no. You’re a guest, and besides, everything’s under control. After thirty years, I’ve got a system.”
“You’ve worked for the Dark Lord for that long?” I clapped a hand over my mouth. “Oops. I shouldn’t call him that.”
She chuckled. “It’s quite a good name for him, dear. I used to work for his parents, and even as a child he was...intense. Now, what do you want for lunch? Sandwiches? Or I could make soup?”
“I’d prefer soup, but I can make it. I love cooking.”
“Young Nick’s never going to let you go, I’ll tell you that now.”
I sure hoped not.
Mrs. Fairfax eventually gave in and let me help out in the kitchen, and she even gave me a file full of her recipes. Her risotto was the best I’d ever tasted. I longed to get back to Adler House and recreate some of the dishes for Nick.
Although it didn’t look as if that would be happening any time soon. Every evening I asked how the investigation was going, and every time, Nick grimaced and shook his head.
“There’s no sign of the bastard. Emmy’s convinced he’s out there, though. She says she can feel him.”
“Isn’t that a bit odd?”
“Yes, but Emmy’s gut feelings are usually right on the money. We’re just watching and waiting at the moment.”
So watch and wait we did. Logan popped in to update me several times a day, and I noticed he always wore an earpiece with a microphone attached. So did Nick when we weren’t in the bedroom.
“What’s that for?” I asked him, pointing.
“It keeps me in touch with the control room at headquarters and the rest of the team.”
“Can you talk to Emmy?”
Nick tapped a button on his ridiculously complicated digital watch. “When I press this, it’s like she’s standing next to me.”
As the days passed, I began to feel guilty for keeping Emmy and her husband apart. After all, this was my mess, not theirs. It should be me sleeping in my pitiful apartment while Emmy lived in this palace where she belonged. I’d seen her husband with an earpiece too, and when he talked softly into it late at night, it was the only time I saw him smile.
“How much longer will this go on?” I asked Nick one evening as we curled up in the living room. “It’s not fair for everyone to keep living like this.”
“You’re not going home, baby. End of discussion.”
I glanced at Emmy’s husband on the sofa by the far wall. A movie played on the big-screen TV fixed above the fireplace, but he was more interested in his laptop. From the curve of his lips, I bet Emmy had a webcam with her.
“But look at him. He misses her.”
“He’s probably enjoying the peace and quiet.”
I dug Nick in the ribs. “Be serious. It must be awful for them.”
“It’s fine. Believe me, they’ve been in far worse situations.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll explain later. It’s a long story.”
How could he say something like that and leave me hanging? “No, I think you should tell—”
A loud, “Fuck,” from Emmy’s husband stopped me mid-sentence. Nick leapt to his feet in an instant and flew across the room to stare at the laptop screen.
“Whoa. Fuck me.”
“What’s happening?”
Neither of them answered, so when Logan burst in and ran to watch whatever was happening as well, I snuck over behind him. The screen was divided into four. The top left quadrant displayed a mass of static while the segment next to it showed a rolling grey shadow. Bottom left showed the door to my apartment building, dim because the bulb over the door hadn’t worked since I moved in. Then I focused on the bottom right quarter.
“Fuck!” For a moment I forgot Momma brought me up not to curse. Even if I’d relaxed my rule in the bedroom, I still tried to stick to it in company. “What’s going on?” The fourth quarter showed the back of my building, and flames leapt from one of the units. “Is that my apartment?”
“It was, yes,” Emmy’s husband said.
“But what about Emmy? Wasn’t she in there?”
“She was. She isn’t now.”
“What happened? Where is she?”
“The suspect took out your living room window with a bullet, then followed up with a firebomb. Emmy climbed out the bathroom window.”
I’d always hated the lack of windows in my bedroom, as well as the fact that the only entrance to the bathroom was on the far side of my bed, but now it had proven to be a blessing. Still, that didn’t entirely explain Emmy’s escape.