Jeremy woke up somewhere around the exit to Lee, almost to the Massachusetts–New York line.

“What do you think happened to that Calder guy?” he asked. “Who killed him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe it was that woman he’d kidnapped.”

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“Maybe Kiln?”

“Possibly,” I said. “Right now, I’m happy to let the East Sandwich police figure it out.”

About a mile later, he said, “I’m kinda glad to be going home.”

“I can’t take you straight there,” I told him.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s like I told you last night, we’re going to fly under the radar for a few more hours.”

“Radio silence, under the radar. Where do you get these phrases?”

“I watch a lot of movies,” I said. “Let me put it another way. We keep our mouths shut. I don’t want anyone to know we’re back in town, that we’re alive.”

“What, like, including my mom?”

“Everyone,” I said.

“Yeah, right, my mom sent someone to kill us. That’s what you think?”

“No. But your mother has a history of being a bit careless with information. That’s why we’re not telling anyone we’re back. Not for a few more hours.”

“I don’t get why,” he said.

We passed the sign that welcomed us to New York state, and were delivered from the Mass Pike to the New York Thruway system. “I don’t think what happened last night had anything do with Just Deserts or any other social-media outrage.”

“Then what?”

“If and when I have something confirmed, I’ll lay it all out for you. And your mom.”

“Is it the stick-shift shit?”

“You’re gonna have to wait. I’m going to drop you at my sister’s.”

Jeremy shook his head. “No way.”

I gave him as stern a look as I could muster. “It’s not up for debate.”

I called ahead to my sister’s house and got her husband Dwayne. I said I had a favor to ask of them, and Dwayne, being somewhat in my debt from a previous incident, told me to name it.

I dropped Jeremy off and then made one last phone call to see if things were good to go.

They were.

It was five minutes to ten when I parked half a block down from Kelly’s Diner. As I reached the door, I did a scan of the street in both directions.

Nothing out of the ordinary caught my eye.

I pushed open the door and went inside. The morning rush was over. Only about half the tables were busy. There was a line of booths down the right wall, and the high-backed seats made it difficult to see who was occupying them.