“Sure,” he said, lying through his teeth. His sleepy eyes and unshaven face awed me for a moment.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Denise said, barely audible above Katherine the Midwife’s snoring. Then she turned back to me. “You have some pretty great friends.”

Reyes had just set Beep in my arms when I walked over to Denise. “You saved her life,” I said, my gratitude limitless. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there today.”

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday,” I corrected.

She bowed her head. “I’m just glad I could help.” She turned and left.

“And you,” I said to the ball of perfection in my arms, “I have to show you something. Coming?” I asked Reyes as Beep and I left the room.

He followed us downstairs and outside, where we sat on two lawn chairs to gaze at the stars. I told her all about the constellations, pointing out each one and reciting its name, at which point, Reyes corrected me.

Naturally, I ignored him. “And see that star?” I asked her even though she had yet to wake up. “I’m claiming that one for you. It’s all yours. Its name henceforth shall be known to all the lands as Beep.”

“I’m pretty sure that one’s already named.”

I turned to Reyes as he lay beside us. Still shirtless despite the crisp night that didn’t seem to faze him.

“And I’m pretty sure it’s a planet, not a star,” he continued, a playful grin lifting one corner of his mouth.

“Really?” I looked at Beep. “Did you hear that? Daddy is dissing your star. And he’s wearing duct tape. Duct tape is so last June.”

“Venus,” he said.

“Beep,” I volleyed with a stern brow.

He laughed softly. “Beep it is. I found something about her very interesting.”

“Just one thing?”

His grin widened. “This is interesting in a different way.”

“Really?” I asked, intrigued.

“Seven pounds, thirteen ounces.”

I gasped and gazed at her wide-eyed, making everything I said and did into a Broadway production. Not sure why. “Did you weigh seven whole pounds and thirteen ounces? No wonder Virginia is under the weather.” Then realization dawned, his point sinking in at last. I glanced at Reyes. “Seven original gods, thirteen altogether.”

He lifted a shoulder. “Just found that interesting.”

“I do too. Like, bizarrely interesting.”

“You seriously need to hydrate and eat something. What do you want?”

“Dude, you can make eggs into a gourmet three-course dinner. Surprise me.”

“Oh, I didn’t say I was going to cook. I was just offering to hold our daughter while you cooked. I’m kind of hungry, too.”

I laughed.

“Eggs it is. I have some red chile potatoes made up, too.”

“My mouth is watering just thinking about it.” Then I bolted upright. “Coffee,” I whispered, the word like a delicate snowflake on my mouth. “I can have coffee now.”

It was like the heavens had opened up and God smiled down on me.

“Aren’t you going to breast-feed?”

And they closed again. “Yes.”

He shook his head and went to scrounge us up some grub. I sat back in despair until I really examined the situation. Maybe it would be best for Beep if she built up a tolerance to caffeine now. Start her off young.

Reyes made breakfast, cooking eggs to go on the potatoes and chile, and brought me a huge plate. I handed Beep off to him.

Watching Reyes hold her, as though she were made of glass, afraid to wrap his arms too tight, was priceless. It amazed me to see how one tiny creature had the power to turn a man made of pure, natural prowess into a bumbling mess. Not that I was much better, but we’d get there. We had all the time in the world.

12

It was a sad and disappointing day when I discovered my Universal Remote Control did not, in fact, control the universe. (Not even remotely.)

—MEME

We went inside after we ate, not wanting Beep to get pneumonia. The house began to stir a couple of hours later. Kit and Agent Waters called soon after with news on the possible kidnapper.

“We tracked one of the burner phones from the text messages. It was still on and we traced it to a garbage can in the alley behind Dion’s on Wyoming. From there, we traced where it was purchased and they had surveillance footage. We got him. His name is Colton Ellix. There’s only one problem,” she said, her voice tinged with panic.

“What?”

“He died two days ago in a car accident. He was trying to outrun a squad car that, at first, wasn’t even after him. He thought they were, took off. The officers pursued, but he exited at Rio Grande during rush hour traffic doing at least a hundred. He killed a pedestrian as well as himself.”

My heart sank. “She’s still alive, Kit. You need to look into all his holdings, anywhere he frequented, his past. Where did he grow up? Does any of his family have land?”

“You’re preaching to the choir, hon. We’re looking into everything, but he didn’t have any property. He was renting a small house in Algodones, but we searched it and the surrounding properties. The neighbors said they hadn’t seen him in a few days.”

“Where did he know her from?”

“He worked for my brother,” Agent Waters said. “Did a few side jobs around the house for them and watched the dogs when they were out of town.”

“He had access to everything.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, then, what about your brother? Did he have any property that Ellix would have known about?”

“He had some land in Rio Rancho. They were going to build a new house, but there’s nothing out there.” When I didn’t say anything, he added, “I’ll get a patrol car out there immediately.”

“In the meantime,” I said, speaking mostly to Kit on this one, “I’ll do what I do and see what I can come up with.”

“And what is it you do?” Agent Waters asked.

“What I’m hired to do,” I said, being as vague as humanly possible. “We need everything you have on him.”

“Already en route,” she said.

“Oh, and Beep’s here.”

A long silence ensued and I let it all sink in. Women had been having babies for years, though. It was all the rage. Not sure why it was such a difficult thing for her to digest.

“Well, say hi for us,” Kit said.

“Okay.”

“Oh!” she shouted. “Beep. The Beep. Oh my gosh, Charley, congratulations. Are you here in Albuquerque?”

“Nope, still out here at the convent.”

“You had her there?” she asked, appalled.

“Yeah. In a well. It’s a long story.”

“Okay. Well, congratulations to you both.”

“Thanks. Get us those files.”

“They’ll be there in an hour.”

*   *   *

As soon as Cookie got up and got her hair under control, I set her to find out everything she could on our potential kidnapper. They found no evidence that he really took Faris, but I knew one way to find out for sure.

I had Denise take Beep to change her and lay her down for a nap. I was going fishing and she didn’t need to be around when I caught anything.

I walked into the office while Cook was making coffee. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and summoned Colton Ellix.

Nothing. Either I was losing my touch, or he’d already crossed. And if he was kidnapping girls, then I was pretty certain I knew which direction he went. But that was the problem. He’d crossed and I needed to know where Faris was. According to Rocket, she was still alive. I checked. But again, the good news was given with a dire warning. She wouldn’t be for long. That told me she was imprisoned where she was either going to suffocate or die of dehydration. Those were the most logical reasons for why she wouldn’t have long to live. He could have hurt her, however, and she could be lying somewhere with an infected wound.

There was simply no telling, but I wasn’t about to give up yet.

I took off in search of Osh. Only two beings on this earth knew my celestial name, and he was one of them.