“Shiloh’s dead,” she said flatly. “I’ve already told you that.”

So? Was he supposed to care? He hadn’t even known her daughter. “Right. Sorry.”

“I don’t like doing this to my son-in-law,” she said. “Shiloh would never forgive us.”

“If your daughter’s dead, she has no idea what you’re doing, for one. And for another, I’m not even certain Seth would still be considered your son-in-law. They didn’t have any children together, did they? If not, he’s technically no relation.”

“They would’ve had children. They weren’t married long enough, before—” she choked up “—before it happened.”

She was growing maudlin, and he had no time or patience for that. After today, he never planned to talk to her again. “Look, now’s not the time to grow a conscience. Just sit tight. Like I said, this will all be over soon.”

“Grow a conscience?” she echoed.

“You know what I mean.”

She sighed into the phone. “Just let me know the minute you hear from her.”

Another call came in before he could say anything else. He returned the gas nozzle with his left hand while pulling the phone away from his ear with his right so he could see who it was. It was a blocked number. That didn’t necessarily mean it was Tia, but it was a definite possibility.

“This might be her now,” he said, with a surge of excitement, and switched over before Lois Ivey could even respond. “Hello?”

“Mr. Kouretas?”

“Yes?”

“This is Tia Beckett.”

As he’d guessed. He couldn’t help grinning triumphantly as he said, “Am I happy you’ve called!”

“Actually, I don’t think you’ll be very happy when you hear what I have to say.”

He sobered. This wasn’t how he’d imagined it going. “I’m sorry if you’re upset. But what I want won’t take more than a few minutes. It can be that easy. Then you’ll be rid of me for good.”

“Except it won’t be that easy after all.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s too late.”

“For...”

“That picture you want.”

“Maybe you don’t understand. The only way you’re going to get me to drop the charges against Seth Turner is to allow me to take one good photograph. That’s it. Just one.”

“You’d be stupid to continue to press charges against Seth.”

This took him aback. She didn’t sound upset, which was odd. She sounded determined, and that was never a good thing—not in a game of chicken. “Because...”

“There’s no longer anything to be gained. Well, the big prize is gone, anyway. You’ll have to decide if you’re willing to continue to stay in the fight, hoping for a few scraps.”

He began to sweat despite the cold weather. “Scraps? What are you talking about? All I need is a picture,” he reiterated.