Chapter Twenty-Four
Twenty-Four
Izzy agitated the tray, silently counting as she waited for the shapes to emerge from the blank paper.
“Come on, come on…”
Patience had never been her thing. She remembered her mentor standing beside her in the high school darkroom, preaching the wisdom of not rushing the process, giving the chemicals a chance to work.
Finally, it was ready. Using the tongs, she transferred the paper to the tray with the stop bath, then the fixer, then the water bath. After rinsing off the chemicals, she lifted the paper and let the liquid slide off.
Then she clipped the paper to the clothesline above the workbench and stepped back.
Her photo of Devil’s Bow had turned out better than she’d hoped two weeks ago when she’d hiked out there to take this roll of film.
The details were sharp, and she’d caught a ray of light in the corner of the rock bridge the instant before the sun sank out of view.
Too bad the subject matter wouldn’t qualify for the Lone Star Nights show.
She could always go back and get something with the moon in the background.
But the idea of hiking such an isolated trail by herself made her anxious now.
And she definitely didn’t want to go alone at night.
Maybe her boyfriend would come along to keep her company and give her a distraction from her paranoia.
Izzy studied her newest prints. She wished she had more nighttime shots.
Yesterday’s photo of the juniper tree at dusk had a strong composition, but was it strong enough to get her over the line with Zach Olmstead?
Insecurity churned inside her. She didn’t care about the exhibit so much as the chance to work with a nationally renowned photographer.
She’d been reading up on him since their meeting, and he was even more connected than she’d first thought.
The fact that he wanted to put her work in front of his influential friends was a huge opportunity, the sort of life-changing chance that could mean the difference between pursuing what she loved and photographing traffic accidents for the next ten years.
A muffled knock sounded at the door.
“?Isa? Tienes visita.”
She stepped closer to the door. “?Qué?”
“La jefita está aquí.”
Izzy switched off the red safelight. Kicking aside the towel at the base of the door, she opened it slightly and stepped into the darkened bedroom that she shared with her sister—who had had a chip on her shoulder ever since Izzy came home from New York and converted their shared closet into a photo lab.
Her mother stood in the bedroom.
“Who’s here?” Izzy asked.
“Leana,” she replied, mispronouncing it as always.
Panic zinged through her. Leanne Everhart was here?
“Vamos.” Her mom clucked her tongue and walked away.
“Shit,” Izzy muttered, untying her apron. She tossed it on the unmade bed and hurried down the hallway.
Leanne stood in the center of the stuffy little kitchen, looking unfazed by the chaos.
Family Feud blared from a mini TV on the counter, and Izzy’s nephews sat at the table, eating Cocoa Puffs and playing tug-of-war with an iPad.
Her mom thwacked them on the back of the head on her way to the stove, where she was frying onions.
Izzy smiled and tried to look cheerful. “Hey, Leanne, what’s up?”
“Hi. You have a minute?”
“Sure.”
Leanne moved for the door. “Good to see you, Mrs. Huerta.”
“You, too! Come for dinner next time.”
Izzy followed Leanne outside and glanced around the porch in dismay. A basket of damp laundry sat waiting to be hung. Izzy leaned back against the railing and faced the house, hoping to distract Leanne from her family’s underwear on the clothesline.
“Sorry,” she said, tugging off her gloves. “I’ve been in the darkroom.”
“The pictures from yesterday?”
“Those were digital. This was another batch.”
Izzy tried to cover her embarrassment as she waited for Leanne to get to the point. Izzy admired Leanne and had been hoping for a chance to get to know her better for months, maybe by meeting up outside of work. But she hadn’t ever expected Leanne to show up at her home without warning.
“So, I wanted to check in,” Leanne said. “I was worried about you yesterday.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“You looked really bad. No offense.”
“Just a little rattled. I’m fine now.”
Leanne watched her, studying her face with those sharp green eyes that noticed every detail.
“Sure you’re okay?”
“Yep.”
“Good.” She took a deep breath and folded her arms over her chest. “Another reason I’m here is I wanted to loop you in. McBride gave me the green light on that tire cast.”
“That’s good news. Wow. What changed his mind?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Is it something to do with yesterday?” Izzy asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know what it has to do with. But I’m going to run with it. I’m headed to El Paso right now to drop it off before he can change his mind. I’m taking them a copy of your photograph, too, because you were able to enhance so much of the tread detail.”
“The El Paso lab is super backed up,” Izzy told her. “You know that, right? It’d be faster to send it to the main lab in Austin.”
“I’m aware,” Leanne said. “But the chief wants El Paso. I think maybe he has some pull over there.”
“Well, good, then.”
“Listen, I’m sorry for what you went through yesterday. That had to be horrible stumbling on a scene like that.”
“It’s fine,” she said, even though she’d hardly slept last night.
“And I’m sorry you had to give your statement to Travis Malcom. He’s the worst.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that guy?”
“He’s kind of…full of himself.”
“Just a little.”
“I hear he’s an okay detective, though, so let’s hope he makes some progress.”
Leanne pulled her phone from her jacket and frowned down at a message. Izzy hadn’t heard a sound, so it must have been on vibrate.
“Anyway, that’s all.” She tucked the phone away. “I wanted to check how you’re doing and give you an update.”
“I appreciate it.”
As awkward as it was for Leanne to show up here out of the blue, Izzy was glad to be kept in the loop for a change. Leanne was one of the few people at MPD who treated her like an actual investigator instead of some lowly part-timer.
“I’ll see you at work, then?” Leanne moved to leave. “Unless something unexpected comes up?”
“Let’s hope it’s quiet.”
“Let’s hope.”