After Lucy had given the closing prayer and dismissed the class, Amy asked if Paul and Granville would remain behind. The whole time she talked, she kept her gaze locked on Paul. No one spoke. Paul found no need to ask questions. The only suggestion he made came right at the start. Amy spoke in fragments, as if the tension in her voice were reflected in fearful bursts of thought. So Paul asked her to go back and start at the beginning. From the moment she first saw the cash.
It was a favorite tactic of many interrogators when dealing with a witness who was so frightened that the events came out disjointed. Taking it from the top opened the conversation and revealed discrepancies. Which Paul doubted they would hear in Amy’s words. He was quite certain she was telling the truth. But forming a time line was crucial in establishing a probable chain of guilt, and of evidence.
They sat around the oval conference table. Amy and Lucy sat on one side. Paul sat with his back to the windows overlooking the internal hallway. Granville sprawled two seats farther down, his hands laced over his ample belly. On the surface, Granville looked like a rumpled bear. But his eyes glowed fiercely. Paul knew that light: It was a hunter’s gleam, burning when the prey came in sight. Paul felt exactly the same way.
When Amy went silent, Granville shifted, making his chair squeak. “Let me make sure I got this straight. You see the cash lying there. The guy’s desk—What’s his name again?”
“Drew.”
“Last name?”
“I don’t know.”
“Doesn’t matter. Drew’s desk is over in the corner of the showroom. Right or left?”
“Looking through the front window, his desk is to the right.”
“The cleaners haven’t gotten there yet. But they will. So you rush in and grab the loot, and when you do, you find yourself staring at a white powder residue.”
“More than a residue. The desk looked like a countertop where the flour has been shaped around making cookies.”
“So you decide the only thing to do is to sweep up the powder with the cash.”
“Did I do wrong?”
“No,” Paul replied. “Not at all. You did exactly right. Leaving it would signify that whoever holds the cash has seen too much.”
“If the man was so stoned that he left almost five hundred grand behind, he won’t be certain of anything.” Granville kept up an easy rumble, as if taking a verbal stroll through the park. “So you’ve still got it, right? The white stuff.”
“Yes.” Amy’s attention remained focused intently on Paul. As though she could speak at all only because of him. He wasn’t sure how it connected to his confession, but he was certain the two were linked. Even though the act of revealing himself left his throat and heart raw, he was glad he had opened up. Amy’s gaze was unwavering, almost unblinking. Even now, with Granville leading her through a recap, she watched Paul. As though he were the only man who mattered.
Paul asked, “Is it still in your backpack?”
“No. I cleaned it out. I use my pack all the time to carry my personal effects. I collected all the powder I could, then I wiped down the pack. Twice.”
“Where is the white stuff now?”
“In my pocket.” She was talking faster. “Lucy said no drugs. So I kept it in the camper. I knew I was going to have to tell somebody. But I just needed a little time, I don’t know . . .”
Lucy said softly, “Amy, you haven’t done a single thing wrong.”
A tear escaped. “I like it here so much.”
“I’m glad. You know why?” Lucy reached over and took hold of her hand. “This is your home.”
Granville asked, “Can I have the white stuff, please?”
Amy used her free hand to pull out a small plastic bag and slide it across the table.
“Thank you, Amy.” Granville made the packet disappear. He eased farther into his chair and tilted his chin until he was addressing the ceiling. As though the room were not crowded with Amy’s tension. “So you go back to work today. And this salesman rushes in, searches his desk, talks to Bob, then comes out and offers you cash.”
“Which I refused. I couldn’t take it. I just couldn’t.”
Lucy asked, “Does that make a problem?”
Granville pursed his lips, then decided, “I suspect old Drew is so grateful to have his cash back, he’s convinced his world is just golden.”
Amy said, “I told him there was nothing else to discuss. Ever.”
“That’s right. You did good.” Granville kept talking to the overhead lights. “So you finish the last window. And you walk back to your camper, which is parked . . .”
“One street to the north.”
“And there’s a lady of the night there waiting for you. You’re sure she was the same one you saw in the showroom buying the ’Vettes?”
“She didn’t buy them. The guys did.”
“You said that already. Good. But you’re sure it’s her. Even though the desk was . . . how far away from where you were painting?”
“Across the showroom. But she came over and spoke to me.”
Granville’s head came back down. “You didn’t say that before.”
“She spoke to me through the window. But I understood. Every word.”
“What did she say?”
Amy kept looking at Paul as she repeated, “‘Girl, what are you waiting for?’ ”
Paul could see how close she was to the edge. They had all they needed for the moment. And there was something more that had to be done that night. He rose to his feet and said quietly, “Thank you, Amy. What you’ve given us may just be the key.”
“It’s all coming together,” Granville agreed. “Thanks to you.”
Paul went on, “I really appreciate this gift of trust.”
Another tear escaped. Her lips trembled so hard that she mangled the words. “Protect me and my baby. Please.”
“That is my first duty,” Paul replied. “I’m just a guy trying to help out a church. And you’re part of this. You and your daughter.”
“But . . . what can you do?”
He turned to Lucy. “If there’s an apartment available, I’d like to move in. Tonight.”
Lucy was already up and moving before he finished speaking. “Outside. Now.”
Lucy led him down the hall far enough to block them from the pair still seated at the conference table. She stepped in close, so Paul could see the glowing embers in her dark eyes. She said, “I can’t have you preying on my people.”
He could not have been more surprised if she had reached out and slapped him. “What are you talking about?”
“Amy. And don’t give me that innocent tone.”
“She isn’t—That’s not it at all.”
“You didn’t think I’d notice how you two scoped each other out in there?”
“I’m not chasing the lady.”
“That’s right. You’re not. My people are at their most vulnerable when they come in here. The worst thing, the absolute worst thing that could happen, would be for her to find some strong, dark knight who offers to make everything right in her world. Because you’re not staying. You’ll do this job, and then you’ll leave. And she’ll realize you were just another vulture, only dressed in nicer clothes and talking church talk. And she will think she’s not safe here even in the church. She’ll decide she’s destined to be prey for the rest of her life. She’ll strop trusting. And I won’t have that. You are not becoming part of that woman’s problem.”
“Lucy, you’ve got to believe me. Going after Amy is the last thing on my mind.”
Lucy cocked her head. “Are you actually blushing?”
He felt the flames inside his skin grow hotter. “I came here tonight for the reasons I said.”
She studied him for a long moment before deciding, “You know what? I actually believe you.”
Paul was not done. “I had no idea she was going to open up like that. But I’m glad she did. Because until she spoke, we didn’t have a clue what we were going to do next.”
She took a step back and studied him while the ire faded from her gaze. “It’s not often I read a person completely wrong.”
He was still so embarrassed that he stumbled over the words. “You’re trying to do the best you can for your people.”
“That’s right, Paul. I am.”
“They’re lucky to have you. And I’m on your side.”
“Granville said I should trust you. I’m beginning to see why. All this time I’ve been thinking it was us who needed you. Now I’m thinking this might be a two-way street.”
The same emotions clawed at his raw throat. “I think so, too.”
Lucy offered him what was perhaps her very first genuine smile. “In that case, we’ve just moved a family into their new home. The apartment two down from Amy is free. You can move in tonight.”