Chapter 6: The Shop

Megan drove me to the rail yards and parked outside a long brick building with a roll-up door.

"You want me to come in?" she asked.

"No."

"I'll sit here for one hour. Then I'm calling the police and your mother."

"That's not funny."

"I'm not joking."

Caleb had already unlocked the side door.

His shop smelled like cedar and machine oil.

There were half-finished tables on sawhorses, a row of clamps along one wall, and a workbench with a single lamp on.

He moved a stool toward me and then stood far away from it.

"Sit if you want," he said.

I stayed on my feet.

"Tell me about Lisbon."

He rubbed his beard with the back of his wrist.

"Two days before the flight, I went to Joss's apartment to carry her camera bags," he said. "She was in her bedroom on the phone."

"With who?"

"The hotel. I could hear her through the door."

He looked at the floor.

"She said, Yes, I'm calling about the Farnsworth reservation. I'm the group's coordinator. We'd like to move to your sister property."

My stomach went cold.

"The Alma Azul has a sister property?"

"It's the place by the train yards. The one we ended up in."

"She picked the mold."

"She picked the cheap one. The cheap one was what she asked for." He stopped. "She said it easily, Carys. She had said it before."

I pressed my knuckles against the workbench.

"Did she see you?"

"She came out and saw me in the hall. She smiled and said, Don't tell Carys. She's so stressed. I'm trying to save her money."

"Save me money."

"That's what she said."

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