Amy gave him an impish smile. “Don’t look so sour, Jake.”

“Sour? Me?”

“You wear your heart on your face. Whenever I ask you to do something you don’t like, you frown like a gargoyle.”

Jake said nothing, but he thought that if she could really see what he was thinking she’d stop smiling and go to bed with him. Yet he couldn’t tell her that. Not now that she was so wrapped up with Tomlinson.

Still, the germ of an idea had popped into his mind. He didn’t mention it to Amy, not there at the bar. He had to work out the idea in all its details. He knew he’d have to get Tim Younger’s cooperation, and to get that, he’d have to go through Glynis.

He hadn’t seen much of Glynis since their trip to Florida and Monster’s warning about trying to find Nacho Perez. Yet he worried about her; she was determined to prove that Sinclair had been murdered, regardless of Jake’s warnings.

But now he found that he was actually glad of an excuse to see her again.

*   *   *

Two days later, with all the details of his idea firmly in his mind, Jake invited Glynis to dinner.

She sounded wary when he called. “Dinner? Tonight?”

“You’re not busy, are you?”

“No…” She drew the word out.

“I’ve got an idea I want to talk to Tim about,” he explained. “But first I’d like to bounce it off you, see what you think of it.”

For several heartbeats Glynis said nothing. Then, “Very well. Where do you want to go?”

*   *   *

Jake arrived at Danny’s Seafood Locker a few minutes early, as usual. Feeling somewhat apprehensive, he slid into a booth and ordered a beer. “The darkest you’ve got,” he told the young waitress.

To his surprise, she brought him a bottle of Negra Modelo. And a tall glass. Maybe the management heard my grumbling, he thought. Or maybe they have a better class of waiters working the dinner shift.

Jake was pouring the beer when Glynis entered the restaurant, wearing a soft pink blouse and dark slacks. She looked over the half-empty restaurant, spotted Jake getting up from his booth, and hurried over to him.

“Hi!” Jake said, glad to see her. For a fleeting instant he thought about kissing her, but Glynis gave him a perfunctory smile and slid into the booth on the opposite side of the table.

Her expression was serious. “I was surprised when you called.”

“Oh?”

“You’ve been avoiding me since we got back from Florida.”

Jake had told her about Monster’s warning. “Look, I tried to locate Nacho Perez, you know.”

“You told me about this goon’s warning you.”

“You ought to stay clear of it, too.”

Strangely, Glynis smiled. “But don’t you see, Jake? We must be on the right track; we’re worrying them.”