“I was so worried that we’d put him in danger by bringing him home, but I couldn’t help but think that his grandparents need him as much as he needs them.”

“Do they know?”

“I asked Miranda King, the private investigator, to call them and tell them that Ricky was alive and healthy and they’d be able to see him soon but not give any details. Just in case Chavez heads out that way.”

“Do you think he will?”

“No. I think after he shot his partner he left. He could easily have crossed the border. But … there’s still a niggle of doubt in my head. Simon was up at his cabin all day drinking. His phone doesn’t show that he made any calls or texts—though he had several missed calls. When did Ynez start following Max? Why? Because Chavez told him to? When? And if Chavez told him to, he’s still around.”

“And Ynez isn’t talking.”

“Not a word.” She yawned. “I’ll be up early in the morning, does Jesse have a soccer game?”

“Not this weekend, but next weekend is the big tournament.”

“Thanksgiving weekend. That’ll be fun. Dillon and Kate will at least be here for Saturday’s games.”

“And Kane and Siobhan. They’ll be here Wednesday and will stay until Monday.”

“No one else. I wish Patrick was coming.”

“So do I.”

Lucy had to put it out of her head. He said he wasn’t, and nothing she could do would change his mind. He would never come without Elle, and it wouldn’t be fair of her to ask him to. “Dillon said next year he wants us out there. That might be the only time I’ll get to see my other brother. He said Jack and Megan already agreed go out to DC, too.”

“That’ll be fun.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I promised Ryan I’d be at Max’s beck and call. I think that’ll go a long way in making him like me again.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I would have seen him before the collision.”

“You’ve been trained that way. And Max is going to run her own investigation the way she sees fit. And she’s good at it.”

“Yeah, but still, I owe Ryan, so I’m going to help. She’s going to be going stir-crazy, and she refuses to take the pain medication. And she’ll want updates, so let me know what I can tell her. And I’ll see if I can find Mitch. He wasn’t difficult to find before.”

“I talked to Jennifer tonight about what we could share. She’ll go on the record with Max, once we get the indictments. Until then, we need to be cautious.”

“She already figured it out, and she knows that you’re using the information she found at the recorder’s office.”