“I need you to reach out to Mr. Lampitt,” I tell her.
“Mr. Lampitt is gone, I’m afraid. He died last year. It’s Mr. Colby now. Says he tried to reach out to you, but some man told him he had the wrong number.”
Roger.I can hear the words in his hollow monotone. I’d caught him watching me type in my passcode more than once. Not that it mattered; I had nothing to hide. My past maybe, but nothingin my phone. He must have picked up because he saw a man’s name calling. He was never very good at sharing. No wonder he picked me, a woman he didn’t even have to share with herself. He wasn’t Macallister Bates, but he wasn’t far enough off. If only he knew that phone call was his ticket to all the items on his fantasy Christmas list. I scrawl my number across the back of a business card from Pacific Creative and slide it over to her. “In that case, let Mr. Colby know he can reach me at this number. I’m ready to receive my inheritance.”
She takes the card and nods. “Okay.”
“I don’t want you to worry about your job. I have work for you. You won’t miss a single paycheck. But I need you to do one more thing for me.”
She scrutinizes me, her eyes shifty with suspicion. She has reason to be mistrustful. My family doesn’t have the most stellar history. Even Levi seems uneasy, unsure of what I’m about to say.
“Don’t sleep here.” I tell her. “Not tonight. Not tomorrow night. Pack your things and find somewhere to go. Check yourself into a nice hotel, on me.”
She looks torn. “But Mr. Colby—”
“Mr. Colby works for me now,” I tell her. “Never mind whatever else he’s said. Never sleep here again.” My eyes burn with deadly sincerity, and Mira is forced to capitulate.
“I’ll leave today.”
I’m relieved, but then Levi gets a call. He steps out of the room, and when he returns, the color has drained from his face. “My grandfather had an accident in the night,” he says. “A fall outside. A neighbor found him this morning. They’ve taken him to the hospital.”
Something doesn’t smell right about this news, and it’s clear Levi is struggling to understand how his grandfather ended up outside at night in the first place. “Will he be all right?”
“I don’t know. I need to head back. I need check on him and speak with the doctor.”
“Of course,” I tell him. “I’m all done here.”
We finish our coffee as we hastily gather our belongings while Mira packs. After I see her out, I turn to Levi and tell him, “I have to do one last thing.”
I extract the painting of Thalassa from the back of my car and carry it inside. Using the same chair I did before, I stand and hang Anneli’s painting over the fireplace where Aurelia once was. Climbing down, I inspect my work, straightening her a little before I turn to leave.
At the door to the bedroom, I pause and look back. “Do your worst,” I tell the ancient goddess, and leave Solidago behind.
28EAT THE WORLD
Levi’s a wreck of nerves when we pull up in front of his house, worried about his grandfather. He gets out and I start to follow, but I get a text message from the maintenance man at my condo.
There’s been another flood in your place,it reads.A lot of damage. You’ll need to come and meet the insurance estimator.
Levi pauses in the driveway when he sees my face.
“Another water leak,” I tell him, putting a hand to my head in disbelief. I had the painting with me this time. “At my condo last night. I need to go and see how bad, talk with maintenance and the insurance person.”
“Good thing we didn’t stay in the city,” he says. “I’ll text you later. Let you know what I learn.”
“Okay. I’ll come by after to check on you both.”
With a nod, he stalks toward the front door, and I climb back into my SUV and head home.
But when I get there, I find a gutted carcass instead of a condo. Kerry is waiting for me in the parking lot.
“Damage is an understatement,” I tell him as I get out of the car. “There’s barely a condo left.”
He shrugs. “Seems all the pipes burst at once. There was so much force it took most of this wall out and the ceiling caved in. That’s why there’s plaster everywhere. And we’d just finished mostof the drywall repair too. Lucky for you, the load-bearing beams and subflooring held, so your neighbors aren’t sitting in your lap. Bet you’re glad you weren’t here last night.”
“Any idea what happened? Shouldn’t the water have been off?” I ask, a hand shielding my eyes as I stare through dripping scraps of timber into my living space.
“Beats me. Weirdest part is how it didn’t spread to any of the other condos. Your upstairs neighbor had no water pressure and called me. By the time plumbers arrived back on the scene, the damage was mostly done.” He scratches his chin, perplexed.
