Spirit (Blackwood Security, #10.5) - Elise Noble Page 0,11
move away?”
“Maybe the slippers…” José suggested.
He obviously knew what was going on, and his worried glance suggested we might want to drop the subject. No problem.
“What kind of slippers do you want? Moccasins? Mules?”
Perhaps I could sneak into Bradley’s boudoir tonight and add them to his list? He’d been writing everything down in a faux-fur-covered notepad that he refused to let out of his sight, but if I could murder a dictator in his sleep, then I could slide Bradley’s Christmas master plan out from under his pillow without him noticing.
José answered for her. “Gwen likes moccasins.”
“Lovely. Any preference on the colour?”
“You and your sister lost contact?”
Shut up, Dan. I recognised that tone. Dan liked a good mystery, and her curiosity had been piqued.
“Now, now, don’t be nosy.” I smiled as I elbowed Dan in the side. “Slippers are fine. We can pick them up tomorrow. You know how much we both love shopping.”
Dan cut me a “WTF” look because if shopping wasn’t my absolute least favourite activity, it was certainly in the bottom ten.
“Everyone deserves to have their wishes come true at Christmas, and if we can help you to find your sister, then we will. When did you last see her?”
A groan slipped out. Dan had been spending too much time with Bradley, hadn’t she? His bloody Christmas cheer was rubbing off on her. Dammit, that meant I’d have to go to the next Project Mistletoe update meeting, if for no other reason than to stop Dan from succumbing to the Yuletide equivalent of Stockholm syndrome.
Gwendolyn reached out a bony hand and patted Dan on the arm. “That’s sweet of you, but I haven’t seen her since I was two or three years old, apart from in my memories. And sometimes, I’m not even sure that they are memories. They’re more like dreams.” She turned to José. “Perhaps you could get that coffee for our visitors? And a plate of those sugar cookies?”
“But—”
“I’m absolutely fine, José.”
He didn’t look as if he believed her, but he did back out of the door. When his footsteps had gone quiet, Gwendolyn sighed.
“Bless that boy, he does worry.”
I tried one last time. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”
“Sometimes, it helps. There’s heartache, but it helps.”
Dan dragged a chair over and took a seat next to Gwendolyn. Uh-oh.
“If you want to take a break, you only have to say.”
“There’s really not much to tell. Just that I have parts of my life I can’t explain. I was abandoned as a young girl, left on the altar in a church, and I was sick, real sick. The doctors thought I wasn’t going to make it, and even now, my health still gives me trouble. My bones. They break too easily.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, dear. My adoptive parents were wonderful, and I had thirty-two good years with my Dirk, God rest his soul.”
“But you still miss your sister? Can you remember her name?”
Gwendolyn shook her head. “I’m not sure I ever knew it. But I have dreams—nightmares—that I’m locked in a dark room, and sometimes, there’s a baby lying next to me. A baby girl, and once or twice, a woman singing too. And I think… I think maybe that’s where I used to live.”
Wow. That wasn’t creepy at all.
“Did the police try searching for your birth family?” Dan asked.
“Oh, yes. They even appealed on the television. But nobody ever came forward. When I was young, I pushed it to the back of my mind, but now… More and more often, I find myself wondering what happened.”
Keep your mind occupied, and there wasn’t much space for unwanted thoughts. Take a break, and the demons ran wild. It made perfect sense. But although I understood where Gwendolyn was coming from, it didn’t change the fact that she was talking about a sixty-year-old mystery, and I was so busy right now with work that I barely had time to brush my damn teeth.
“Such a shame they had no luck. What size are your feet?”
Dan glared at me. “We’ll see what we can do. No promises, but I’m a private investigator and occasionally reviews of cold cases can throw up surprises.”
Gwendolyn beamed at her. “Really? You will? That’s very kind of you, sweetie pie. I always wished I could hire somebody, but money’s tight. The fees here… After I broke my hip again, I didn’t feel confident living alone.”
“Appletree Acres seems like a nice place.”
“Oh, it is. We have three lounges,