Page 115 of The Newcomer
“Come on in,” Letty said.
“Hi, Sierra!” Maya called, twitching her hips and twanging her ukulele. “I’m a hula girl!”
“You’re both hula girls,” Sierra said, grinning at Letty and her niece. “You guys look totes adorbs. Aloha Bingo Night, right?”
“That’s right,” Letty said. “Where are you and Isabelle headed?”
“We’re just gonna hang out with some kids from school,” the teenager said. “We might go to the movies later. But what I wanted to say is, I emailed you something.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You know that piece of video where the dude in the ski hat comes into your sister’s apartment and they’re talking, but you can’t hear what they’re saying?”
“Right. The FBI’s tech guys are working on it, trying to figure out how to turn up the sound,” Letty said.
“Hah! Screw them,” Sierra said. “I figured it out. I mean, my friends and I did. I’m on this tech nerd loop with this kid in Albuquerque, he calls himself KDawg, and I think he’s in a band or something, so he knows about sound. He’s always messing with video and digital enhancement. I was mentioning on the loop about the problem I was having with the nanny-cam video, and he said if I sent it to him, maybe he could fix it. Anyway, I hope you don’t mind, but that’s what I did. I don’t really understand what or how he did it, but you can definitely hear more of what they’re saying now. Not all of it, but a lot.”
Letty threw her arms around the petite girl’s neck and gave her a hug. “Sierra, that’s amazing!”
“I didn’t really do anything. It was KDawg. Okay, so I gotta go. See ya!”
Lettywatched the video once, then texted Joe.Better stop by my place before bingo. I’ve got something you need to see. ASAP.
Joegave a low wolf whistle when he saw Letty standing in the doorway in her bikini top and grass skirt. “I take it back. I wish every night was Aloha Bingo Night.”
She flushed and tugged at the flower garlands around her neck. “Stop. I’m self-conscious enough.”
He was wearing navy board shorts and a T-shirt, with the Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned over it. With his dark hair and tan, he made a believable, even desirable islander, and he was brandishing two dinner plate–size hot-pink hibiscus blossoms.
“This one’s for you,” he said. Letty reached out to take it.
“Allow me,” Joe said, taking a step closer and tucking the flower behind her left ear. He trailed his fingertip lightly down her neck. “You smell good,” he whispered.
“Hi, Mr. Joe,” Maya said, brandishing her ukulele. “I’m Moana.”
“You are?” Joe feigned surprise. “I thought you were Elsa?”
“No. Tonight I am Moana.” She twanged the ukulele strings for emphasis.
“I’m gonna kill Ava for giving her that thing,” Letty said.
Joe knelt down beside Maya and fastened the other hibiscus behind her right ear. “Now you’re a real island girl.”
“Ladybug, why don’t you go in the other room and draw a picture of Moana for Mr. Joe?” Letty said. “He doesn’t even know what she looks like.”
“Okay,” the child said, swishing her grass skirt as she walked away twanging her ukulele.
Letty gestured at the laptop computer on the table. “Pull up a chair.” She tapped some keys, and the first frame of the problematic video clip appeared.
“I’ve already seen this,” he objected.
“Isabelle’s friend Sierra shared this with one of her tech friends who’s good with audio. He somehow managed to amplify the sound. It’s still pretty patchy, but give a listen.”
Atthe start of the video clip, Tanya seemed hesitant, and almost alarmed at her visitor’s arrival. “Oh my God, Rooney!”
Letty looked at Joe. “So it was him.”
Rooney pulled Tanya to him, and after a brief hesitation, shecrushed herself against him, and their kiss was so long and passionate, Letty wanted to look away.
