I have to keep myself from laughing out loud. Because Rossi’s look is fabulous.
He sits back down without a word.
I tap him on his shoulder and say, “Told you she’s taking your last nerve.”
But I also shoot a look at her.
I don’t like her invading my space like this; there are some boundaries. She is everywhere these days, and I feel like my entire life is uprooted by the same human being who is around me at all times.
“Why this bench?” she asks
“No cameras, thirteen getaway routes, and a view from every angle,” says Rossi.
“Ah,” she says, and trails off for a moment. “So, do you have any news on where Hedda could be?” she asks.
“Why is she talking to me?” asks Rossi me. “I didn’t agree to having to talk to anyone other than you.”
I don’t answer. I am angry with her for violating my privacy.
“Well, that was fun,” she says and gets up. She taps Rossi on the shoulder without looking at him; instead, her eyes wander over the park.
“See it as a little peace offering,” she says, and holds a paper bag out for him to take. With that, she is gone.
We both lurk inside the bag, only to find a bottle of wine in it. The same Rosé that I have in my fridge for him.
Rossi and I look at each other, and both start laughing.
“She’s alright,” he says. “I believe.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“But did you find anything on Hedda?”
“No, but I checked L.A. for you, the address she gave you.”
“And?”
“There was a seal on it. I went inside anyway and found no trace of anything.”
“Neighbors?”
“Haven’t seen anyone living there for years,” he says.
“So we’re nowhere.”
“I also went to the tree and exhumed the grave,” he says carefully. He knows it’s a touchy subject, which is why he probably didn’t tell me.
Goosebumps spread over my arm out of nowhere, except that I already know what he is about to say.
“It was empty.”
It takes me a second to understand what the information does to me. All those years, all this time, I tried to live up to a promise she broke first.
“Thank you,” I say and get up. “Tell Omar he won’t die immediately.”
With that, I walk to my studio.
When I am inside, I get to my art studio and open the safe with a swipe of the chip.
