Page 70 of Power of the Mind

I was at a loss for what to do and kept glancing at Diem for guidance, but the brooding man was, well, brooding and not paying attention to me at all. He was the real investigator, despite how often I played the game. I would have loved his opinion on what our next step might be.

“Hilty lied to us,” I said, hoping to break Diem out of his ponderous state.

He grunted in agreement.

“Why do you think he did that?”

Another guttural noise, one indicating he didn’t have a clue.

“What do you think’s in those files?”

Another grunt, but the longer I watched Diem, the more I wondered if his mind wasn’t elsewhere. Sometimes, he was easy to read. Other times, it felt like there was a whole world behind his eyes I knew nothing about.

I sighed dramatically. “You’ve gone monosyllabic again.”

“I don’t know,” Diem said through clenched teeth. “But when the asshole leaves, I’m going to find out.”

I perked up. “We’re breaking in?”

“No.I’mbreaking in, andyou’regoing to keep watch.”

“Excuse me? My case, remember?”

Diem’s stomach interjected with a loud opinion.

I chuckled. “Is that so?” I scanned the block. “There’s a pizza joint down the street. Why don’t we grab food while we wait, and we can argue semantics once your belly is satiated?”

Diem grumbled in agreement. Before I could wonder about the state of my bank account, he fished a fifty out of his wallet, insisting on paying. I almost made a joke about how he was spending his bribe money on a nondate with his nonboyfriend but held my tongue, deciding that poking a hungry bear might not be good for my health.

We shared a large supreme—Diem ate nine slices to my three—as I did my best to keep the conversation rolling. It was mostly one-sided. I talked about my mom and stepdad. I told him about how I’d been having the occasional coffee date with my cousin, building a relationship as adults. I didn’t miss how Diem’s eye twitched whenever I mentioned Memphis.

Although I managed to squeak out the odd word from him here and there, for the most part, Diem listened and didn’t contribute more than an odd grunt. Again, his mind seemed far away.

The tension in Diem’s neck and shoulders loosened once he was fed. He grunted less but wasn’t any more communicative. Any time I teased him about our nonpartner, nonlover, ornonrelationship status, he grew distant. His gaze took on a thousand-yard stare, suggesting he wasn’t listening anymore.

By midnight, I was all talked out. Hilty was still inside, but boredom and the late hour were kicking my ass. At some point, I fell asleep slumped against the side window. The Jeep rumbling to life woke me a short time later. I startled and blinked, trying to bring the fuzzy world back in focus as Diem pulled from the parking lot.

“What’s happening?”

“Absolutely fucking nothing. Here.” He handed me my glasses.

“Where are we going?”

“Home. We’re done.”

“But… Is Hilty still there?”

“Yeah. I got tired of waiting and poked my head in the window. Buddy boy fell asleep on his couch. He isn’t going anywhere tonight.”

“Shit.” I stifled a yawn. “What about the files.”

“Doubt he takes them home. We can try tomorrow night.”

“What if he destroys them?”

Diem made a noise I didn’t understand, and I didn’t have the wherewithal to ask him to clarify.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

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