“No, it’s okay. I work here. I’ll have someone take me back.”
He seemed relieved not to have to sit in front of a billionaire’s cliffside mansion while the ocean roared somewhere below. “Righto. Have a good night.”
“You too. Thank you.”
I climbed out, shut the door, and watched his taillights disappear down the drive before turning toward the house with a lump in my throat.
It was fine.
I had my badge. I worked here. I was allowed to be here.
I tapped the badge to the reader beside the front door, and the lock clicked open.
Inside, the entry hall was dim and quiet, lit by faint lights along the hallways and the faint blue wash from the tanks deeper in the house. The door shut behind me with a soft sound.
“Hello?” I called.
My voice rose into the height of the ceiling and vanished.
No answer.
I waited, listening.
The house was never truly silent. Water moved through pipes, filters were an ever-present buzzing behind walls, and somewhere far off, the ocean pushed itself against the cliffs. But there were no footsteps, no Ben calling out in greeting, no Tobias appearing like he’d been summoned by my bad decision-making.
Maybe they hadn’t seen the alerts..?
That was weird, but I supposed it was possible, although I found it difficult to believe they were both asleep so early.
Whatever.
It was fine.
I just needed to find my phone.
I kept my steps quiet as I moved down the hall, though I wasn’t sure why. The path was familiar now. Past the long window facing the water, through the hallway where the air always seemed just a little cooler, and toward the room Tobias had made mine.
My office was exactly as I’d left it.
The monitors and the desk lamp were dark. My work tablet sat where I’d placed it, asleep. The cold brew bottle I hadn’t finished waited near the couch, probably room temperature by now.
My phone was not on the desk.
Not beneath the papers.
Not beside the monitors.
Not on the sofa.
Not in the bathroom.
I checked every obvious place, then three stupid places, then stood in the middle of the room and pressed both hands to my face.
Where the hell had I left it?
Since my last solid memory of it involved the puffer tank, I nodded and left my office for the main aquarium wing, already imagining the phone abandoned on the ledge near the supply cart at five percent battery.
That was when I heard voices.
