“Alfie,” I say.“Where’s Rex?”
I expect it to say the cave lab or his office, but it tells me, “En route to New Rome.”
“What?”There’s a fog in my head, and I’m fighting it to clear it and make sense of what Alfie is telling me.
“There was a report from the morgue.The body of Emily Rodriguez went missing.Mr.Roy went to investigate.”
Emily Rodriguez was the last Blackbird victim.How does a morgue misplace a body?Between this unsettling news and my dream, I’m officially freaked out.
“Call Rex.”
“Calling.”
While Alife’s trying to reach Rex, I scramble out of bed.There’s a shock of pain, like jumping into cold water, but the more I move, the easier it gets.I push through the stiffness and throw on some clothes.I’m still chilly, so I find Rex’s bathrobe and drape it around me.The weight grounds me into the room, allowing me to shake off the lingering ick of the dream.The robe even smells like Rex.I press my face into the plush lapel and inhale.
“No answer,” Alfie reports, and my nerves start to jangle.I’m awake now.
“Is that typical?”
“No.Mr.Roy has orders to put your calls through no matter what.Re-dialing now.”
I can’t just sit here while Alfie rings Rex.“Is Hamish awake?”
Ten minutes later, I’m in Rex’s office, watching Hamish commandeer the console behind Rex’s desk to check on his whereabouts.The Scotsman looks a bit rumpled in a tartan dressing gown, but he’s wide awake.
“He didn’t want to wake you,” Hamish explains.“He thought he’d be back before dawn.”
This is exactly what I did when Ted called me on Burgess’s number.Now I’m the one left behind, and I hate it.
I’m chewing my lip.“I have a bad feeling.”
Hamish nods as he types.His focus on the computer screen reminds me of Mina.“I’ve contacted Rex’s network.Including his more...nocturnal acquaintances.”
“Fraternitas?”
“Yes.”
That reminds me...“Hamish, there was someone Rex told me about.The—” Do I just blurt ‘the assassin?’
“Killer-for-hire?”Hamish says for me.
“Um, yes.”I guess Hamish is used to conversations about hitmen.
“His name is Victor.I’ve left a message for him as well.”
“Rex says Victor was following Ted.”
“Ah, yes.Victor had a theory that Dennis used Ted as an errand boy.Ted might have delivered the cash payments to Burgess.”
“Ted definitely delivered the photo of my family to my desk,” I say, shuddering at the memory.“Or Burgess did it and pinned it on Ted.Either way, Ted was involved from the beginning.”
“Indeed.”Hamish opens his mouth to say more, but Alfie interrupts.
“Incoming message from KittyBang.”
“Mina,” I say, straightening in my chair.It’s a bit early in the morning for Mina to be awake.
Scratch that.She probably never went to sleep.
