“What do you mean, acting crazy?”

  Evelyn Mason dropped the chart she had been using to keep herself busy onto her very organized desk. “I am not an idiot, Mr. Evers. You need to come clean.” She peered into his eyes like a hardened detective grilling a suspect. There would be none of his usual foolishness tonight. “Why are you here?”

  Always smarter than anyone else gave her credit for, Foster began to wonder if even he had misjudged Evelyn.

  “Why is anyone here?” Feet dangling, his calm demeanor only lasted for a second under her unrelenting inquisitiveness. “I’m here because I was stupid enough to think people would believe the truth when they heard it. What I had to say scared them.”

  “And now what? Those same people, the people scared enough to put you in here are just going to let you out?” Evelyn unfolded her arms and sat back down behind her desk. The chair squeaked like an old screen door as she leaned back. “What’s changed in eight years?”

  “They weren’t able to see what happened before for what it was...for what it meant. They couldn’t solve the puzzle.”

  Anticipating his needs, Evelyn pointed to the bed next to Foster’s. There, folded up neatly, were the clothes he had been wearing before the fight. The two of them exchanged a curt nod, and he immediately began to slip on a tee shirt. “You still didn’t answer my question, Foster. Why are they here now?”

  “Because,” Foster finished tugging up his pants. “It’s happened again.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “What’s happened again?”

  “It’s…” Foster started to answer her question but stopped. “It’s complicated.”

  “So why come get, you? As far as I know, Washington’s crammed full of smart people. Smart people who don’t currently reside in a nuthouse. What makes you so special?”

  “Because this is the day I told them that it would happen again.”

  “So,” Her words became drawn out. “Eight years ago, something happened. I won’t even try and guess what, but I’m assuming it was something you can’t fully explain, state secrets and everything.” She made imaginary quotation marks in the air. “Though, it must be pretty important because otherwise, they would have left you here to rot.”

  “I would say very important.”

  “So, what are you saying? That you and your phone are going to save us? Save us from what?”

  Foster threw on his robe and did something unexpected. He walked across the room to her desk and without warning embraced her. Evelyn didn’t recoil or pull away, she just sat there, opened mouthed, and let it happen.

  “I didn’t say save. And I don’t really know from what. But yes. Yes, we will.” The words were meant to be impressive, but Evelyn was not someone easily impressed. So he tried a different, more personal tack. “I know you have grandkids, Nurse Mason. James and Elisa, that’s their names. Isn’t it?”

  Words failed the normally unflappable woman. How could he know that? She never shared her personal life with any of the inmates, not even the ones like Foster that she found mildly tolerable. She was a harsh word away from threatening him when something out of place on his face stopped her. It was a look of sanity.

  “How do you know about them?”

  “That’s what I do, Evelyn. I solve problems that interest me. And this problem has held my undivided attention for eight years.” Foster withdrew his hug but left one arm draped over the older woman’s shoulder. “So don’t worry about a thing.”

  Underneath his embrace, she shuddered at the thought of this man having anything to do with her family’s safety. “Don’t worry?” Her voice reached even greater heights of sarcasm. “Foster, all you have is a smile and that broken phone.”

  “Evelyn,” he smiled broadly, ignoring her tone. “That’s all I need.”