Page 16 of A Friend in the Glass

Sam shook his head. Then he took out his phone and weighed it in one hand. “But somebody has to know something about her. Hold on.” He considered his options, the limited number of names in his contacts, the bridges he hadn’t burned even after Stonefish. He picked what he thought his best option was and raised the phone.

“Hey.” Rufus put a hand over the phone and met Sam’s eyes. “I just need you to know—we—youdon’t have to do this. Not if you don’t want to. We can walk out of here right now, go home, and forget today ever happened. No matter what favors or strings I’ve got to pull to make sure no one finds you, I’ll do it.”

It was harder than it should have been to say, “Thank you.” Then Sam shook his head and placed the call on Speaker.

Colly picked up on the third ring. “Should I be flattered or worried?”

The guy building his REVERSE GAY HAREM—whatever the fuck that was—made an irritated noise. Sam glared at him, but he lowered the volume so that he and Rufus had to lower their heads over the phone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam asked.

“You don’t write, you don’t call….” When the silence dragged, Colly said, “Ah. Same old Auden charm, I see.”

Rufus met Sam’s gaze, held up his hands, and made air quotes while mouthing “Auden charm.”

“I need a favor.”

“There it is.” She sighed. “What?”

“Do you know Shareed Baker? She’s CID, a special agent in the Benning battalion. Was.”

Colly’s voice sharpened with interest. “She’s dead?”

“As of this morning. You know her?”

“No, but dead CID doesn’t sound good.”

Sam laid out the day’s events as best he could without involving Colly too much. When he’d finished, he said, “Whatever you can find out about Shareed—”

“Give me five minutes. No, hold on, the bastard might have already gone home, and I’ll have to call him on his cell. Give me ten.”

She disconnected before Sam could respond.

“Who was that?” Rufus whispered. “Your Army wife?”

The grin surprised Sam. “Something like that. She’s an analyst; we worked together. Smarter than any of the dumbshits in command.”

The gamer with the unwashed hair turned in his seat and made another irritated noise, this time leveling up his stare to death ray.

“What the fuck are you going to do about it?” Sam asked. “Motherfucker, I just saw you spend five dollars for a digital pasty collection for your gay reverse harem.”

Apparently reverse gay harem time was over because the gamer scuttled to the door, the bell ringing behind him as the door wobbled shut.

“You’re running off my paying customers,” Kim shrieked.

“If she comes afteryouwith that broom, I’m not helping,” Rufus told Sam. “You said it was like Animal Planet.”

Sam rubbed his forehead. “Ten fucking minutes of this.”

“I can go buy some rainbow pasties for my nips and entertain you.”

“Do that.”

The ten minutes dragged past, and then the phone vibrated in Sam’s hand. He answered on Speaker.

“She’s in hot water. Was, I guess.” Colly’s voice was troubled. “You’re sure she’s dead?”

“Pretty sure.”

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