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might be true, but he still knew an asshole when he saw one.
    Behind the Valdez brothers, he could see the rest of the family coming in from the parking lot; Liliana's younger sister Isabel and Isabel's fiancé David, along with her parents and extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins.
    "Have the police found anything, Michael?" Juan asked.
    "Not as far as I know, but you might be able to get more information."
    "I'll go," Rico said, shooting Michael a distrustful look. "I wouldn't believe anything this guy has to say."
    "Did you go through the park?" Juan asked, as Rico headed toward Detective Kellerman.
    "Briefly. I didn't see anyone. I'm sure the police won't leave any stone unturned."
    "You're right. I want them to find her, but…" Juan's voice trailed away as he dug his hands into his pockets and stared at the shrubs all around them. "I can't imagine it will be the result we want."
    "Yeah, I know." They both wanted Liliana to come walking out of the thick trees alive and well. "How are your parents doing?"
    "They're hanging in there, more optimistic now that there's a lead. I don't think anyone slept last night after the detective called us." He paused. "Your father and Veronica are planning to help with the search today."
    He wasn't surprised. His father and Liliana's father had been like brothers for years. "Good."
    "I just don't know what Liliana would have been doing out here," Juan said. "We've wanted a new place to search for the last few months, but I never thought it would be this park, miles away from where she disappeared." He paused. "I can't understand why she didn't turn to me for help. I'm her big brother. I've always been there for her. Why did she text you? Why reach out to a man she hadn't seen in years? Why couldn't she talk to someone in her own family—if not to me, then to Rico or Isabel or Mama or Papa?"
    "I don't know, Juan. Everyone assumes she had a problem to discuss with me, but she may have just really wanted to see me." If Liliana had had a problem, the only reason he could think of for her going outside the family was that the problem had to do with her family, but he couldn’t point that out now, not with everyone's pain so raw.
    "It looks like they're getting ready to start," Juan said. "Are you coming?"
    "No. Detective Kellerman suggested I not be involved. I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know if they find anything."
    Juan's gaze narrowed, as if Michael's words had just reminded him that he was still a suspect. "Of course."
    As Juan went to join the search party, Michael headed to his car. He might not be able to search the park, but he could at least look at the photographs Alicia had taken. Maybe there was another miracle clue hiding somewhere in the shadows.

Four
    Alicia sat at a window table in the Il Piccolo Café, sipping a latte and eating the last of a blueberry muffin just before ten. After leaving the park, she'd gone back to her apartment, showered and changed into white jeans and a rose-colored tank top under a thin white sweater. She'd also taken another look through the photographs, wanting to make sure she hadn't missed anything before she showed them to Michael Cordero.
    Aside from the fact that she'd gotten some of the most spectacular lightning shots of her life, there were no other clues to the fight she'd witnessed. If the images hadn't continued to flash through her mind, she might have been able to believe it was all in her imagination, but the memories were relentless. It was as if her brain was telling her to pay attention, to see something she wasn't seeing.
    Perhaps it would be good for Michael to look at the photographs. She'd stared at them so hard and so long, they were blurring in her mind. She needed an objective eye.
    Thinking about Michael made her question why she'd agreed to meet with the only known suspect in the case. The police were suspicious of him. So why was she giving him the benefit of the doubt? Wasn't it possible he just wanted to see