Sofia took the opportunity to look around the diner once more. A quartet of soldiers came in from the cold, snapping their hats against their thighs before heading off to the counter. As they passed her, she waited to see if they were army or local militia. One of the younger ones smiled at her, shaking his head before moving on to get a drink.

She was becoming worried that this was taking too long. That a police cruiser would pull up in the next minute or so and the officers who had come to collect her at the apartment would find her here, obviously preparing to run away. If they found her, they’d make certain that she didn’t get another opportunity for a long time. Oh, they’d say they were doing it in her interests, but they didn’t truly know what her interests were.

‘Fort Hood? That’s an unusual place for a young lady to be lighting out to on a night like this,’ said French. ‘Especially a young lady like you.’

She gave Sofia a look that contained a long, unspoken reproach for her foolishness. ‘You’re Mexican, aren’t you? I mean, originally. I can tell from your accent you moved around a little. I guess we all have the last couple of years. My dad was part Mexican himself, served in the army. He’s dead now.’

‘The Wave?’

Cindy shook her head. ‘No, he died long before that. My mother broke his heart. She could be a real bitch. Now the Wave, it did get her. Surprised it didn’t spit the old dragon right back out. Anyway, come summertime, I park the rig on the beach for a week and pick up some sun. I get dark pretty quick, like you. That’s thanks to the old man. Or rather, his mama.’

Sofia nodded and took another piece of chicken. She was much happier talking about their past than providing details of her plans for the future. She even relaxed for the first time as she took up her own greasy fork to scoop up some of the mash.

‘I was young when we left Mexico,’ Sofia said. ‘My father . . .’ Her voice caught for a second before she forced herself to move on. ‘Papa got us onto a boat leaving Acapulco. Just before all the really bad riots and the killing started. The boat took us to Australia and we worked on the big farms there. For the government. It was not so bad. The work was no harder than we had known at home, and the camp where we lived was very good. Nuns came to teach us. We came to America to settle.’