Tried & True (Mayfield Cozy Mystery Book 5) by Jerusha Jones

button-up shirt, a gadgety watch, and phone clip on his belt—on underneath the coveralls. He looked like every other geeky male IT employee in Silicon Valley. He wadded up the coveralls and shoved them under his seat.
    “He’s working the lunch shift today. I hope he can keep his cool when we walk in.”
    I hopped out of the car with a worried smile on my face. “This won’t get him into even more trouble?”
    “Not if we act fast.” Josh took a moment to retuck his shirt into his pants, trying to fix the rumpliness that had resulted from the struggle to shed his disguise in the car. With the current iteration of his appearance, however, I thought he’d blend in better with the other men in this particular neighborhood if he kept that couldn’t-be-bothered, just-rolled-out-of-bed look. I was tempted to offer to tousle his hair a bit to complete the impression. But he took off at a fast clip around the corner, and I jogged after him.
    Robbie was indeed behind the counter in the small Subway franchise that nestled in the first retail slot next the office building’s main lobby. He had a hairnet on over his curly mop and food-safe gloves on his hands. He did a quick double take when he spotted me in line, but then his face split into a wide grin.
    “What would you like, ma’am?” he asked when my turn came.
    “A turkey club with cheddar and everything except onions and jalapenos.”
    “Toasted?”
    “No, thanks.”
    “’Cause you know who else is gonna be toasted.” He winked at me.
    My eyes widened. “Mission accomplished?” I whispered.
    “Oh yeah.” Robbie raised his hand to give me a fist bump over the plastic shield that protected the sandwich ingredients from customers’ germs. I waved it off at the last second, waggling my finger at his glove.
    Robbie scratched his ear instead, which I was pretty sure defeated the purpose of wearing the gloves, and turned to Josh. “I remember you too, man. Saw you around the office with Skip sometimes. But if you’re with Nora now, I guess you’re okay.”
    “Josh has joined the dark side,” I murmured, “and is dealing with the same repercussions we are.”
    Robbie whistled softly. “Condolences, man.”
    We had to shuffle down the counter, moving with our sandwiches as they were assembled on the other side. But Robbie escaped his station and hovered behind the cashier for a moment as we paid. “Come see me anytime, Nora. It’s been a pleasure.” Then he scooted off to refill the tuna salad tub.
    He was still such a boy, maybe a little lost in the big, bad world of commerce, even though he sure did know his way around the generally accepted accounting principles. Good thing there’d been a counter between us, because I’d wanted to hug him, or throttle him. Either way, it was a relief to see that he seemed healthy and in good spirits.
    I held our wrapped sandwiches on my lap as we sped north again—to Emeryville. We were putting a lot of miles on Josh’s nondescript car. Josh found a park with a terrific view of the Bay Bridge, but it was too cold and breezy to eat at one of the picnic tables. So we huddled in our seats, and I tried to choke down some nourishment. We had less than an hour to burn before our appointment with Tank Ebersole.
    I called Clarice again. No new developments on her end. She sounded even more nervous than I was—there was a tautness to her voice that I’d rarely heard. I was worried she’d been watching some of Ebersole’s interview videos online, but I didn’t bring up the subject.
    “Not a peep from your federal friends,” she said. “If they’ve noticed you’re gone, they haven’t complained to me.”
    “They’re not likely to. But I’m in good hands.” I glanced at Josh who was doing justice to his sandwich, chewing as if his life depended upon it. “Emmie okay?”
    “Quiet this morning before I took her to the bunkhouse for school. I hate how our moods rub off on her. I don’t think we’ll ever have a