Page 91 of Sapphire Storm

A few minutes after the interview ended, his phone rang.

It was Rachel. “I take it you got his message.”

“I did. Where are you?”

“New York. I landed an hour ago. Listen, there’s something Ineed you to know.” He could hear her fidgeting with something that sounded likea pen or a small piece of jewelry. “Does the name Andy Rosales mean anything toyou?” she asked.

“Yeah, Andy was his mom’s last boyfriend. He’s out inVictorville. Roman’s storing a bunch of his stuff with him. Why?”

“I got a text from Hank when I landed.”

“Hank the kidnapper?”

“He’s trying to atone by giving me a tip. And the tip isthat my mother got a tip after I left France. Andy Rosales has an interviewscheduled with an LA news station tomorrow. He’s going to tell them the last heheard from Roman he was trying to wind things down with my mom and now he can’tget in touch with him, and he suspects something really fishy with thiswedding.”

“Like the truth.”

Rachel took a bite of something crunchy, then quicklyswallowed. “This Andy guy’s got a record, Ethan. If he gives that interview, mymom’s going to make mincemeat out of him in the press. Think Meghan Markle’sdad times a hundred.”

Ethan drained the last of his beer in several long swallowshe never wanted to end. Unfortunately, they did. He had to clear his throat afew times before he could speak again. “Does your mother have anything else todo other than threaten to destroy people’s lives?”

“She’s got a PI on retainer. I don’t want to think about howshe’s used him over the years. We need to stop Andy from giving that interview.Roman obviously cares about this man, and if my mom reacts, it’ll hurt Romaneven worse.”

“Why won’t your mom let Roman call Andy and give him somecover story to keep him quiet?”

“Because he’s on probation after histouch the skymoment in the interview. She’s not going to put him on the phone with anyone ifshe doesn’t have to.”

Ethan sighed. He could sense what she was asking of him. Butthe implications for Ethan were perhaps bigger than Rachel could understand inthis moment.

Asking him to sit down with the boyfriend of the woman who’dprobably blamed him for the death of her marriage.

But he owed it to Roman.

And he owed it to Roman’s mother too.

“I’ll try to get out there first thing in the morning andtalk him out of it,” he said. She read him the address, and he wrote it downwith a pen.

“Good. Listen, I’m beat, so I’m going to…”

As he hung up, he could feel Donnie staring at him. He gavehim a rundown of the call, and when he was done, Donnie took a long slug ofbeer. “Meeting the family. Wow. This is serious.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it,” Ethan growled.

23

Ethan left Donnie sawing logs in his guestbedroom and made it to Victorville around dawn.

A fierce rising sun was cresting the limitless horizon tothe east, its spreading orange light casting the surrounding landscape intosharp relief. In it, Ethan saw fleeting glimpses of young Roman exploring thevast dry expanses, visions that filled him with a longing for the man so acutehe almost grabbed his chest.

He waited until 8:00 a.m., then he pressed the button onAndy Rosales’s Ring cam. The one-story ranch style house needed a paint job,but most of its neighbors were trailers so it was the nicest place on the blockby default. When he heard footsteps creaking floorboards inside, he took a stepback. The man who opened the door looked like he could have stopped a tank withone hand raised in front of him, but he was dressed in a fuzzy bath robe andslippers that made him look like a big stuffed animal. His sleep-matted blackhair was tied back in a loose ponytail, his face a mask of shock.

Not shock, Ethan realized. Recognition.

“Mr. Rosales, my name’s Ethan Blake. I’m here about Roman.”

The man slouched against the side of the door. “Why areyouhere aboutRonnie?”

“I take it you recognize me.”

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