I told her it wasn’t so.

Maybe twenty minutes later, I was naked under the sheets, about to switch off the bedside lamp, when I noticed the flashing light on my answering machine.

I wanted to let it go, but instead I pressed the Play button, knowing that if I didn’t, my sleep would be colored by that damned thing blinking next to my head all night.

“Lindsay, it’s me,” said Joe’s recorded voice. I sighed, calling his face to mind, hearing his disappointment, sensing that mine was only nanoseconds away.

“Honey, I’m sorry. It’s bad news. I caught an earlier flight. I was going to get in early and surprise you, but there was a major flap at the airport, and the runways were closed down for a couple of hours.

“We got detoured, Linds, and now I’ve been reassigned. I’m on a plane to Hong Kong.”

I heard the voice of the pilot in the background telling the passengers to turn off their electronic equipment.

Joe’s voice came back.

“I’ll call you as soon as the wheels touch down. We’ll make a new plan. A bigger one. A better one. Hang with me, Lindsay. I love you.”

There was a click, and then the dial tone cut in.

I pressed Rewind, listened to the message once more, listened to Joe’s voice. The flap at the airport—it would be funny if it wasn’t so damned sad—was me arresting Garza.

Chapter 137

Chapter 137

CLAIRE, CINDY, AND I were at Bix that Saturday night, an outrageously wonderful restaurant hidden away on Gold Street, known for its fantastic food and also Art Deco trappings calling to mind the glory days of speakeasies and the glamorous steamships of the thirties and forties. We were draped around the booth we love best on the mezzanine, with its view of the action at the mahogany bar on the floor below.

I’d shut off my cell phone and was drinking a perfect martini. Twenty hours after the arrests of Garza and O’Mara, I was still tired to the bone.

And I was worried about Yuki, who should have been here a half hour ago.

I was leaning against Claire’s shoulder, and she was kidding me.

“How long since you had some vitamin L, girlfriend?”

“I don’t remember. So that must mean it’s been way too long.”

“When’s that man of yours coming to throw you onto the bed?”

I laughed. “We’ve made an unbreakable date for this coming weekend. Nothing short of a terrorist attack can stop us. Are you clairvoyant, Butterfly?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” said Claire. “But I can’t read your mind on what happened with Dr. Garza. We both want to know. Please don’t make us wait for Yuki.”

I saw that I wasn’t going to get out of this.