Promises I Made by Michelle Zink Page B

one of the few connections I have to him now. Without you and the knowledge you possess—knowingly or otherwise—I’m at a dead end. And I don’t like dead ends.” He watched the people walking by on the strand. “Not enough escape routes.”
    It made sense, but I was still nervous about working with someone else. The last time I’d had partners, Parker hadgone to jail and I’d ended up on the run. “Can I think about it?” I asked.
    He hesitated before nodding. Then he pulled a pen from his pocket and started writing on one of the napkins. “Call within forty-eight hours if the answer is yes. Leave a message with a number where I can reach you, and we’ll arrange a time to meet and get started.” He folded the napkin and extended his hand. When I closed my fingers around it, he held on. “Can I trust you not to go to the police with my offer?”
    I nodded. “I’m not looking to hurt anyone. The only reason I’m doing any of this is to get Parker out of jail. If I decide not to work with you, I just won’t call, that’s all.”
    He let go of the napkin, and I stuffed it in my bag.
    He put his sunglasses back on and stood, digging in his pocket for a minute before throwing a twenty-dollar bill on the table.
    â€œIt’s a beautiful day,” he said, looking out over the beach. “You should try to enjoy it. Our vocation is difficult. Have to find pleasure in the little things.” He turned his face toward me, but his eyes were lost behind his sunglasses. “You be careful now, Grace.”
    He turned and walked away, whistling as he merged with the crowd moving north on the strand. I watched his Hawaiian shirt bob through the masses until it finally disappeared in the sea of bathing suits and board shorts.

Seventeen
    The conversation with Marcus replayed in my mind as I took the bus back to Selena’s. I felt vindicated. My paranoia about the man next door on Camino Jardin hadn’t been crazy after all. My instincts, honed by Cormac and Renee, had been right on. Now Marcus was my only link to a world I once thought I knew like the back of my hand. However much I hated the idea, I needed him. But if he was telling the truth, he needed me, too.
    It was after three when I got off the bus at the Town Center. I was tired and overwhelmed, my mind spinning with everything Marcus had told me about Cormac and Renee. A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed they could leave a partner high and dry. Now it didn’t surprise me at all, and I wondered if Marcus had felt as surprised and betrayed as I did when Renee abandoned us. I was still thinking about itwhen I saw the man standing outside Mike’s.
    I knew right away that it was Detective Fletcher. He was big, bigger even than Detective Castillo. His arms, jacked in a snug T-shirt, were crossed over his chest, his legs slightly apart where he stood, like he was in ready stance for some kind of attack even though he was just standing there, talking to a guy in an apron who probably worked at Mike’s. I could sense Fletcher’s coiled energy even across the parking lot, could feel the intensity of his eyes even though they weren’t directed at me.
    For a minute, all I could do was stare, my flight response stalled by the panic flooding my body. The guy with the apron nodded, and Fletcher raised his head, slowly turning my way as he gazed absentmindedly over the parking lot. I put my head down and hurried for the crosswalk, trying to look purposeful instead of scared, just another kid coming home from school or the beach.
    I had to fight the urge to run as I made my way up the peninsula. I felt Fletcher at my back, like he was stalking me from the Town Center, even though there was no sign of him the few times I dared to look back. By the time I sneaked back into the pool house, I felt dizzy, my head roaring with the blood in my veins.
    I put my bag down on the floor