Hailey studied me for a moment, lost in her thoughts. “You really think this is all worth it?”
If it meant getting to the places where Naira had last been, hell yeah it was worth it, even if I still wasn’t sure about Hailey’s angle in this.
I nodded.
She seemed to debate something to herself before finally saying, “It’s late, and if you want, there’s a guest room that you can stay in while you’re here. Save some money.”
“I have money,” I said quickly, embarrassment and anger sweeping through me. “I don’t need handouts.”
“I know,” she said just as quickly, as if she’d realized her mistake. She held up her hands to appease me. “I’m sorry, I just meant if you stayed, it would be easier for us to talk if you’re only right down the hall instead of across town. Plus, I wouldn’t mind the company. Since Luke’s been gone…” She stopped herself, swallowing hard and sending any remnants of my anger down the drain.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next morning, I stepped out onto the already busy streets thinking that in the bright of day, the city was pretty. The row of rainbow-colored homes along with the horse-drawn carriages clopping along was like a dip into another time.
“They’re nice, huh?” Hailey asked, coming up behind me on the steps. “I can’t believe you have me up this early.” It was 8:00A.M. I almost ran down the list of all I would have done by now, but that didn’t seem helpful. She yawned, covering her mouth. Ultra-dark sunglasses so large they nearly took up half her face. She used a hand to block her face from the sun, turning slightly away from it. The sounds of hoovesclop, clop, cloppingon cobblestone streets echoed between the buildings.
“When Luke brought Naira here, the horse-and-carriage tour was one of the things she wanted to do most of all. She was so excited,” Hailey said. “They didn’t get a chance before… all of this happened.”
She let her words hang in the air, the rest unnecessary.
I appreciated that she didn’t say Naira had died, whether she truly believed it or not.
“When I walked here from the marina—”
Hailey grimaced. “You walked all the way from there?” She made it sound like I’d said I trekked across the country.
I nodded, following her down the steps with my backpack slung over one shoulder. Her lips were bright red, her hair hung in perfect short curls, and a tiny designer backpack dangled from her hand. She moved fast, bouncing down the stairs to the sidewalk.
She went around to the driver’s side of her car with three jagged claw marks painted over the headlight. She opened the door and almost got in until she saw me still standing on the sidewalk.
“What’s the holdup? Get in.”
I eyed her car, remembering how she peeled out of the stadium parking lot at my graduation. “Do we have to… Maybe we can walk? It’s not that far.”
She made a face. “Yeah, I don’t walk. Plus, I need Starbucks. Get in the car.”
Still feeling like Hailey behind the wheel was a bad idea, I forced myself in.
“Okay.” She dropped her key fob in the middle console, a smooth, rose-gold egg-shaped contraption attached to the key ring.
I pointed at it. “What’s that?”
She briefly glanced at what I was pointing to. “A panic button. If I’m ever in trouble, I can push it and nearby security will be notified. You live in the city, you learn to never leave home without something.”
“Noted,” I said, hoping I’d never have to hear it.
She started the car. “What’s the itinerary?”
I only had two places on the list. Hopefully they wouldn’t lead to dead ends.
“Let’s start with the marina where Naira and your brother took off.”
We passed another church in the historic district Hailey lived in. It was huge, with Gothic architecture and stained glass windows glinting sunlight off of them.
“The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist,” I read as we passed. “I heard there’s a crypt somewhere in there. That true?”
“Wouldn’t know.”
