Her perceptiveness had Bit swiveling in his chair, his full attention now on Theo, as well.
“Come on, man. Gumshoe nearly jumped out of his cardigan when Boss walked into the kitchen earlier. Something's up.”
Graham was the silent partner in S&E Investigations, hence the reason for the letters S&E in the company name. His financial backing had allowed Brook to establish the firm after leaving the FBI, though he rarely interfered with day-to-day operations. However, this was his mother they were discussing, and Theo understood the need to protect one’s parents.
“What I’m about to say stays in this room until either Arden or Brook discloses the information. Understood?”
Bit and Sylvie both agreed, although Theo had no delusions that once the cat was out of the bag, both would want to rally behind Arden.
“Arden is...” Theo paused, still uncomfortable with sharing something so personal. “He's involved with Graham's mother. Elizabeth Elliott.”
For a moment, neither of his colleagues reacted.
A smile eventually lit up Sylvie’s face, and she quickly handed off her teacup to Bit. He didn’t hesitate to take it from her, giving her the ability to clap her hands together with unexpected delight.
“Gumshoe and the Dragon Lady?” Bit asked, a lot more skeptical than Sylvie. “Who would have thought the old guy still had some game left in him?”
“Please tell me that you didn’t just refer to the General’s mother as the Dragon Lady, Bit.”
“Dragon Lady is what the catering staff called her at that charity gala last September,” Sylvie explained, though she did shoot Bit a disapproving glare. “Ms. Elliott made three waiters cry before the first course was served, but Bit won’t resort to their level. Right?”
Sylvie was dating Derek Haze, and the man’s stature among the elite meant his presence was required at certain charitable events. Theo had only met the man a handful of times, but each encounter had left an impression. The man carried himself with an air of confidence that demanded respect, which was earned due to being self-made and establishing himself in the pharmaceutical industry. Most importantly, he treated Sylvie as if she were spun from gold.
“You two aren’t considering the fallout if things go south,” Theo replied wryly, having already contemplated the potential complications. “It won’t be pretty around here, that’s for sure.”
Bit's enthusiasm dimmed somewhat upon hearing such a warning. He handed Sylvie back her tea before jostling his right leg, a nervous habit that he would never break.
“You don’t think that the Dragon Lady will break Gumshoe’s heart, do you?”
“Get out of the habit of calling her that, Bit. And you're both overthinking this,” Sylvie said as she settled comfortably back in her chair. “Arden deserves some happiness after losing his wife. And from what I've observed of Elizabeth Elliott, she's not the type of woman who enters into relationships lightly. Think about it. She also almost died seven months ago, so why wouldn’t she want to grab hold of what little happiness she can?”
Theo mulled over Sylvie’s impression of the situation. Elizabeth Elliott was indeed calculated in everything she did. If she allowed Arden into her life, it certainly hadn’t been on a whim. And Arden, with his old-world charm and genuine kindness, might be exactly what the formidable socialite needed after her health scare.
“I'm going back to my office to read over the Hartman file,” Theo said as he pushed himself off the doorframe. He paused to shoot Bit a stern warning. “Make sure Graham doesn’t hear that nickname for his mother. We have enough problems on our hands as it is.”
Theo made his way down the hallway. A random thought occurred to him, and he didn’t like the twinge of unease that washed over him. For the first time since S&E Investigations had formed, all five of them were in healthy, stable relationships simultaneously.
He and Mia.
Brook and Graham.
Sylvie and Derek.
Bit and Zoey.
Arden and Elizabeth.
The statistical improbability of it made his skin crawl with a familiar prickling sensation, like invisible ants marching along his forearms. He rubbed the back of his neck to diminish the unease.In his experience, when the universe arranged all the pieces this neatly—five perfect couples, five perfect fits—it was merely setting the stage for disaster.
5
Brooklyn Sloane
January 2026
Monday – 2:17pm
January had stripped the Ohio landscape to its bare essentials. There were endless stretches of white snow broken only by deep, heavy streaks of grey. Evergreens interrupted the monotony every so often, as if reminding those passing through that life still existed under the frozen surface.
