She’d lied to us, or had she? She said her friend made her go to the shows. Maybe the friend she was referring to was Dr. Catherine. It had to be. She said so herself—Catherine was her only friend. What if this was an exercise for Sybil, something Catherine put her up to?
My mother’s therapist did similar things called exposure therapy. It was the only way we could ensure my mother got the care she needed in terms of doctor visits and check-ups. It was all treated as exposure therapy since her agoraphobic nature made tasks such as that difficult.
Holy shit,and I’m just making itworse.
I’m drawing more attention to her, putting more pressureon her. She’s probably terrified of the new publicity and fame my theft brought. She would hate me if she knew.
Everything was happening too fast. Regret was palpable, but was it regret? I didn’t regret meeting her, and without stealing the art, I might not have. We are inevitable. Fate is pushing us together in so many ways, it’s obvious.
I turned to Bee, her thoughts appearing as jammed as mine. “Help me make her some food. I’ll find out for sure.”
Bee nodded. “Good plan.”
“And don’t, for the love of God, mention the auction,” I added. “We’re fortunate she doesn’t seem to know about it yet.”
She nodded once. “I’d be surprised if she didn’t know. I would think by now she’d have seen the headlines, and Catherine should have told her. Maybe she’s hiding that like everything else?”
“You’re right. But with the fire? I never see her on her phone. I think she avoids the news, especially in this economy. It’s probable she hasn’t heard between the hospital and drama. What if Catherine is trying not to overwhelm her? I guess we could bring it up and see how she reacts? But maybe not yet; let’s just keep everything vanilla for now until we know more.”
“All of this is crazy.” Bee was pulling things from the fridge, lining them up across the counter. It looked like cheeses and fruit, various liquids.
I nodded. “Crazy, but also exciting. What are the odds?”
She chuffed.“Right?I think you’ve been ‘divinely intervened’, Nash.”
I laughed,feeling my tension relax.
Bee stopped chopping, holding a knife loosely in her hand. “Did she just get, like, ten timessexier?I mean, if I were a man, I’d have a hard-on.”
I gave her a playful shove.
“You do, don’t you!” she accused.
All I could do was shake my head.
“I mean, she might even be cooler than Taylor Swift.”
I guffawed at that.
CHAPTER 26
Sybil
I grabbed the envelope, which had slid under the door and across the room almost to the middle, and tore it open with anticipation. The note said it was from the fire marshal.
My curiosity had been eating away at me all day. I had little else to occupy my thoughts other than the mortification of last night, and the inevitable result of the fire investigation. Unfolding the crisp paper inside, I read the summary.
Three words scribbled under the line reading CAUSE OF FIRE cemented my fault: “Turpentine-soaked rags.”
Flipping to the next page, I found it crammed with evidence photos and scene reports. Panic numbed my fingers. Charred book spines and canvas frames, once filled with stories, lay crumbled. The space where a decade of my life had unfolded, where demons were faced and fears battled, was now a burntmarshmallow. My skin prickled with icy dread;it was all my fault.As this processed, a fresh wave of panic washed over me.
Had Nash seen this?
I froze, then snatched up the discarded torn envelope to inspect it. A relieved sigh passed my lips, hand on my chest. The envelope containing the documents had been sealed.
Thank heavens too, because the report was damning. I’d acted as though art meant nothing to me every time he probed the subject. It would be hard to explain an active art studio to someone I was trying to make think I wasn’t interested; and he knew I lived alone.
My hands were shaking harder now.“Stupid, Sybil,”I swore out loud.
