The Influence(103)

“No matter how late,” she told him.

“No matter how late,” he promised.

She kissed him on one cheek, on the other, on the forehead, on the mouth. “Be careful,” she said.





THIRTY TWO




It had been a long time since Ross had seen his Aunt Kate, and she looked older than he remembered. Her body had been cleaned up after the accident for easier identification, but even though she was dead, he could tell that she had aged a lot since he had last seen her. He was reminded that this was his mom’s younger sister, and the thought made him depressed. How much time, he wondered, did his mom have left?

Ross hadn’t wanted to see the body at all, but Lita had insisted. He was family, and she wanted him there, so he did it for her sake. In the back of his mind—and in the back of hers, no doubt—was the idea that her mother’s death was connected to that thing in Magdalena. Lita’s luck had changed, as had so many other people’s, and though he still had no idea how the chrysalis-enveloped body of a monster that had been shot out of the sky could enact such widespread and far-reaching damage, he did not doubt that it was possible.

But why?

Revenge?

That seemed plausible, and he marveled at how far his worldview had shifted, and how quickly and easily he had adjusted.

They were staying in adjoining rooms at a Holiday Inn on the western outskirts of Albuquerque. They’d driven nonstop and had checked in after midnight, grabbing a quick five hours of sleep before going to the hospital. After identifying the body, they headed over to a Denny’s for breakfast, where they sat around the table, drinking coffee and orange juice as Lita tried to decide what sort of funeral her mother should have. As far as she knew, her mom did not have a will, but she didn’t yet feel strong enough to go over to the house and start looking through her mom’s belongings. Lita’s dad had also been notified, but apparently he had not arrived yet, even though he lived in Farmington, which was a good deal closer than Magdalena. Left unspoken was the thought that something might have happened to him, too.

Although they’d traded off, Ross had done most of the driving, and he was still tired. There were things Lita and Dave had to do, and though she wanted Ross along, he convinced them to drop him off at the motel so he could catch up on his sleep. They could pick him up later, after lunch.

Only he couldn’t sleep. He was exhausted, but his mind would not rest, and as hard as he tried, he could not force himself to nod off. So after twenty minutes of lying there with his eyes closed and his brain churning, he got up to phone Jill. He’d made a quick call to her last night while Dave was driving and they were on the road, and he’d promised to let her know this morning what was going on. His cell phone worked fine here in New Mexico, and while he hadn’t checked his messages last night, he did now, and was surprised to see how many were waiting for him. Most were from the various firms offering him work, and he listened to each and every one of them before finally dialing Jill.

She was at her mom’s house, she was fine, and nothing unusual had happened overnight, although this morning she’d tried calling a friend of hers who’d remained in Magdalena and the call had not been able to go through. She’d then dialed the Cochise County sheriff’s department, but when she’d asked if anyone had been sent out to investigate the situation in Magdalena, the dispatcher had become curt, taking down her name and phone number and telling her only that someone would contact her later.

Ross reported that they, too, were all right, if tired from lack of sleep. He told her that they’d identified Lita’s mother’s body, and that Lita and Dave were now trying to track down Lita’s father before settling on funeral arrangements. He paused, cleared his throat. “And I think I’m going to take the job in San Diego.”

“I can go there,” Jill said after waiting a beat.

“Do you—”

“Want to? Yes, I do.”

The emotions that were stirred up within him—relief, gratitude, joy—were all good, and despite the nightmare going on around him, for a few seconds he actually felt happy. Maybe they’d even be able to rent an apartment by the beach while they looked for something more permanent. He’d have to call National Floor Mats first, and bow out of the temp project for which they’d hired him, but he also might be able to find a place for Alex at his new company as a way to pay his friend back.

Then a beep announced that he had a call waiting, a number he didn’t immediately recognize, and he asked Jill to wait a moment while he checked to see what it was.

It was his brother Rick.