“You don’t have to.”
“I’m supposed to meet someone for drinks. Though since I look like this…”
“You’ll be fine. But we didn’t finish.”
“What do you mean?”
“I said you could find out more from Charlotte as well.”
“But how?”
“Simple.” He walked over to his bookshelf and moved an atlas. He drew an envelope out from inside the cover.
“I can’t go there. And I don’t want you to go yet. But Charlotte’s daughter hasn’t been inside her apartment yet. No one has.”
“Right.”
“Tonight showed us how big this is. You have to go to Charlotte’s apartment and discover what she found.”
“How can I do that?”
“With this.” Abram tore the envelope open. “I haven’t been inside. But I know it works. We used it for late night visits. Special interludes.”
He extended his palm toward Jake. He had a key.
“This is your search warrant for Room 112, Building B.”
CHAPTER 28
Jake was trying to figure out a way to cancel when Kaylie started knocking. There was no point in trying to stop her. He went to the door and opened it. She just put her hands on her hips and stared.
“What the hell happened to you?”
“I got in a fight.”
“You?”
“Yeah, me. Who else?”
“The other guy.”
“No, he didn’t get into a fight. He’s fine.”
“Were you overcompensating?”
“For what?”
She walked in the apartment. She was wearing a short black dress. It looked a little cheap. It looked good.
“Overcompensating for your obese past.”
“You got all that from finding one Hershey wrapper in my trash?”
“Sorry.” She sat on the bed and crossed her legs. “It looks like it was a bad fight. Are you OK?”
“I’m fine.”
“Let’s get you some ice.”
“I don’t need it. We have to go, right?”
“You can’t go like that.”
“What about your friends? I thought we were having drinks with your friends. Won’t they be upset?”
“Jake, I decided it was going to just be you and me.”
She tilted her head and laughed. Her short hair fell in front of her face and back to the side. She went into the kitchen and he heard her open the refrigerator. More drawers opened and shut.
“What are you doing?”
“I need a bag for the ice.”
“I told you, I’m fine. Bags are in the bottom right.”
“Got it. No junk food. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks.”
She came back with a bag of ice in her hands.
“Here.”
She took the cold plastic and held it up against his cheek. He wasn’t feeling numb.
“I can get it.”
“You relax.” She rubbed his shoulder with her free hand as they sat down on the bed. “Now tell me what happened. Did you have a rough game of shuffleboard?”
He moved to the left and she dropped her hand.
“Sorry, I’m sore. And no, it wasn’t shuffleboard.”
“Then what did this to you?”
“I don’t really know.”
“Mysterious.”
“I know. Too mysterious.”
“And look at this.” She put a finger to his eye and lightly traced a bruise. “You’ll have a black eye.”
“I’ve never had one.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“It toughens you up.”
“I see.”
They sat in silence for a moment while she held the ice to his face. She leaned in a little closer and his phone rang. He jumped when it happened. It was Mel. He got up and walked to the other side of the room. Kaylie turned on the TV and voices chattered in the background. He spoke just above a whisper.
“Mel. Hi.”
“Hello,” she said. “I can barely hear you.”
He looked over at Kaylie. She smiled and reclined on the bed.
“Sorry-bad reception.”
“How are you?”
“Good. I had a long day.”
“So did I. A little too long.” He imagined her smiling and remembered the hallway and the dress. Then he looked at the woman on his bed. He was bad at lying.
“Sorry, I’m supposed to call Gary in a second.”
“What about?”
“Photographing. We’re supposed to photograph Rothschild.”
“Oh, that’s actually what I was calling about.”
“It is?”
“Yes. He wants to do it here, at Sunset Cove. He just had his secretary call to tell me.”
“This late?”
“The man doesn’t keep normal hours. Does tomorrow work?”
“Sure, that works for us.”
“So tomorrow morning? He thought around ten?”
“That sounds good.”
They were silent. Kaylie watched the TV and gestured to Jake. He ignored her and she shouted at him.
“Come here, look, there’s a show on.”
“Who’s that?” Mel asked.
“Just the TV.” It was good she couldn’t see him blushing. But he doubted anyone could through all the bruises.
“OK.” She sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess. I’m excited.”
“So am I.”
He was. Then he hung up and sat back on the bed. Kaylie patted his leg.
“Who was that?” She tilted her head and stretched. Cheap fabric stretched well.
“Mel, from this community. Sunset Cove.”
“I see. What did she want?”
“Nothing. Wait. How did you know Mel was a she?”
She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the TV.
“Have you seen these crazies?”
He had. It was the bearded man and the woman wearing overalls. The Saving Tomorrow Initiative. This time they were standing underneath a large tree. The color and quality weren’t professional, but they made up for it with their intensity. Just as in the other commercial, the woman spoke while the man remained silent.
“We are here to talk about the Development Proposition. Voting day is coming soon. If you vote for this act, this sickening act, you will be continuing the human genocide of nature.”
Kaylie looked at Jake and grimaced. They continued watching.
“What are your priorities? They should belong with nature, not with man. Everything that you see now will go back to the earth. Respect it.”
Then the man spoke. His voice was a controlled mumble, as drunken as when he’d jumped on the table at Rothschild’s banquet.
“Respect it or pay the price!” The same end sequence played: a screaming face, a fallen tree, and credit to the Saving Tomorrow Initiative. Then black. Kaylie picked up the remote and turned off the TV.
“They’re completely insane. I can’t believe the networks are letting them air this.”
“It’s pretty shocking.”
“I’m an environmentalist.” She rubbed her arms with her hands. “But this is frightening. Those people are extremists.”
“I’ve been seeing them a lot lately.”
“Have you?”
“Too much.”
“I just don’t understand it.”
“I was at a banquet and one of them jumped on a table in protest. We thought he might hurt someone.”
“They’re crazy. You should write an article about them.”
“I might.”
“Let me know if you do.”
“I will.”
She nodded and put her small hand on his cheek, slowly.
“How does it feel?”
“I can’t feel it because of the ice.”
He could see where she put the tip of her finger. It started where he’d held the ice against his left eye. Then at the bridge of his nose and down. Slowly. To his cheek. The lobe of his ear. He could feel it now. Tracing down to his neck, his chin, the bottom of his swollen lip.
He jerked away.
“I’m feeling better. But this is dripping.”
He took the bag of ice into the kitchen and dumped out the shrunken cubes. They caromed around the sink and landed in the drain. He went back into the living room and she was still there, leaning back on the bed and looking at his ceiling. He noticed for the first time that she wasn’t wearing shoes. He sat down at his desk and she coughed to get his attention.