saying was. Is he dead?"
Reis dipped his chin once. "Neatly deduced, Rosa. Yes. He is dead. He was murdered."
Rosa felt the fog that had sheltered her for twelve years shatter and vanish. The world around her crashed back as Cam and Lucia made their disbelief known, and Agent Boone shifted on the ottoman.
"This is not public knowledge yet. Please keep it to yourselves for the time being," she said, her tone making it clear she hadn't expected the revelation either.
"A voiced promise will be acceptable," Reis murmured, his eyes still on Rosa.
They all uttered a verbal promise not to disclose the information. Reis spoke again, going exactly where Rosa had hoped in vain that he wouldn't.
"Do you often visit Turquoise Valley at the break of dawn, Rosa?"
It was then that Rosa realized why he had decided to reveal that the man who had taken the fall for her dad's murder was now dead. He had wanted to throw her off balance so that when he asked this question, she would answer without thought, giving him what he wanted. Beside her, Cam gave a soft gasp, and Lucia twitched in annoyance.
Rosa met his eyes once more, her face calm. "No, but sometimes I have nightmares. Walking there, seeing that it is over, that I lived through it, survived it, helps."
He tilted his head to the side, clearly having expected a different answer. "The man who met you there, Frank Connor, is he a friend too?"
Rosa didn't flinch. "No. He's the town's red-neck ass. He dislikes anyone with Mexican blood, whether they were born here or not."
Reis smiled in a way that made her sure she had been right, that he had spoken to Frank after she and Ian had left. Was that why he'd also come out with a slur against her mother's name?
If it is, he is a pretty terrible FBI agent.
"After you spoke with Frank, another man interrupted and drove you away. Can you tell me who that was?"
Rosa paused a moment but guessed that in a town this small, everyone would be questioned eventually if no leads were found. "That was Pastor Ian Russel, and he gave me a lift home."
"He seems quite young to be the leader of a church."
"He is in his thirties, and he took over after his father died, thirteen years ago," Lucia cut in, her tone indicating that this interview was coming to an end.
Reis raised an eyebrow, "Another death?"
"Old people die. You'll find this happens everywhere." Lucia bit out.
"So it was natural?"
"A heart attack," Cam spoke up for the first time, her eyes gaining fire now that Ian was under attack.
Reis looked over at her and then nodded, but before he could continue on whatever track he was taking, Lucia had spoken.
"Now, unless there is something else pertinent to the body found last Saturday, I'm afraid we really must be getting on with our day."
Reis held her steely glare a moment, then offered them all a tiny smile, concluded the interview, and clicked the recorder off.
"As a formality," he said, turning back as he and agent Boone stepped outside. "We would like you all to stay in town and remain contactable. As the investigation proceeds, we may have more questions for you." His gaze lingered a fraction of a second longer on Rosa than the others before he dipped his chin in farewell and left.
Rosa watched them leave and felt her mind, which had once been the sharpest for miles, kick slowly back into gear after twelve years of disuse. She knew she had secrets she couldn't share, but she also knew that if Reis was the answer to finding her mother and the truth about her father's murder, she would be willing to risk almost everything.
9
Rosa
