Turning back, Auggie said, “Deja’s shooting. Could it have been connected to all this?”
Somerset hesitated. Then he said, “I don’t see how. Unofficially—and I’ll deny I ever said this—there’s absolutely no doubt about what happened. Deja was running. Eddie Barth told her to stop. She had earbuds in, music blasting, and her hood up. She didn’t hear him. Eddie thought she had a weapon. If you believe Eddie, he told her to stop again. He believed his life was in imminent danger. He shot her.”
“He could have been paid to kill her,” Auggie said. “Maybe someone wanted her dead.”
The distance in Somerset’s gaze was greater now. “We’ll keep an open mind.”
14
“Let’s get you home,” Theo said. “You really don’t look good.”
It was late afternoon, close to sunset, and the light had turned reddish gold. It was the only thing putting color in Auggie’s face. A patrol car passed them, heading halfway up the block to turn into the police-only lot. Across the street, a brick strip mall held, among other things, a small café, a Family Video, and a bail bondsman. The door to the Family Video swung open, a bell jingled, and a woman emerged, holding the hand of a child who couldn’t have been more than four years old. The little boy was screaming at the top of his lungs about a Bubble Guppies DVD.
“I’m fine.” Auggie was still pressing one hand to his temple. “I think we need to figure this out.”
“Figure what out?”
“I—”
“There’s nothing to figure out, Auggie. This is it. We hit the end. Anything else and we’re asking them to put Lender on our trail.”
“I—”
“And even if we wanted to,” Theo said, waving one arm, “what could we do? We’ve got nothing. We’ve got a bunch of things that don’t go anywhere. We’ve got a dozen different pieces of the puzzle that don’t fit together. Hell, they might even be from different puzzles.”
“I—”
“And I know you might be in danger. I know this is a big deal. I’m probably more afraid than you are. But we keep running into walls, and there’s nowhere left for us to go.”
“I really think I need to sit down,” Auggie said, swaying.
“Oh my God.” Theo took his arm. “How about—” Theo pointed at the café. Auggie nodded. They crossed the street. It was only two lanes of blacktop without any cars coming in either direction, but Theo still kept a tight grip on Auggie’s arm. In spite of the cold, sweat glistened at Auggie’s hairline. His face was waxy. They had barely made it to the curb when Auggie bent his knees and was sick.
Theo held him by the shoulders, bracing him until it was over.
“My shoes,” Auggie whispered.
“Your shoes are fine. Come on, let’s get inside so you can sit down.”
The café smelled like freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon. A chalkboard menu listed the day’s specials, which included a peanut-butter-and-onion sandwich, a tuna sandwich with crushed potato chips, and a cranberry-almond salad. Acoustic pop played over a pair of speakers set near a small stage. There was no one behind the counter.
Theo helped Auggie to a chair, touched the back of his hand Auggie’s forehead, and said, “Did you bring your medicine?”
Auggie shook his head.
Theo made his way to the counter, spotted the bell, and rang it a few times. A girl with a crazy map of freckles and her hair in finger coils emerged from the batwing doors at the back of the room. Her smile faltered when she saw Theo’s face.
“May I help you?”
“Would you call an ambulance?”
“No,” Auggie protested from where he was sitting. “I’m fine. Theo, stop.”
The girl patted her dark curls, her gaze moving from Theo to Auggie and back to Theo.
“Really,” Auggie said. “It’s just a headache. I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
“I’ve got Midol,” the girl said.
After a moment, Theo nodded, and the girl went back through the batwing doors. When she returned, she was carrying two pills, which she handed to Theo with another attempt at a smile.
“Two coffees,” Theo said. “And water, and . . . maybe that brownie over there.”
The girl rang up the food and drink, and Theo paid. He carried everything back the table were Auggie was sitting with his head in his hands. Auggie’s leg was bouncing rapidly, and his fingertips were white where he was clutching his head.
“You at least have to take these pills,” Theo said. “Or we’re going to the hospital.”
Auggie took the pills with some of the water.
“And now I’m realizing you haven’t eaten today.” Theo resisted the urge to swear. “I know you probably don’t feel like it, but you should try to get a little something in your stomach. Do you want to try the coffee or the brownie?”
Auggie’s knee bounced faster.
“I know you feel sick, but either you eat something, or we go to the hospital.”
“The brownie.”
Auggie barely managed three bites before he pushed the dessert away. Then he held his head in his hands again, his knee still bouncing like crazy. A little less than a quarter of an hour later, though, his leg stopped bouncing. His head came up. He finished the brownie, chasing it with a few swallows of coffee.
“Sandwich?”
Auggie nodded. Then, with a washed-out smile, he said, “Not the peanut-butter-and-onion, unless you’re trying to punish me.”
Theo ordered two of the tuna sandwiches, which came on croissants, and which were accompanied by kettle-cooked potato chips. By the time they’d finished eating, some of the color had come back into Auggie’s face.
“Thanks,” Auggie said.
Theo shrugged. “Headaches are tricky, and concussions only make things more complicated, but no food or drink will always make them worse.”
Auggie stirred his coffee. He spoke without looking up, but his voice was firm. “What’s the most likely reason someone took a shot at Nia? You told Detective Somerset several possible reasons, but I want to know what you think is the real one.”
“I don’t know about real, but the most likely is that she knew something.”
Auggie nodded. “That’s what I think too.”
“But that doesn’t mean—”
“It means I’m still a target, and so are you Theo. I’m not trying to be stubborn. I wish I could say I was doing this to help Orlando. I wish I could say I was doing it because I cared about justice, or because it was the right thing. But I think we have to keep going, or whoever did this is going to come after us.”
Theo worked his jaw. His throat was dry. “I won’t let anything happen to you again.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” Auggie offered a tiny, wry smile. “Let’s go back to the beginning. Why would someone kill Cal Reese?”