Not my office. Coffee somewhere neutral. Dots is closed Sunday, Ray said. But Dot will open it for us if I ask. Beat.
You've gotten to know Dot. Fitch. She makes good coffee, Ry said. A sound that might have been a laugh. Brief.
Sunday at 8. Dempsey said. And Mr. Callaway. Bring whatever you have.
Not descriptions of what you have. The actual things. Understood. Ray said he made another call after that. His lawyer in Memphis, a woman named Patricia Owens, who had been practicing for 30 years and had the professional manner of someone who charged appropriately for her time and was worth every cent of it.
He explained the situation. She asked three questions, told him what he could say to law enforcement and what he should let her handle. The photograph, she said, "If Harrove can establish you accessed certain financial documents to obtain it. " I didn't access anything. Ry said, "I was present at a meeting. The photograph was taken by someone else and I kept a copy.
I have not used it, not shown it to anyone outside a private conversation, and I have not made any demands based on it. " "Good," Patricia said. "Keep it exactly that way. You're a witness. You're not a participant in anything current. " "That's what I am," Ray said. "I'll drive up Tuesday," she said.
"Don't do anything before I get there. " Sunday morning, I'm meeting with the local sheriff. A pause. Rey, I know, he said. Timeline is moving. Hard grove is moving.
If I wait for perfect conditions, I'll be waiting past the moment. She was quiet for a moment. I'll be there Monday evening. Don't show the photograph to Dipsy until I'm present," Fairy said. He hung up.
He looked out the garage window at Birch Street. A leaf skittered across the pavement. A couple walked past with a dog. The dog investigating everything with the thorough enthusiasm of animals who never got tired of the world being interesting. He thought step at a time.
This is how you do hard things. One step then the next. He'd learned that in garages. You didn't fix an engine by thinking about all of it at once. You worked the problem in front of you until it was solved.
Then you moved to the next one. Turned back to the workbench. He had a carburetor to rebuild. He started there. Following Monday, Mia came home from school and sat at the kitchen table and didn't take her jacket off.