He laughed, heartily. “No, of course not. I just don’t make all of my decisions because of money anymore. When something is wrong, I speak up. Maybe too much. For that, I’m sorry.”

It didn’t seem like too much to Claire. It seemed like a lesson hard learned. She leaned forward and let out a breath. “Don’t be sorry. I like working with you. I like that you’re honest. I...like you. I trust you.”

He smiled. “I trust you too.”

At that moment, the fax machine behind Chip sprung to life. Claire watched as it noisily printed a sheet of paper with Marty’s face prominently displayed at the top.

Chapter Nineteen

Even with extremely heavy hinting, Lucy couldn’t keep Margie from asking about Marty as they ate their meal in the hotel restaurant. She finally had to say, “How about we discuss this later, outside?”

The realization dawned on Margie, and she nodded, shooting a wink at Lucy. “Good idea.”

They quickly finished their meals – Lucy was genuinely surprised that the hotel’s food was so good – and exited through the patio.

“I am sorry about that,” Margie said as they walked along the water. “I wasn’t thinking. I’m not used to a life of crime.”

Lucy let out a little laugh. “It’s okay. It’s hard to get into the mindset that you’re being watched by the FBI.”

They continued down the path and Lucy savored the solitude around them. She liked the sound of the crushed stone under her feet. She liked the calls of the seabirds that carried across the water. The ocean was peaceful, and the sun had just started reaching over the mountain, causing the water to sparkle.

“You probably haven’t heard this yet,” Margie said, stopping to look around. She dropped her voice. “Marty was added to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list.”

This didn’t trouble Lucy as much as it should have. She shrugged. “It happens to the best of us.”

Margie laughed. “I’m serious!”

“So am I,” Lucy said.

“You’re too much.” Margie shook her head. “Tell me about him. What’s he like?”

Lucy told Margie everything she knew so far, from Marty’s secret adoption, to his legal troubles, to his impressive camping skills.

When she finished, Margie stopped and stared at her. Lucy felt uncomfortable with her silence.

“Well? What do you think?” asked Lucy.

Margie crossed her arms. “I don’t know.”

That wasn’t the type of response she was hoping for.

Margie sighed and spoke again. “Don’t you think it’d be better if he just turned himself in and explained all of this?”

“Maybe.” After thinking for a moment, Lucy shook her head. “What good is an explanation, though, when he has no evidence to support it? It’s his word against theirs, and they have ‘proof.’”

Margie rung her hands together. “I suppose so.”