The good news was, by the afternoon, the worst of it seemed to be over. The throbbing had abated and my vision was normal. I wouldn’t make it to practice, but Coach Lewis would have things well in hand. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t need to worry about the team. Even with another playoff game at the end of the week.
I was hitting the stage where boredom was starting to take over when I heard the front door open. The smile was automatic. Pen was home.
Opening my eyes, I glanced at the time. She must have left the instant the bell rang to get home so fast.
A moment later, my bedroom door quietly opened.
“Theo?” she whispered.
“I’m awake. Come on in.”
She came in and sat on the edge of the bed. Her long hair spilled around her shoulders and she tucked a lock behind her ear. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. It’s almost over.”
“Good.” She caressed my forehead and ran her fingers through my hair.
Her touch felt amazing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Do you need anything?” she asked, still speaking softly.
Maybe just you, Pen.
“No,” I said. “I actually think I’m ready to get up.”
“Are you sure?” She stroked my hair again.
I wanted to pull her in bed with me, but I had a feeling my body wasn’t ready for that. If she kept touching me, however, all bets were off.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I sat up and stretched my neck a little from side to side. “I’m glad you’re home. I was getting bored. How was school?”
“Oh, you know, school. I did find out something, but if you need to keep resting, it can wait.”
“Did you finally catch Jeremy and Ashley?”
“No, but this is even better.”
“Let me get up and get some water,” I said. “Then spill the tea, Pentagon.”
We went to the kitchen, and I downed a big glass of water, then poured more and took it to the couch. She sat, and by the way she fidgeted with her glasses, I could tell she was excited.
“So what’s up?” I asked.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been doing some digging online, trying to find a link between the missing women and Morris. Since you weren’t at school today, I stayed in my classroom during lunch and spent some time searching. Theo, I found something.”
“What?”
“The woman they found at the creek took one of Morris’s painting classes less than a month before she went missing.”
“No shit?”
She nodded. “I’ve thought of that before. The Raven Falls woman went missing so long ago, it was hard to find anything about her. But the woman at the creek posted pictures from when she took Edwin’s class.”
“Good sleuthing, Detective.”
“Thanks, but that’s not all. Once I found that connection, I did some more searching on the Raven Falls woman, and I found the link.”
“Did she take one of his classes, too?”
