“Did you see Gerald at lunch?”
“Briefly.I stopped to ask if he wanted to eat together.We almost always eat lunch together.He says it’s restorative, being with me.It’s a break from being a tower of spiritual strength for the others.”The words didn’t have any irony or sarcasm behind them, which was maybe more remarkable than if they had.She continued, “But he said no, he had work to do.He wouldn’t even look up from his phone.”She worked her fingers along the seam of her dark jeans.Finally, she said, “Hedidseem upset, now that I think about it.”
“What about that afternoon?”
“He was busy with the group.I came back here.I read.I took a nap.I got dressed for dinner.”
“Where were the kids?”Jem asked.The question came out of nowhere, and the intensity of it took Tean by surprise.To judge by the startled ripple across Brigitte’s face, it took her by surprise too.
Brigitte didn’t exactly say,Who knows?, but the next silence suggested a struggle to recall.“They were at the movie.And then there’s a pool,” she finally said.“And an arcade.Gerald and I have always believed in teaching the children to be independent.”
“Independent,” Tean said, unable to control the snarl in his voice.
Silence dragged on, and color rose in Brigitte’s cheeks.
“When you saw Gerald at dinner,” Tean finally made himself ask, “was he still upset?”
“No, he was fine.The same as always.”
“But you thought he was upset about the dinner with—” Tean couldn’t bring himself to sayJem, so he said, “—us.”
“I knew he wanted to talk to you about—about helping you.”A trace of something sharp entered her voice.“And about the money.But he wasn’t upset.”Then she frowned, and she said more slowly, “He seemed better, actually.I thought he had simply…gotten used to the idea.”
“So,” Jem said, “something happened yesterday morning that upset him.But by that evening, he was in a better mood.”
Brigitte gave a delicate shrug.“It all sounds so dramatic when you say it like that.I don’t know; it was just a normal day.”
“Anything else?”Tean asked.
“Nothing.He got ready for dinner—” But she broke off again.“He went into his bedroom to print something.I was annoyed because we were going to be late, but then he came out and told me he was ready, and we left.”
“He printed something in his bedroom?”
“He always brings a printer,” Brigitte explained.“He likes to give them General Conference talks to read, spiritual thoughts, that kind of thing.Most of these places have a business center, but you’d be surprised how often the printer is out of service, or someone else is using it, or they ask you not to print more than one copy.”
“What did he print?”Jem asked.
Brigitte stared at him with the nonverbal equivalent ofI have no idea.
Tean was out of his seat only a moment behind Jem.The blond man strode to the door, opened it, and—
And there was Stephen.For a moment, the perfect smile flickered, and then he held up his hands and laughed.“You scared me.I was coming to check—”
“Move,” Jem said and pushed past him toward the next bedroom.
“You need to go back to the main room,” Tean said as he followed Jem.Stephen didn’t retreat, though, so Tean planted himself in the hall, arms folded, and stared.
After a moment, Stephen gave a crooked smile, held up his hands again—this time in surrender—and beat it back down the hall.
Brigitte watched him go, shaking her head, before following Jem into the bedroom.
Tean stayed where he was, keeping an eye on the hall, but with a view into the bedroom where Jem and Brigitte now stood.It looked like the other bedrooms at the lodge: the heavy wood furniture, the copper touches, Old West meets luxury living.A sliding glass door showed a snowy stretch of ground and then darkness; the storm was still raging.Unlike Brigitte’s bed, this one was neatly made but had clearly been slept in at some point.
Jem was inspecting a printer on the desk.He glanced over at Tean and shook his head.He tugged open a drawer.And then he stopped.
“I thought I saw—” Brigitte began.
Jem put up a hand.
