local sheriff wanted a couple of things checked out, since there may be some co-org activity.”
“Absolutely not. Even if I had spare operatives, I couldn’t afford to have news of Brynner’s situation leaking out to the other field teams.” She paused again. “There’s hardly a dot on the map where there isn’t some form of co-org activity, and to be honest, Ms. Roberts, if we both agree you aren’t up to handling a minor infestation, I believe it would be best for you to return to your safe office in Portland.”
I couldn’t go back. Not yet. “I need this job. Please, I’ll figure out the journals. I will.”
“I don’t need the journals as much as I need that man back at work—” She paused, long enough for me to listen to the bustle of conversations in the background. “Perhaps there is something you could handle in the field. Find Brynner for me, convince him this whole quitting nonsense was just an overreaction. In return, I’ll allow you to stay and continue your translation efforts for, say, three weeks. And If Brynner returns, ready to do what he does best, I’ll award you three months’ back pay.”
I let my head rest back on the swing and stared at the porch roof. Promises I couldn’t keep competed with bills I couldn’t pay. “I’ll do what I can.” I snapped the phone shut, then rose and went inside to Aunt Emelia. “I need to talk with Brynner. How can I find him?”
She continued kneading a meatloaf. “That’s not a problem. I know exactly where he’d go. I just don’t trust Maggie to keep the boy’s best interests in mind.”
Her words might as well have speared me. Had she heard through the window? “And you trust me?”
“Oh, sweetie.” She washed her hands and gave me a crooked smile. “We all have to trust someone.”
I couldn’t look at her as I spoke. “The director wants him back to work. Wants me to convince him to come back.”
She nodded. “The boy looks like he’d do almost anything for you. Maggie will calm down. She’s just surprised he quit.”
“I’m shocked it took that long. How does he deal with those things every day without going insane?”
“If you’re going to be around, him, you need to understand. Brynner’s not like normal men. He’s a Carson. He’s got his father’s strength, his mother’s stubbornness.” She stopped mauling the meatloaf to look at me. “Like God rolled up the desert into a man. He was born to do what he does.”
One phone call, one set of GPS coordinates, and a thirtyminute drive later, I pulled up at the farmhouse where Emelia insisted I’d find Brynner. The clouds overhead boiled, tinting the sky green, and the wind whipped up, blowing gravel and sand.
I knocked on the door, then banged on it, until it swung open. A tall woman with jet-black hair, a baby on her hip, and a thin smile answered. “You lost?”
“Maybe. Emelia Homer told me I’d find a friend of mine here. Brynner Carson?” I shouted to be heard over the wind.
She swung the door open, holding it while it whipped back and forth. “You’re lost, all right. Come on in.”
I stepped into a kitchen covered in cracked white linoleum and white Formica counters. The woman pushed the door shut, battling the winds, then turned to me. “I’m Lucille Hughes. Most folks call me Luce. That bastard ain’t here right now. Him and Rory are off doing something. Just like old times.”
“Luce, did I hear the door open? Are the boys back?” An older woman in her sixties came down the stairs, saw me, and froze. She looked at the BSI badge I clutched and crossed her arms. “Who do we have here?”
“Grace Roberts, ma’am.” I wasn’t raised to call anyone ma’am or sir, but it worked for Brynner and seemed to be normal around here. “I work with Brynner.”
“She’s one of his friends,” said Luce, with more venom than a nest of cobras.
I didn’t care for the way she spoke about Brynner, and leveling that stare at me almost constituted an act of war. “Coworker. Not companion.”
Luce looked down at the baby on her hip and shook her head. “I’m going to put Junior down for a nap. Ms. Grace here wants to know where he is.” She stomped up the stairs, like each stair were Brynner’s crotch.
I couldn’t hold the sigh in.
The elder Hughes hugged me. “Don’t let her bother you. Luce is good in her own