Kindred Spirit - Noah Harris Page 0,10
see it was homemade. Making a mental note to pick up a supply from the store, he snatched up the tablet the DDI had given him and began to lean back. His movements froze as a knock came at the door, firm and evenly spaced.
Sighing, he heaved himself back up, locking the tablet and tossing it back onto the bed. While Laura had told him others might stop by, he hadn’t expected her words to be a prophecy of a conga line that would start queuing outside his door. He only hoped he managed to be a little more impressive with this new arrival than he had with her or at least managed to get more than a few words in edgewise.
Bracing himself for a friendly smile and exchange, he gripped the door handle and opened it. The smile of friendly curiosity froze on his face as he blinked at the person on the other side of the door. He’d seen the few pictures of his target, Levi, in the file, but Jacob was quickly becoming aware of just how little justice they had done the man.
Without the effect of zooming in, taken from odd angles, and without Jacob always looking at the camera, the man looked good. Dressed in a stained pair of jeans that hung off his legs but hugged his thighs. A dirty work shirt draped over his broad shoulders, his fingers smeared with grease and grime. Bright green eyes peered out from a mop of dirty blond hair, and his thin lips curled in a wry smile.
“Well, I’m guessing you’re the one I’m looking for. Exactly as Laura described,” Levi said, voice heavy with amusement.
Jacob straightened. “Uh, hello, uh, how did she describe me?”
Levi reached up, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his dirty fingers. “It’s probably better for us both if I don’t repeat what she said.”
“Why better?” Jacob asked, managing not to stutter again.
“Because then I’d be embarrassed for repeating it, you’d probably be embarrassed or horrified that some woman you didn’t know said it and some guy you don’t know told you. It would really be awful, and I don’t want her and me strung up in the town center because we managed to scare off the first interesting person that’s been here in over a year,” Levi told him.
Jacob glanced down, catching sight of the toolbox clenched in the man’s hand. “Oh, you must be the handyman she talked about.”
“For the time being,” Levi said, glancing over Jacob’s shoulder. “Among everything else she said, Laura mentioned something about a light?”
“Oh!” Jacob turned, pointing up toward the fixture. “Thing’s been shorting out the whole time I’ve been here, and today it was giving off sparks.”
Silence met his words, and Jacob turned around to gaze quizzically at the other man. Levi’s eyes were fixed somewhere off to the left, vacant. A second later, he snorted and shook his head.
“Right, well, it’s probably just a short, nothing I can’t work with. If it’s worse than that, we’re going to have to call in a real professional,” Levi said, walking into the room and peering up at the light.
Jacob watched him, curious at what he’d just witnessed. “Well, here’s hoping it’s a simple thing.”
Levi grabbed the chair, swinging it around so he could stand on it. Jacob watched him, partly because he really did like the way Levi’s pants hugged his ass, but also to see if he could catch anything else odd. It could have just as easily been Levi staring off into space thoughtfully. But it also could have been a sign of something else.
He was really going to have to look over the files on mediumship. Jacob was quickly realizing that he’d been so focused on how to play undercover, and learning about Levi, that he’d yet to give the mediumship section a good look over. He wouldn’t know signs of a medium from signs of a telepath.
It was then he realized Levi was talking. “About right.”
Jacob snapped his head up. “What? Sorry.”
Levi chuckled, propping his toolbox on his feet and pulling a few things out. “I said that looks about right. Just an exposed wire. I can get this patched up and tell them to get the damn thing fixed right, so they don’t end up with a bill from the place burning down instead of just paying an electrician. Make sure the light’s off though, I don't want to end up on my ass.”
Jacob did, though he’d made sure the