She looked, too, but didn’t see anyone or anything. She waited for him to encompass her in his warm, tight embrace and kiss her senseless.
He turned toward her, but didn’t display the expected passion. Hadn’t he missed her? Wasn’t he desperately grateful he’d found her? She expected him to be more physical. More loving. Happier to see her.
He looked more distracted than anything else. Maybe there was something dangerous in the area, like her hidden captor. She looked around. Nothing.
When she turned her focus back on Raphael, he wore an odd smile. He eyed her leisurely from head to toe, but didn’t make any move to hug or kiss her. What was up with him? He said, “We should get out of here, Francine. Never know who’s lurking around.”
She narrowed her eyes in surprise over his odd perusal and lack of physicality, but shook it off. Perhaps there were things she didn’t know and he needed to get her to safety quickly.
“Do you have a car?” she asked, watching him carefully.
“No. I walked.” He pointed in the direction of where the car had been headed. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Francine didn’t move. “What if I can’t keep up?” He was teasing. He knew she couldn’t walk Ichor-Delta fast. A timid smile shaped her lips.
Raphael looked bewildered. “Don’t worry. I’ll walk slowly enough for you to keep up. Come on,” he repeated, adding a quick hand gesture to ensure she understood. “Let’s go.”
She tried again, wanting him to act normal. “Oh? You aren’t going to walk Ichor-Delta fast and leave me in the dust?” She waited for him to crack a smile. He didn’t. He remained confused. Or at least the expression on his face was mystified. Something was wrong. Something was truly off.
“What do you mean? I would never leave you in the dirt.” Raphael was good at looking like a bad boy bounty hunter when he was serious, but he did it without frowning.
Francine stared at Raphael for a few seconds, at the dour expression she’d never seen shape his mouth before. An awkward smile appeared on his lips. Another oddity she’d never seen before. Raphael never did anything awkwardly. Dread rose within Francine. She was not relieved to see this man try to smile.
Why?
Francine tilted her head as growing alarm filled her. This man was acting strangely and didn’t seem to understand the notion that walking Ichor-Delta fast was an inside joke between them. He didn’t act happy to see her after being apart. With all the tranquilizers and popcorn sleep spray, Francine wasn’t certain how much time had passed since her capture.
They hadn’t seen each other since parting in the basement of the Big Bang Truck Stop, after being together almost every moment for ten days. They’d been practically joined at the hip for the duration of their trip. And each time he’d seen her—whether they’d been separated for a minute or an hour—he hugged her, kissed her and let her know she was the most important thing in his life.
This Raphael didn’t act right, he didn’t look right, he didn’t treat her like he had before.
She dropped her head to hide her expression and keep her doubts to herself. Her newly colored hair slid across her sight line. This Raphael hadn’t commented on the color change back to blond. When they met over a cute black kitten, he said he liked the red. Why hadn’t he commented on her blond hair?
“What do you think of my hair?”
A genuine smile shaped this Raphael’s mouth. “I love it. I hated the red color. Now you look like part of the Duvall Five again.”
That sealed it. This man was notherRaphael. He was an imposter.
Francine lifted her head and frowned.
“What’s the problem now?” the imposter asked.
Her shoulders lifted and fell without comment. Her displeasure remained. She couldn’t help it.
He reached out to put his hand on her face. She dodged him.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Francine? What’s wrong with you?”
“Change back. I know you aren’t Raphael. You don’t know the first thing about him or how he treats me. He would have noticed and commented on my hair color and walking fast, because it’s a private joke between us.”
“What are you talking about, Francine?” It looked like Raphael and sounded like him, but it was most assuredlynothim.
“He told me he liked both, but preferred the red.”
Her captor changed back into Edgar’s form. “Of course he did. But he still doesn’t love you the way I do.”
