“Did you call her office?”
“Yes, of course.”
He gave her an inquiring look. “And?”
Emma pinched her mouth angrily. Damn him. “And she supposedly took the week off.”
“Ah.”
“No. No ah. She didn’t tell me she was taking the week off, and she would have. Something is wrong here, and if I wait too long, I’ll never—” Her voice broke as she fought back tears. Why couldn’t she make anyone understand? Lacey was so much more than a roommate. They were best friends, sisters in every way that counted. They were all each other had in the world, and Lacey would never have done this to her!
Duncan didn’t move except to frown thoughtfully. “I believe you,” he said unexpectedly.
“Thank you,” Emma whispered, nearly choking on the sob that was trying to force its way up her throat.
“Mind you,” he cautioned, “I’m not convinced anything dire has occurred, but I do believe you know Lacey quite well, certainly better than I do. And if you say something is off about this situation, then it’s worth looking into.”
She nodded, biting her lip to keep from blubbering like an idiot.
Duncan’s gaze sharpened on her mouth, and he stiffened from his relaxed sideways pose, turning smoothly until he once again faced her across the desk. “As I said earlier, Ms. Duquet, we’ve only just arrived in this city. Last night, as a matter of fact. Victor departed rather unexpectedly, which leaves us to dig through his records on our own.”
“Can’t you call him or something?”
“I’m afraid he’s not reachable, but I’ll do what I can.”
Emma sighed. He was humoring her. He had no intention of trying to find Lacey. He wasn’t even willing to call Victor, much less anything else.
“I’m not only saying this to appease you,” he insisted, and she frowned. That was the second time he’d seemed to read her thoughts. Was it possible?
“And I’m not reading your thoughts either,” he added, smiling. “What I have is many years experience reading human expressions, and your face is very expressive.”
Emma blushed. “Um, thank you. I guess. So, how long—”
“I know you’re anxious, but give me a couple of days. I will get back to you, I promise.”
Emma wanted to protest. Two more days! But it was better than she’d honestly expected before she got here, and it was probably the best she was going to get. She drew a deep, calming breath, in and out.
“All right. Thank you,” she said, and reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. “I left my purse in the car, so I don’t have any business cards with me, but I can text my numbers to you, or—” She raised her head to meet his very human brown eyes. “Do vampires use cell phones?”
Duncan grinned. “We do indeed. All the modern conveniences.” He slipped a hand into his jacket pocket, retrieved his own phone, and rapidly tapped a few keys. Then he slid it across the desk to her.
“You can enter your number there.”
Emma took the phone and glanced down at the screen. Her name had been typed in and was just waiting for a number. Feeling as if she were crossing some invisible line, she entered in her cell and work numbers, then put the phone back on the desk.
“I have a land line at home, but I never use it. Just the cell,” she said. “And my office number. I gave you that, too.”
“Very good, I’ll—”
“Shouldn’t I take your number?”
Duncan had already pushed away from the desk and stood, as if the interview was over. He stopped and gave her a bemused look. “Of course. Miguel.”
Emma frowned. He couldn’t tell her his number? He needed Miguel to do it for him? But Miguel was leaning across the desk, holding out a thick, white business card. Emma looked down as she took it. There were two lines on the card. Duncan’s name, which apparently included a last name of Milford, even though he hadn’t introduced himself that way, and a phone number. No title, no identifying affiliation of any kind.
“Okay,” she said. “Thanks.”
“Miguel, walk Ms. Duquet out to her car, would you? It’s dark and slippery out there.”