WILSON IS FRANTIC with joy when Susannah steps into my house, leaping and barking and his tail wagging so fast it looks like a propeller. “Hi, doggy,” Susannah manages, petting Wilson. “Good boy.” She heads for the couch and sinks down onto it. “I’m going to lie down here for about a week, ’kay?”
“Good choice,” I say. When she raises a quizzical eyebrow, I put my hand on top of my TV. “I downloaded every Tom Hanks movie ever made.”
She raises up on her elbows. “Seriously?”
“Even Joe Versus the Volcano.”
Susannah sighs. “You know how to make a girl feel special, Ethan.”
We watch Dragnet because Susannah wants something funny, and then, after ordering pizza, we start Apollo 13. Yesterday I threw out all my beer and liquor, not wanting to tempt Susannah as alcohol and antidepressants are a terrible combination, but she doesn’t even ask for a drink except for a Diet Coke. We gorge on Hawaiian pizza, Susannah’s favorite, and call out favorite lines as we watch Tom Hanks on the screen.
The money quote for Apollo 13 is coming up, as Kevin Bacon’s character has just turned on the stirring fans for the spacecraft’s oxygen tanks, one of which explodes. Susannah and I are leaning forward, eager to say the line aloud. What I don’t expect to hear is the deep male voice behind us.
“ ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ ”
I jump off the couch and spin around, TV remote in my hand, while Susannah turns, stifling a cry. Caesar is standing in my living room behind the couch, hands in the pockets of his leather coat.
“Jesus Christ!” I yell.
Belatedly, Wilson starts to bark an alarm from his bed across the room.
“Might want to put the remote down before you hurt someone,” Caesar says.
I glance at the remote in my hand, poised as if I’m going to throw it. I use it to pause the movie and then drop it on the couch. “The hell are you doing here?”
“Checking on you,” Caesar says.
“How’d you get in?”
“Back door.”
I glare at Susannah, who shrugs and holds up her hands in a who, me? gesture. “The best locks money can buy,” I say to her acidly.
“Door was unlocked,” Caesar says.
I open my mouth, then close it. Wilson takes this opportunity to scamper over, growling, and then rolls over shamelessly onto his back at Caesar’s feet. Caesar crouches to rub Wilson’s belly.
Meanwhile, Susannah is looking Caesar over. She turns to me and says, “So who’s Shaft?”
I stare at her. “You did not just call him Shaft.”
She tilts her head, considering. “No, he’s more of a Hawk. From Spenser: For Hire? Avery Brooks played him?”
Blessedly, a knock on the front door interrupts her.
“That would be Frankie,” Caesar says. His expression is unreadable.
I head for the door, but not without overhearing Caesar say, “Avery Brooks is all right. But I liked him better in Star Trek.”
“Oh my God, I know, right?” Susannah says, her voice pitching toward fangirl excitement.
Caesar’s got a new best friend, I think. I open the door to find Frankie midknock.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Go inside,” he says.
I stand in the doorway. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Frankie?” I hear Susannah say, and then she’s beside me. “Hi.”
Frankie stares at her. “Hey,” he says. “How you doing?” His eyes flick to me, then back to her.
Susannah smiles, showing her teeth. “Fantastic. Just got out of the loony bin. Your friend Caesar likes Star Trek, which is amazing. We’re watching Tom Hanks movies. Can I get a hug here, or what?”
Frankie chuckles and bends to hug Susannah, but over her shoulder he gives me a warning look. “You don’t check your phone?” he says to me.
I silenced my phone and left it plugged up in my bedroom while Susannah and I watched movies. “I was taking a break,” I say. “Catch me up.”
“Suzie,” Frankie says, one arm around Susannah’s shoulders, “do you mind if I borrow your brother for a minute?”
Caesar is walking around my living room, glancing out the windows. Wilson trots behind him, head cocked in observation, his tail wagging.
“What are you doing?” I ask him. “Inspecting my house?”
“Something like that,” Caesar says.
Wordlessly I turn to Frankie and hold my hands up, baffled.
“Guys, I want to watch Tom Hanks and eat pizza,” Susannah says.
Frankie looks past me at Susannah, then back to me. “Caesar,” he says, “did you know Ethan’s sister is a huge Trekkie?”
Caesar is heading down the hall to my bedroom, Wilson at his heels, and his voice comes floating back. “I had an inkling. Girl has taste.”
“What is he doing?” I ask.
“Probably checking your windows.”
After a few moments Caesar reappears along with Wilson. “Looks good. As long as Ethan remembers to lock the doors.”
I turn and look at the front door, then step over and turn the dead bolt. I can’t be sure, but I think Caesar’s mouth twitches.
“Suzie,” Frankie says, “why don’t you and Caesar hang out for a minute while I talk with Ethan?”
Susannah looks at Caesar, who raises an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Spock.
“Deep Space Nine or Voyager?” she asks quickly.
Caesar grunts. “DS Nine, no question.”
Grinning, Susannah takes him by the hand and leads him to the couch. “Go on, boys,” she says. “Caesar and I have loads to talk about.”
Frankie walks down the hall, and I follow him into my room. “What is going on, Frankie?” I ask.
Frankie glances at the bedroom doorway, then turns his gaze on me. “Sam Bridges is dead,” he says.
“He … what?”
“One of the monks found him this morning, floating in that pond outside the monastery.” Frankie is gauging me, seeing if I’m going to freak out. “He’d been stabbed. A lot.”
I sit down on my bed. “Oh my God,” I say.
“It’s on the news,” Frankie continues. “That’s why I called. When you didn’t answer, we came right over.”
My mind is whirling. Sam Bridges, dead. Marisa, dead. I look up at Frankie. “Why did you come?” I ask. Then I’m struck absolutely still. Frankie
