Page 35 of The Five Year Lie

The sight of her face makes his pulse jump. It shouldn’t, but it does. “Hey, girl. You lost?”

“Hey, soldier. I heard the new guy got stuck with the worst job in the building.” She stops on the other side of the desk. “And I owe you dinner.”

“Well, I accept.” He didn’t think he’d see her tonight. In fact, when he volunteered for this gig, he assumed it ruined his chances of hanging out with her for the third Friday in a row.

That should have been a good thing. He’s still trying to stay away from Ariel.

So why does he feel like this is the most important moment of his week?

Just then, the law enforcement system chimes loudly with a real request.

Ariel sets the beer on the next desk over, out of the camera’s view. Then she stands at a distance behind him and peers at the screen. “Looks like you’ve got a warrant there. Better get on that. I’ll open the beers.”

“Uh, right.”

He sits down and opens the request. It’s from a police department in Beaumont, California. They want to see ninety minutes of camera footage dated three days ago. There’s a pdf attached with the camera ID number, signed by a judge.The Honorable Jorge Booth.

All right then.

Drew types the ID number of the camera into the search window. Out pops an address on Palm Avenue. He checks the warrant and finds that the addresses match perfectly.

Then he types the first several letters of the judge’s name intoanother field, and the system suggestsJORGE BOOTH, 9TH CIRCUIT.

All the details match. But he double-checks every single one just in case.

“It’s a match. Hit the button.” Ariel pulls a container out of the plastic bag, and suddenly he can smell cumin and chilis. “I got us Mexican food.”

And that’s the nudge he needs to hitsubmit. One click andboom. Done. He’s just turned someone’s private video over to law enforcement, against their wishes, and in less time than it takes to order a burrito.

“Why did you volunteer for this, anyway?” Ariel asks, covering the desk with food containers. “I’ve done this job, and it’s a snooze.”

Now, there’s a question he can’t answer truthfully.I’m a snoop, and I need to know how private video ends up in stalkers’ hands.“I would have thought this job was perfect for you,” he says instead. “Lots of extra time to spend with that sketch pad.”

“True. So what’s your excuse?”

“The new guy has to do his bit.”

“But I thought you didn’t care about this job.” She’s dishing rice onto two plates, and the scent of it makes his stomach growl.

“Well, I don’t.” And that’s the honest truth. “But someone had to pull this shift. And I assumed you’d be with your family tonight anyway.”

She looks up with surprise. “Why? Because of my dad’s knee surgery? Do you want chicken or pork or both?”

“Whatever you’re dishing out, I’m eating.” That seems to be his whole philosophy with Ariel. There isn’t anything she can do that he doesn’t want more of.

She heaps several different items onto a plate, adds a generous dollop of guacamole and passes it to him. “I did send a bag of take-out food to my parents’ house. And I’m sure my mother is grateful. She’s stuck at home with his grumpy ass for a whole week. No—a wholelife. But that is her choice.”

He has nothing nice to say, so he takes a bite instead.

“My father put off this surgery for two years, because he thought he could just command his knee to stop hurting. The doctor finally refused to refill his pain meds if he didn’t just get it done. He doesn’t want me hanging around offering him tea and soup, though. He knows I’d probably poison everything.”

He snorts with laughter.

“Besides, he wasn’t the kind of dad who gave a damn when I got sick.” She shrugs. “How’d you get that scar on your cheek? It looks recent. Still has that new-scar shine.”

The abrupt change of topic startles him enough that he gives her the truth. “Shrapnel. From an IED last year.”

“Damn.” Her lips quirk up in the corners. “You probably don’t mind my asking, right? Most guys would have to admit they got stoned and jumped off the garage when they were sixteen.”