“I need to go,” he said. “When this is over, and Wolfe is caught, I want to take you out to lunch. We need to talk.”
“I’ll have to check my calendar.”
“Please say yes.”
“Can I pick the restaurant?”
“Of course you can.”
She met his gaze for the first time. “All right, yes.”
“Thank you. Good night.” He rose from his chair and went to the door.
“I want to help,” Holly said out of the blue.
The words caught him by surprise. He turned around slowly.
“What do you mean?”
“I want to help you catch Wolfe,” she said. “I have powers, too. We could work together, and track him down. Two heads are better than one.”
Holly still didn’t get it. Wolfe was a monster, and so were the men who employed him. The best way to deal with monsters was to stay away from them.
“Do you really want to help me?” he asked.
Her face lit up. “Yes!”
“Good. Convince your aunt to stay indoors until we find him. Also, go find Reggie, and convince him to stay inside as well. Something tells me Reggie is still wandering around Central Park at all hours, conversing with the statues.”
“Damn it, that’s not what I meant! I want to help you. We could be a team.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She made another of her faces. He had seen people run away from her when she made faces, they were that powerful. He held his ground without flinching.
“Why not?” she seethed.
“Because you could get hurt, that’s why.”
“I’m willing to take that chance.”
“Well, I’m not. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”
“When did this just become about you? Wolfe’s trying to kill all of us.”
“Let me deal with him. I have a bead on him. I see signs before he’s going to strike, and can react to what he’s doing.”
“What are you saying? That I’ll only slow you down?”
She had taken the words right out of his mouth. He gave her a tired smile.
“Good night. I’ll call you tomorrow first thing.”
“Go to hell, Peter.”
He waited until he was outside before turning on his cell phone. It was still raining, and a howling wind was blowing down Central Park West. He called Liza, and got voice mail. He didn’t leave a message, hoping his girlfriend wasn’t still angry with him. He tried the number at the brownstone. Still no answer.
A cab pulled up, and the driver looked at him through the windshield. Peter hopped into the back, and gave the driver his address. Soon they were driving toward the east side of town. Then he called Snoop. His assistant sounded more than a little upset when he answered.
“Peter-where the heck have you been? You had me worried, man,” Snoop said.
“Sorry. I’ve had my hands full. What happened after I left?”
“Well, I’ve got good news, and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Peter braced himself. “I could use some good news. Give me that first.”
“Sure enough. Liza saved the day after you split. She walked onto the stage, and told the audience that you’d been battling the flu, and could no longer continue. She made it sound like you’d dragged yourself from your deathbed to do the show. She was awesome.”
“My fan club didn’t revolt?”
“On the contrary. They totally understood, and gave you a standing ovation. Liza rescheduled the date for the end of next month. Everyone left happy.”
“Whew. That’s great.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
“So, what’s the bad news?”
“You sitting down?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Liza quit.”
Peter brought his hand up to his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wouldn’t kid you about something like that. She came up to me after we closed the theater, and said she was leaving the show. She’s giving you two weeks’ notice so you can hire another assistant, and train her. I tried to talk her out of it, and she shut me down. Did you two have World War III or something? She was totally pissed.”
“She’s mad at me. I didn’t realize she was that mad.”
“Mad is an understatement. You need to talk to her, man.”
“Any idea where she is?”
“She went back to your place. I think she’s packing her things.”
Peter cupped his hand over the phone, and addressed the driver. “Can you go any faster? I’ll double the fare.” The cab sped up, and he lowered his hand. “Did she say anything else?”
“I asked her if you two guys were done,” Snoop said.
“And?”
“She turned away and started crying.”
“Thanks, Snoop. I’ll call you later.”
“I’m here if you need me.”
Peter folded the phone, wondering if he could still get Liza back. They’d had fights before, but never anything like this. The cab entered Central Park, and began to race down the twisting roads. He stared out the window, wishing he could turn his life back forty-eight hours, and erase everything that had happened.
Liza was in the living room when he entered the brownstone.
“Are your friends all right?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“Yes. I got to them in time,” he replied.
“Glad to hear it.”
“Please don’t leave.”
“Who told you I was leaving?”
“Snoop did. Say it isn’t so. Please.”
“My mind’s made up. If you’ll excuse me, I was in the middle of something.”
Taking out her cell phone, Liza snapped a photo of a stuffed panda named Butch that sat on the mantel over the fireplace. Butch could find playing cards, blow perfect smoke rings, and tell the future by banging on a drum. It was all a trick, courtesy of some amazing radio-controlled devices, but Liza had fallen in love with the little guy anyway. She hoisted her suitcase off the floor, and headed for the door, brushing past him. He wondered how he’d managed to ruin two relationships in one day.
“At least give me a second chance. I deserve that, don’t I?”
The suitcase fell from her hand. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and gave him a soulful stare. “Tell me something. How can someone who can read people’s minds be so clueless about their feelings?”
“I don’t mean to be.”
“But you are. You ran out on those kids. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“I had to save my friends.”
“You couldn’t have called the police? Come on, Peter, when did you turn into a superhero?”
