“Ivy didn’t tell you?” I said in surprise.

“She may have. I want to know if she was lying.”

“Main bus depot,” I said, my heart hammering all the harder. We were going to do this. I was going to tag Trent and get my death threat paid off.

“Rose!” he shouted again. “The old bus depot. Who’s pushing paper tonight who didn’t go to the hospital?”

A feminine but robust voice cut over the accumulated clatter. “Kaman is here, but he’s in the shower getting that bug dust off. Dillon, Ray—”

“Stop,” Edden said. He stood, and, gesturing for Nick and me to join him, darted out of his office. I took a deep breath and lurched to my feet. Much to my surprise, my aches had retreated to dull throbs. We followed Edden down the hall, excitement making my pace quick. “I think the aspirin is finally working,” I whispered to Nick as we caught up to Edden. He was hunched over a spotless desk, talking to the same woman who had brought me the pills.

“Call Ruben and Simon in,” he said. “I need someone with a cooler head. Send them to the airport. Tell them to wait for me.”

“You, sir?” Rose glanced over her glasses at Nick and me. Her frown said it all. She wasn’t happy having two Inderlanders in the building, much less standing behind her boss.

“Yes, me. Get the unmarked van around front. I’m going out tonight.” He hoisted his belt up over his hips. “No mistakes. This one has to be done right.”

Thirty

The floor of the FIB van was surprisingly clean. There was a faint odor of pipe smoke, reminding me of my dad. Captain Edden and the driver, introduced as Clayton, were up front. Nick, Jenks, and I were on the middle bench. The windows were cracked to dilute my perfume. If I’d known they weren’t going to release Ivy until after the deal was done, I wouldn’t have put it on. As it was, I reeked.

Jenks was on a rampage, his tiny voice scraping along the inside of my skull as he ranted, winding my anticipation to new heights. “Put a sock in it, Jenks,” I whispered as I ran the tip of my finger around the bottom of my tiny cellophane bag of nuts for the last of the salt. When the aspirin had dulled my pain, my hunger kicked in. I’d almost rather have done without the aspirin if it meant not being famished.

“Go Turn yourself,” Jenks snarled from the cup holder where I had put him. “They stuffed me into a water cooler. Like I was a freak on display! They broke my fringing wing. Look at it! Snapped the main vein. I’ve got mineral spots on my shirt. It’s ruined! And did you see my boots? I’ll never get the coffee off them.”

“They apologized,” I said, but I knew it was a lost cause. He was on a roll.