Page 77 of Hot Zone

“I’ll put you back a bowl,” Keith said.

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. Nobody makes chili like you do. I just wanted to stop in and make sure you guys didn’t need anything.”

“Nah,” Robert said. “We’re good. We’ll call you if we need you.”

“Good deal. I’m going to head on out then.”

I took the short drive over to the pub where Fox was waiting for me at a table. “Get everything dropped off at the lab?” I asked.

“I did. I don’t expect them to find anything, but better safe than sorry.”

“I agree.”

A few minutes later, our server, Alex, came over and handed us menus. “Hey, guys. What can I get you to drink?”

“Iced tea for me. How about you, Fox?”

“I’ll haveDr. Pepper.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back with those drinks.”

“So,” I said. “You think this Donovan kid is our guy?”

“I don’t know, but it feels right. What do you think?”

“I think it fits. The timing of his dad dying and the fires. Plus, it makes sense he would blame me because I refused to give him another chance.”

We stopped talking when Alex came with our drinks and took our order. Once she was gone, we went back to our conversation.

“When I dropped off the photos, I asked Carmine to see if he could track him down.”

“You know, maybe I should mention it to Hawk. They have IT people who can do things the cops can’t.”

“IT people or hackers?”

“I didn’t ask. I just know it’s something they can do.”

“It would help if we even knew if he was still in the area.”

“I’ll ask if there’s anything he can do.”

I looked around and noticed there was a pretty large group of guys from one of the other stations sitting near the bar. Don was their server, and he was carrying a tray loaded down with food. He set it on their table and started handing out food.

I tilted my head to one side and really looked at him. If you lost the glasses, shaved the beard, and added forty pounds—no, surely not. I pulled out my phone and looked at the shot I’d taken of the guy in the picture. Then I looked back at him. I mean, it could be. I just wasn’t sure.

I needed to find out what his full name was, but I couldn’t just ask him. There was no telling what he would do.

“Samuel, what is it?”

I didn’t want to say anything to Fox until I knew for sure. “Nothing, I just need to hit the head real quick. I’ll be right back.”

I made my way down the hall to the restrooms, but when I went by the door that led into the kitchen, I slipped inside and looked around. I was hoping to see either Bill or Ted. I spotted Bill in the back talking to the cook, and I made my way back there.

“Hey, Bill, you got a minute? I need a favor.”

“Sure, Sam. What can I do for you?”

“I had a question about one of your servers.” I could be wrong, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause problems for Don if he wasn’t, in fact, our guy.

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