As for what was troubling Cope, Ronan was sure Ten would know how to handle things. Before long, everything would be back to normal.
6
Tennyson
After Ronan left the house, Ten read and reread the new letter several times before taking a pic and stashing it in the box of bran flakes with the first letter. He’d spent the last hour or so pacing around the house and trying to figure out what his next move should be.
What the hell was the poisoned pen author after? There was no mention of wanting blackmail or some other kind of bribe. Was the endgame to simply hurt Tennyson and his family? Why? What the hell had Ten or Ronan done to deserve this kind of treatment? Was someone wanting revenge for not hearing what they wanted in a reading? Was a parent angry because of his place on the PTA or because of something Everly had achieved that their child had not? Were the letters coming from someone who Ronan had sent to prison or because their loved one’s cold case had yet to be solved?
Ten’s wildly accelerating train of thought was interrupted by the door alarm going off.
“Hey, babe!” Ronan called.
“I’m in the kitchen.” Ten took a deep breath and plastered on a smile.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked. “You look like I startled you out of a nap.”
“I’m good. Just tired. Getting older is kicking my ass.” While that might have been somewhat true, worrying about the damn letters and their purpose was wearing him to the bone.
“I feel that,” Ronan agreed.
“How did it go with telling Jude about Greeley?” Ten was eager to change the subject before Ronan could probe his mood any further.
“It got off to a rocky start when Fitz and I overheard them shouting at each other to fuck off, but it turned out they were just playing a video game.” Ronan snorted.
“As long as I live, I will never understand why you guys act that way, insulting each other.” Ten shook his head.
“Yeah, it’s one for the theologians.” Ronan shrugged. “The good news is that Jude is excited to have Greeley on the team.”
“What’s the bad news?” Ten asked, afraid of the answer.
Ronan nibbled his bottom lip, looking as if he were trying to decide if he should tell Ten or keep his mouth shut. “There’s something wrong with Cope.”
“What do you mean? Is he hurt or sick?” Ten hadn’t noticed anything wrong with Cope today in their limited interactions at work. He’d kept his head down and stayed in his reading room during the day, even if he wasn’t with a client, so he hadn’t seen Cope as much as he would on a normal day.
“Jude said he’s been acting strange. Have you noticed anything wrong with him?”
Ten shook his head. “We both had really busy days today, so I didn’t have a lot of time to talk to Cope. What does Jude think is going on?” Jude was the most secure man Ten had ever met. He very much doubted he thought Cope was stepping out on him. Cope would have come to see Ten if there was anything wrong with the kids or his gift, which didn’t leave a lot of other options available.
“He said Cope’s been on edge for the last two or three days. He’s been jumpy and out of sorts. Have you noticed anything like that?”
Ronan could have been describing what was going on with Tennyson. Was it possible his friend had been getting the same kind of letters? “No, I haven’t noticed that. If I do or if I read something from him, I’ll let you know, okay?”
“Sounds good. I told Jude Cope was probably just tired of dealing with his annoying ass.”
“I know the feeling well.” Ten laughed.
“Watch it or you’ll be sleeping in the garden with Jack Frost tonight!” Ronan kissed Ten’s cheek. “I’m gonna change and then we’ll head to Fitzgibbon’s for the party.”
The absolute last thing Ten wanted was to go to a party, even if it was for Greeley, but it would give him a chance to grab a few minutes with Cope to gently probe to see if he was getting anonymous letters as well.
Fifteen minutes later, Ten and Ronan walked out the front door into the frigid January air. When they reached Fitzgibbon’s house, Ten saw they were the last to arrive. The kids could be heard laughing from the den. Jude was sitting on the sofa surrounded by Fitz and Greeley. “Where’s Cope?”
“Kitchen. He’s placing the food order,” Jude called back over the din of voices.
Ten knew he wasn’t going to get a better opportunity to talk to Cope. He walked into the kitchen just as Cope was finishing up on the phone with Greek Life. As his friend confirmed the order, Ten took a minute to study Cope. He looked okay to Ten, if nota little tired, but with January in full swing and the kids back in school, everyone was tired.
“Twenty minutes? Got it, thanks.” Cope hung up the phone. “Hey, Ten! I didn’t hear you guys come in.”
