Belinda met me at the counter, holding a blue bag. Alan was waiting on someone else; he held up a hand in a wave and said, “Come back soon.”
We went out into the cold air; the day had gone gray, and the streetlights were coming on. “Nothing super specific,” I said. “But more negative vibes.”
Belinda nodded. “That ‘tiger in a cage’ thing gave me the chills. What in the world was going on with him? And how does it affect Carl?” Her tone was worried.
“It probably doesn’t affect Carl at all, especially if Luis was just bummed out about a fight he had with his wife. She said he cheated; that would be enough, right?”
“Except if you’re the cheater, you’re not the one who’s disillusioned, are you?”
“No.” I felt disillusioned, too, on the gray street, faced with a missing man, a worried Carl, an absent Camilla, a sick Sam. “I have to get back. Sam will be looking for me. Let’s run and get your pasta strainer and hurry to Graham House.”
Belinda tucked her arm in mine, sensing my anxiety. “He’ll be better soon.” We waited for a lull in traffic and strolled across the road. “I love the fact that Camilla’s house has a name. And now Sam’s does, too, right?”
“Well, we jokingly call it Sam House.”
“Yeah. I want my house to have a name. Allison’s is Branch House. What would mine be?”
“Book House?”
“Hmm. Sounds nice, but that’s more a name for the library.”
I thought of Belinda’s home, full of light and books and pretty things. “How about Warm House? Or Sanctuary House?”
We reached her car, and she gave me a spontaneous hug. “Warm House. I love it. Thanks, Lena. I’m going to put that on my next party invitation.”
Belinda ran into the store to get her strainer, and I got into her car to check my texts. Nothing from Sam, which meant he was probably sleeping. One picture from Camilla, of some beautiful autumn scenery out the car window, taken past Adam’s noble profile as he sat at the wheel. He was smiling and looking at Camilla out of the corner of his eye. The captain, she had written.
I smiled and clicked out. No other texts waiting. This should have been a good thing, but it made me feel nervous. Belinda came out with another bag, and she stowed both of her purchases in the backseat before climbing in beside me. Then she turned to me. “I asked the girl at the counter if they supply to any shops around here. She said sure, lots of the restaurants and shops buy from them. I asked about coffee shops, and she said both proprietors run in now and then for filters or place mats or things like that.”
“Okay.”
“I guess that’s just interesting because it means Luis and Elena are both well-known in this town. It’s not like they can be anonymous and have some private fight. People know and recognize them both.”
She started the motor and pulled into traffic, and I thought about what she’d said. It was true—when Carl first mentioned Luis, I had thought of him as an anonymous man. But more and more he was taking shape as a vibrant Blue Lake resident, a life that blended in with all our lives. “I have to think about that some more,” I said.
When we got to Graham House, Belinda pulled up in front of the porch, but she was looking away, toward the rutted bluff road we had just left. “That was weird.”
“What?” I followed her gaze but saw nothing aside from the colorful, rustling trees.
“There was this black car behind us. I was joking around in my head that it looked like every car that has ever followed someone in the movies. But it did stay behind us, all the way down Wentworth Street, and even onto the bluff road. And then I turned, and it kept going.”
“Up there?” I said, pointing at the area beyond Camilla’s house. “I guess they could be going to the overlook. So few people go there, though, and there’s really no parking to speak of, just that sort of turnaround.”
As I said it, a dark car passed Camilla’s driveway and drove down the bluff. Belinda looked at me. “Should we be paranoid?”
Something twisted in my stomach. “We need to take note of it, for sure. Keep an eye out for dark cars. Black, I’m pretty sure. Maybe dark blue.”
She sighed. “I like solving mysteries of research. It’s not quite as fun when we’re out in the world with unanswered questions.”
“Do you want to come in?” I asked.
She shook her blond head. “It’s my day off, and I have chores to do. Warm House is kind of a hot mess right now,” she joked.
“Well, go work on that. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Take care of Sam. Text me about his condition.”
“I will, thanks. You’ll fill in Doug, right?”
“Yeah, right now.”
I blew her a kiss and climbed out of the car. She drove down the pebbled drive, and I climbed the steps and unlocked Camilla’s door. The boxes still sat in the living room, waiting for Adam and me to open them. The dogs swarmed me seconds later, and I let them into the backyard for some frolicking time.
I tidied up the kitchen, let the dogs back in, and went to check on Sam. He was still asleep. I felt his forehead; still hot.
He rustled a bit in bed, and I sat on the edge of his mattress. “How are you?” I said softly.
“I’ve been better,” he croaked. “Can I have some water?”
I grabbed the cup and helped Sam drink a substantial amount of water. I pulled out some of the pills I had bought him and persuaded him to take those, too. “Allison’s going to make a house call and check you out with her nurse expertise.”
“Good. So many pretty girls feeling my forehead.”
“But only one is going to kiss you,” I said, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
He smiled wanly. “Only one girl I want to kiss me,” he said, his eyes closed.
Geronimo climbed up Sam’s body and sniffed his chin. Sam smiled. “You brought them. Thanks.”
“They were glad to see you.” I looked around for Arabella, who was no longer on the bed. I didn’t see her anywhere, and I was starting to panic, but I peeked into the bathroom, where a giant heat vent was placed at floor level. Sam had tossed a sweatshirt in the corner, and Arabella lay curled on this, directly in front of the flow of warm air. “Smart girl,” I murmured.
I went back into my room. “I brought the thermometer,” I told Sam. “Let me take your temperature.”
He submitted with a shrug, and I slid the glass tube under his tongue, brushing his hair back from his face, then leaving my cold hand on his warm forehead. When I finally checked his temperature, I was troubled to see that it was still high—102.5.
“You still have a fever.”
“Yeah. It’s knocking me out.”
“Do you want some more water?”
“Just a sip. Then I’ll sleep some more.”
I helped him drink some water and then tucked his covers loosely around him—he would probably fling them off soon anyway. “I’ll be just downstairs if you need me. I’ll prop your phone on the headboard here, see? So you won’t even have to reach for it if you need me.”
“Okay.” I got as far as the door, and he said, “Lena.”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
Something bloomed inside me, quietly. “I love you, too.”
I ducked out of the room; this time I found Lestrade in the hall, looking very curious. He tried to dart past me into the room, but I scooped him up. “Not just now, my friend. Sam doesn’t need to hear squalling cats while he’s trying to get better. Let’s go see what the dogs are doing, hmm?”
Lestrade, always adaptable, began purring in my arms, and when we reached the main floor, I went into Camilla’s office, where I was able to persuade him to curl up in my purple chair for an autumn nap.
I returned to the front hall and looked out the window. No sign of a dark car now, but th
e day had turned gray and twilight was near. It would be hard to see things lurking in the dark . . .
My mind swarmed with anxious thoughts. What if someone had followed us? What was their intention? Did someone, somehow, know that we were looking into the disappearance of Luis Castellan? A new thought came to mind unbidden: had someone, somehow, poisoned Sam? He had become sick so suddenly . . .
I shook my head and clapped my hands together once. I would not be going down the road of paranoia. Thanks to some prescription medicine, I had spent the latter part of the summer viewing the behaviors of others with suspicion, but also second-guessing myself.
I knew that my worries were probably ridiculous, but they also would have grown worse if Allison had not pulled up in the driveway and emerged like a ray of sunshine. I flew out the door and down the steps to meet her, and she gave me a hug. “How’s the patient?” she asked.
We started walking up the steps. “He’s mostly been sleeping. Is it weird that this just came out of nowhere? He woke up fine, and half an hour later he had a fever.”
“He didn’t wake up fine, he just looked fine. If he has a virus, that infection started before the fever did.”
“What do you mean if he has a virus? What else could it be?” I opened the door and ushered her in, and she put her hands on my shoulders.
“First things first. Let’s take a peek at Sam. Is he in your room?”
“Yes.”
She moved to the stairs and started marching upward. “Why don’t you get some tea or something? You can meet me up here in a few.”
“Okay.” I went to the kitchen, filled the kettle with water, and put it on the stove to boil. Outside in the dimness Blue Lake was beginning to twinkle with reflected light. The dogs milled up to me and snuffled against my legs, so I gave them their dinner. Lestrade had not yet left the purple chair, so I jumped when another creature wandered into the kitchen. It was Geronimo, Sam’s orange kitten, taking careful steps and peering around with wide eyes.
“Oh shoot, Allison let you out,” I said to him. The kettle wasn’t yet whistling, so I scooped him up and ran upstairs, scanning for Arabella as I went. I needn’t have worried. In my room Allison sat on the edge of Sam’s bed and Arabella sat on his chest. He petted his little cat absently while he spoke to Allison. I had never seen him look so groggy and disheveled.
I set Geronimo on the bed. “We have to keep these guys locked in here with Sam for the time being.”
Allison nodded. “Sorry about that. He darted out before I could shut the door.”
“He’s an explorer,” Sam croaked.
I moved forward to feel Sam’s forehead, which was still hot. I frowned and turned to Allison. “Why won’t this fever break?”
She shrugged. “It can take two or three days sometimes. Right now he’s at one-oh-two and a half, and he said it peaked at one-oh-three, true?”
I nodded.
“If it goes above that at any point, I want you to bring him to the ER. Otherwise, everything looks okay. You’re strong, Sam, and you don’t have any other symptoms that would suggest this is something other than a virus. Lena is a worrier and always has been, but I think you’ll be fine. Just keep drinking that water and getting tons of rest. Your body won’t let you do anything else.”
Sam nodded, rubbing Arabella’s supersoft ears.
Allison put a comforting hand on one of his covered feet. “You’ve been through a lot in the last year and kept up your defenses. Your body is probably relaxing into a less guarded state, and that’s how this virus wormed its way in there.”
“Great,” he said. Arabella leaned into his hand, trying to get the maximum massage, and we all laughed.
“Would you like some tea?” I asked. “Are you hot or cold right now?”
“Getting the chills again, so tea would be nice,” Sam said.
Allison stood up. “I’ll help Lena get it together, and then I have to run. John is barbecuing tonight. Take care, Sam. I’ll come again tomorrow night to see how things are going.”
Sam thanked her and waved as we left the room carefully, keeping our eyes on the kittens to make sure they stayed on the bed.
When we reached the kitchen, Allison said, “I can see that you’re on anxiety overdrive. Take care of yourself, or you won’t be able to help Sam.”
“Okay.”
“Do some deep breathing,” she insisted, looking into my eyes with her big blue ones.
“I’m fine. I think I’m just on edge because of this Luis Castellan thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
I filled her in while I made Sam’s tea, starting with the missing Belinda and ending with our visit to the game store.
She shook her head in disbelief. “Is it this house? Is it because Camilla has written suspense novels for forty years? Because it is relentless, the intrigue and the—just—craziness of the connections . . .”
“I don’t know. Sam said there’s a pendulum effect in Blue Lake. From extreme conflict to extreme happiness, back and forth.”
“Maybe.” She nodded. “Maybe that’s just life. I see terrible things every day, so I don’t know why I’m surprised that we experience them as well. Hopefully this will have a happy ending, right? This Luis could be okay.”
“Yeah.” For some reason I pictured Carl—his thin body and the vulnerability of his eyes. “I hope so.”
She gave me a quick hug and patted my cheek. “I’ve got to fly. John’s cooking, but we have a guest coming—do you know Jane Varney?”
“I think you’ve mentioned her.”
“She’s the real estate agent trying to sell Nikon Lazos’s house. Trying and failing, of course. She thought people would be drawn to the weird factor, but I guess ultimately they don’t want to live in the house of a criminal.”
My insides turned cold at the mention of Nikon Lazos, the man who had hidden in plain sight and done any number of terrible things to Sam, Victoria, me, and even his own daughter. “Good—I wouldn’t expect anyone to want to live there. I can’t even look at it when I come to visit you.”
She sniffed her agreement. “Anyway, poor Jane has been out there doing so many open houses that we have gotten to know her pretty well.”
“Friendships formed by crime,” I joked.
She laughed and kissed my cheek. “I’m just a phone call away. Let Sam rest, and his body will fight its inner battle. Okay? Meanwhile I think you should have some chocolate.”
I laughed. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”
I walked her to the door and waved as she drove away. I returned to the kitchen and put Sam’s tea on a tray with a few mild biscuits and a banana. I moved carefully up the stairs and brought it to his bedside table. Arabella and Geronimo were asleep now, huddled together near Sam’s elbow.
Sam was almost asleep, too, but I persuaded him to take a few sips of tea.
“Thanks,” he said, and then, “I’m cold.”
I tucked his covers around him and he murmured his thanks.
He was out before I left the room.
10
My marriage was an inspiration to me, from beginning to end.
—From the notebooks of Camilla Graham
ALLISON HAD CORRECTLY identified me as “a worrier,” but I had reached a state of calm an hour later. Ultimately, Luis Castellan’s disappearance had nothing to do with me. Doug Heller was on it, which meant that Cliff Blake was on it, too, and I could back away. Belinda would update me, whatever happened. Carl would be all right, because his sister was just a quick drive away.
I drank my own cup of tea and did the deep breathing that Allison had advised. When Rochester started growling, I thought at first that he was just in an argument with his brother; moments later Heathcliff growled, too, and both dogs moved swiftly out of the room, heading toward the front window, where they
planted their paws on the sill and stared into the darkness, their hackles raised. The growling grew more menacing; their teeth shone white in the dark room.
“What’s going on, guys?” I asked, walking up behind them and peering out.
No sign of Adam and Camilla, and Sam was sick upstairs. What had I done with my phone?
I leaned forward, my hand on Rochester’s back. Normally I would have seen nothing, but the dogs’ hyperalertness had me peering hard into the dark driveway. Was that movement I saw near the back of my car?
A sudden burst of light, and headlights appeared on the dark driveway. A car pulled up next to mine, and I kept my slightly shaking hand on Rochester’s back until Adam had turned on the car’s interior light so that Camilla could gather her things from the front seat. They were talking, smiling in the pale light, a little planet of companionship in the darkness.
I rushed to the front door and flung it open, and the dogs flowed out, bounding to greet the travelers. I followed, almost bounding myself, meeting Camilla at her open door. “Welcome back! Can I help you carry anything?”
She stood into my embrace and made a chuckling sound in my ear. I was probably squeezing her too tightly, but I realized just before she let go that she had been holding me tightly, too. “I’m so glad you’re back,” I said. “I know it’s only been a couple of days, but—”
“She missed you, too, Lena,” Adam said in a wry tone, coming around the car to give me a hug. “And, yes, you can help. I’ll get the bags if you’ll grab that little cooler there.”
“Of course!” I picked it up and started for the porch at Camilla’s side. The dogs were making joyful circles around her, and she paused to pat their big heads and say soothing things to them.
“Yes, yes, Rochester, I see that bone you’re carrying. It’s splendid. Yes, Heathcliff, he is a show-off, isn’t he?”
We climbed the porch and went inside; Camilla looked around and said, “What are all these boxes?”
“Oh, that’s just something Adam and I ordered.” Adam stood in the doorway, holding suitcases, and I pointed at the boxes containing Camilla’s book covers. He looked pleased, and he winked at me.
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