Chapter 56

John waved them toward the couch, not even bothering to wait until they’d seated themselves before settling into the chair he’d obviously been resting in prior to their arrival.

“You didn’t see him, then?” he asked. He deliberately avoided addressing Jesse’s concerns. “How unfortunate.”

“It is most unfortunate.” Jesse settled on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees. “But I think we’ll probably keep missing him. You know how specific enneagrams are. No room for error.”

Some of John’s good humor—if you could call it that—faded. “We had an agreement, Mr. Madding.”

“John, I want to fulfill my end of the bargain,” Jesse said in a soft help me help youtone. “Trust me, there are things I’d rather do than wander through cemeteries in the middle of the night, but that’s exactly where I was tonight. But just a quarter of inch off on the map and we can end up miles from the correct location.”