should act like it.”
“I don’t know if I want to act like that.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is there someone else?”
He stopped. He wondered how pale her skin was where the tan stopped. Then he looked at his desk. He did have work to do.
“I just think it’s all so sudden.”
“I’m not apologizing. I don’t like to wait around.”
She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. He could smell the seawater in her hair. A little salty. A little sour. He brushed it with his free hand.
“There you go,” she whispered. “Now, you said my arms are getting stronger. Let me get another opinion. I’ve been running a lot recently.”
She lifted her leg and stretched it out, her toes pointing at the wall. She waited and looked at him.
“Come on. It’s fitness.”
The room was dark because the blinds were closed. They hadn’t turned on the lights, so only thin yellow bands drew through. It looked like the running had worked out well. Why not? He was better now. He’d just run. This was why he did it all, wasn’t it? To do things like this. To be this person. He was supposed to be aggressive.
While she waited, she turned her head and started to kiss his neck. He should let it happen. He deserved to let it happen. He started to turn his head and move his hand toward her outstretched leg.
The desk vibrated.
“What’s that?”
“My phone.”
He got up quick and shook his head side to side. He felt like he was waking up. He smelled the sweat stain on his t-shirt and the beach on her. She reached for his hand but he twisted his fingers out.
“Just give me a second.”
It was Mel. Perfect timing, as always. He motioned to Kaylie to be quiet and answered the phone.
“Jake. I’m so glad you answered.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“You have to hurry. Charlotte’s daughter just called. I tried to stop her, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t…”
“What? You couldn’t stop her from what?”
“She changed her schedule. She’s coming today to get the keys and see Charlotte’s apartment.”
“Today? When?”
“She said she’d be at my office in fifteen minutes. I can stall her a bit.”
“And you have to give her the keys?”
“I can’t get out of it. This is your only opportunity to see inside.”
“All right, I’ll hurry.”
“I don’t know if you’ll have time.”
“I’ll have to try. Stall if you can.”
He closed the phone and grabbed his keys from the desk. He shoved the keys, his wallet, and his phone in the back pocket of his running shorts. Kaylie looked up.
“Your bulge is in the wrong place.”
“I don’t have time for this.
“What is it?”
“I have to go, now. Hurry.”
“Why?”
“My whole story’s going to fall apart if I don’t go now. Just move.”
She got up and walked toward the door.
“Will you be coming back?”
“Sure, just go.”
She walked out the door and he locked it and ran past her.
“What just happened?”
“This is more important,” he shouted back. He was running again, bounding down the stairs. He didn’t have time for pleasantries. This was his last chance to discover what Charlotte Ward had found.
CHAPTER 36
Everything in the room was in order. Dust floated idly and the air was stale and forgotten. But everything was there, except for Charlotte Ward. And somewhere in the room, he’d find what she had discovered about the Saving Tomorrow Initiative. He just didn’t know where. He shoved the key deep in his pocket. He didn’t have enough time to look things over any longer. He’d left his notebook in the car-he wasn’t there to observe, he was there to act.
He rushed to a secretary and pushed a row of pictures aside. Everything had to look the same when he left. He opened a drawer and looked through it while he got out his phone to call Gary.
“Hello?”
“I don’t have much time. I’m in Charlotte’s place.”
He waited.
“Is this a telemarketer?”
“Please. It’s Jake.”
“From the newspaper?”
“Yes, I don’t have time-”
“Jacob, hello! How are you?”
“Now listen-I’m going back to my place right after this. I want you to meet me there. We have to figure out what we’ll do next.”
“What have you found?”
“Nothing. Yet. I have to get to work.”
He clicked the phone shut and shoved his hand into another drawer. Letters. They could be something. He read the light blue cursive on the first one. A letter from Patrick to Charlotte. Dated 1954. He wanted to read it. But there wasn’t time. He put them all back into the drawer and went on to the next one.
Then he noticed the windows. The blinds were closed. He pulled one up and saw the window met the sill. Closed. Either Charlotte had closed the windows when he and Gary left, or someone else had. Maybe to muffle noise. To silence a scream. He lifted his finger off the window sill and blew away the collected dust.
He looked around the apartment. He had to cover the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen. He’d never searched a room before. He didn’t know how to look. And he didn’t know how resourceful Charlotte was. He hadn’t brought tools or even a flashlight, but he couldn’t see Charlotte lifting furniture or unscrewing a ventilator shaft in order to hide her findings. Not because of her personality, but because of her disability. That might be the best way for him to narrow down the places to look. Charlotte couldn’t go too high or work too hard. Whatever she’d found was hidden somewhere in the middle, if someone else hadn’t gotten to it first.
He was looking through a drawer of bills when he jumped. His phone was vibrating again. It was Mel. She whispered once he picked up.
“Are you there?”
“I’m inside. I haven’t found anything yet.”
“Her daughter and son in law are looking around the community right now. They hadn’t visited. Typical. But I can only make them sign so much paperwork before I go and show them her residence.”
“How much time do I have?”
“Not much.”
“Can you warn me?”
