* * *
Andrea looked up and smiled at them. “Martina’s in the back. She said you can go right in,” she told Owen. She looked more closely at him, then at her brother. “What’s wrong?”
Owen nodded to her. She should be told, but he wanted to talk to Martina first. He made eye contact with Aaron, who gave him a small shrug.
“Go ahead,” Aaron said. “I’ll talk to my sister.”
Owen punched him lightly in the shoulder as he passed. Whatever else he might be, Owen decided Aaron was also a good kid, doing the best he could in a world he probably didn’t understand any better than Owen did.
Owen entered the work area. Martina sat in front of a computer, facing away from him. He looked over her shoulder. She was working on a brochure, using Adobe Photoshop for the graphics. She twisted her head around and smiled wryly at him.
“Just a sec,” she said. “Almost done . . .” She hit a few more keys, then saved her files. “Okay. Good enough for now, anyway.” She spun her chair around. “Sit, sit, drink coffee. Then tell me what happened after you ditched me last night. When I saw you were gone, I wanted to kill you.”
Owen poured himself a cup and refilled hers when she imperiously shoved it out at him. “What’d you do?”
“I went home and fed your dog. I think he likes me. You were going to follow Andrea, and the kid’s car was gone, so I thought they must have gone out together. Or maybe she took his car, but I wasn’t going to sit around all night when I didn’t even know if the apartment was empty.”
Owen couldn’t make himself track what she was saying. She looked worried. “Owen? Hey, I didn’t screw up, did I? Should I have waited?”
“No. There’s something else.” He walked to the door, closed it, and returned to sit facing her. “You’re probably not going to believe all this. But I think you should hear it anyway.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’m ready. Give.”
He told her the whole story. He hesitated before telling her what had happened beside the pier, and again when he came to the police and Shawna’s death, but pushed through to the end. He closed his eyes for most of it. When he finished, he opened them again.
She watched him quietly. “Owen . . .”
“I know. I sound like somebody who should be locked up for his own good. And everybody else’s. I sound that way to me, too, but I can’t convince myself it didn’t happen.”
She blinked and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “No. You sound to me like somebody who’s been through a lot since last night. I’m sorry about Shawna.” She stood up quickly. “Andrea’s in the front, with her brother—Aaron, right?—so we can all talk about this.”
Owen nodded. She paused by the door, looking back at him. “Okay. With three of you telling me the same story, Owen, I’m not going to say you’re all crazy. I don’t think you are, anyway. But I do want to see this for myself sometime.” She reached for the doorknob. “Ready to bring them in?”
Owen shrugged. “Sure. But I can’t stay long.”
“Then neither can I. From now on we’re sticking together.” She gave him a warning look. “Don’t argue with me.” She opened the door. “Andrea? Aaron? Can you guys come back here?”
They walked in. Andrea gave Owen a sympathetic look, and Aaron was uncharacteristically solemn. Owen took in the little group and sighed. “Guys? We need to talk, because I think we all know pieces of what’s been going on. But this isn’t a good place for it. The FBI is going to be looking for me, and for all I know all of us. They’re pretty certain to come by here sooner or later, anyway. Anybody know of a good place to hide?”
Aaron blinked. “FBI? But we just walked past those guys. And weren’t they in your room?”
“Those were local cops in the room. It’s a long story, and this isn’t the time or place for it. We need to leave.”
Aaron nodded, looking pleased. Owen raised his eyebrows. He had a feeling the kid liked the idea of hiding from the FBI. Aaron gave him a little grin. Owen surprised himself by grinning back at him.
Andrea spoke up. “I know a place. It’s where Shawna was hiding.” Aaron looked surprised. He glanced at Martina, then shrugged. What was that about? Had they discussed involving Martina before this?
“All right,” Martina said. “Four of us. We can fit in my car. Owen, don’t say anything, we’ll stop by and get Shadow on the way even if it gets a little crowded. Andrea, will you ride up front and give directions?”
“Of course. But it’s easy. We will need a boat, and we have one waiting at the Port Aransas Marina, so all we need to do is take the ferry. Or drive there from Padre Island.”
Martina nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s go. Andrea, you should still probably sit up front. Or Aaron. Owen, you can kind of slump in the back.”
Slumping was the least of their problems. “Sure. But first, can you put a sign in the window saying you’ll be back in an hour or two? And let’s leave my rental car somewhere farther away. It might help if it’s not immediately obvious we’re together.” He turned to Andrea. “Where are we going in the boat, anyway?”
“You almost found out on Sunday,” she said. “We only missed you by an hour or so.”
***
Shiver on the Sky Page 36
