She was almost at the table before they got all the way seated. She gave them her best all out Liz smile. “Good morning! Here are your menus. Can I get anything for you to drink? Coffee, orange juice?” Jarod smiled up at her. “Do you have any chili?” At her nod, he said, “Then I would like a bowl of chili and another one of those Grand Canyon Banana Splits.”

“For breakfast?” Both Luke and Liz exclaimed at the same time. Jarod smiled from one to the other. “It was good. I’d like to try another one.” He leaned toward Liz. “This time I’ll tackle it from the north rim!” Luke ordered a more normal breakfast, orange juice with ham and eggs.

Liz walked away confused and disappointed. If Jarod could order one of those monsters for breakfast, then maybe it was he that had used the jalapenos last night. Liz put in the order and tried to think fast.

Luke was in the same age area as her friends and a possibility. Jarod was too old to be, but definitely not a cold fish like Nasedo. So either Luke was one of Max’s kind, or they were both something else. A little shiver of fear ran down her spine. ‘I’ll just find out one way or the other right now!’

She grabbed a glass of juice and emptied a good portion of Tabasco into it. Then took it and some coffee to the table. “Here you are Luke. Are you sure you don’t want some coffee Jarod? Maybe some milk?” She kept an eye on Luke as he took a generous swig of juice. She had seen the look of pure pleasure Michael gave every time he had the same thing.

The look on Luke’s face, when he tasted it, was so surprising that Liz sat down right at the table. There was surprise, pleasure and then fear on his face.

“So it’s true.” She grabbed his hand before he could bolt up and out the door. “Please. We need to talk.” She couldn’t stand the fearful look on his face. She talked fast and low enough that no-one else could hear. “I have friends, very close friends, that like the same ‘brand’ of orange juice. They also like jam or sugar on their hamburgers, and hot peppers in their ice cream. If…if you saw the same thing I did last night, then you know who I’m talking about.” Now she held her breath and waited. Would he trust her?