David gave her an appreciative smile. “You never told me that before.”
She nodded to defuse a bit of nervous tension. “They wanted me to become a doctor. They said a medical degree guaranteed success. Lots of opportunities and universal respect.”
“It’s a solid, low-risk strategy.”
“My senior year of college, I was filling out med school applications when I realized that I didn’t want to spend my life around sick people. That led to a big fight with my parents, but we eventually compromised on a career in the life sciences. A PhD rather than a MD. A bit more risk and not quite as much prestige, but still prosperous and infinitely more predictable than acting.”
His eyes remained warm and inviting. “I can’t believe you never told me that.”
It was her turn to wink. “Never told my boss that I’d really rather be doing something else?”
“Good point.”
She put her hand on his shoulder. That was twice now, she realized. Was she subconsciously clinging to him for security during this troubled time? “You’ve given us an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent ourselves. Once I started grad school, I never thought I’d get another shot at acting. The window is so short for women. At thirty-one I’m at the upper edge of viability, but immortality gives me infinite shots on goal, so to speak.”
“I wish you all the best with it.”
She lowered her hand. “Thank you. May I make an observation?”
David canted his head.
“You haven’t changed a bit. You drive a nicer car, and now you live on the beach rather than a few blocks back, but that’s just Aria’s money. Immortality doesn’t seem to have impacted your daily routine or your general attitude. You’re still the same David Hume.”
“I was doing what I loved before we figured out how to halt aging. I still am.”
Allison leaned in. “May I make another observation?”
This time he raised his eyebrows in invitation.
“For someone doing what he loves, you don’t seem particularly happy.”
Ironically, he smiled. “I’ve always been more Spock than Kirk.”
Allison wasn’t a Trekkie, but she recognized the character reference and knew Kirk was the charismatic captain and Spock the logic fanatic with pointy ears. “You used to be happier. Or appear happier, I should say.”
David didn’t comment.
“You could start over too, you know. Have you thought about it?”
“Not really.”
Allison didn’t buy that. “Come on, we’re still an hour out of Jupiter. What would you do differently?”
He turned toward the horizon, where blue sky met blue sea.
Allison waited.
When he turned back, his expression remained pensive. When he met her eye, she knew that he’d done more than take her question seriously. He’d come to a conclusion. Then the spell broke and he began to squirm.
“What is it?”
David pulled a phone from his pocket. It was the burner phone they all used for anonymous internal communication.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“Tory.”
44
Unmistakable
I LOOKED LEFT as I lifted my head from the pillow and was pleased to see that Skylar and I had each made it beneath the covers of a bed. I then discovered that I’d also managed to strip to my boxers, though I had no memory of doing so.
After stuffing our stomachs with Rick’s late-night fare and establishing our action plan, we had both slumped into recovery mode before the check arrived.
I consulted my watch and experienced a shock. With the balcony blinds snugged tight and a white noise app giving acoustic cover, we’d slept past noon.
Still groggy despite the hour, I slipped into the shower and stood with my head beneath a hot blast long enough for the steam to turn the toilet paper soggy. When I emerged with eyes bright and towel wrapped tight, Skylar was already dressed and working at the desk.
She rose as I appeared. “Good morning.”
“Good afternoon.”
“That explains it,” she said, grabbing the empty mini coffee carafe and heading for the bathroom.
I donned my jeans and shirt while she took care of business. Then I glanced at her computer. Skylar had Facebook open on four tabs. The active one displayed Sandy Wallace, the chef from Miami. I cycled through the others and found three more familiar faces: Amy Zabala, Emma Atherton, and finally fat vampire Carmen Rohan.
The toilet flushed. Skylar emerged with the coffee carafe now full of water.
“You found all four promising leads on Facebook,” I said.
She dumped the water into the back of the machine and pushed the Brew button. “You know, there’s a fan in the bathroom. Helps keep the toilet paper dry, among other things.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.
“And it’s three promising leads. I just looked up the vampire out of curiosity.”
I decided the wise move was to let Skylar get caffeinated before engaging her further. I opened my own laptop and Googled how to establish a fake Facebook account. Then I went to work. By the time Skylar had sipped her way through half a cup, I had the fundamental structure in place.
“Jenny Johnson,” Skylar said, reading over my shoulder. “That’s pretty generic.”
“Exactly. Harder to home in on electronically, because there’s so much noise. Our goal is to get him sniffing around in person.”
“Wouldn’t that just make him more likely to move on to the next lookalike?”
I turned to look at her. “It would if there were lots of candidates to choose from. But as we saw, there aren’t. And meanwhile, we’re going to make Jenny irresistible.”
“How do we do that?”
I poured myself a cup of coffee while contemplating. “Here’s what I’m thinking. Jenny just relocated to Miami from Nebraska to be with her boyfriend. But two weeks after she gets there, he dumps her for an older woman with money. Suddenly she’s stuck in Miami, where she has no job and no friends. She’s too ashamed to return to Nebraska, which she’d been wanting to escape forever anyway. The only thing going for her is the apartment they shared, which he’s agreed to finish out the lease on, since he’s now living in a house for free. You with me?”
“I’m with you. In general terms it’s not that uncommon a story, other than the rent part.”
“So what does she do?” I asked, drawing my partner into the plan.
Skylar downed the last sip of her first cup. “She creates a new Facebook account where she can vent to sympathetic sisters on the web.”
“Exactly. Glad to see the coffee working.”
“Sorry about earlier. I’m not usually bitchy.” She refilled her cup.
“You weren’t and I’m sure you’re not, but you are entitled. I do apologize for forgetting the fan. I was still half asleep when I stepped into the shower.”
She sat on the edge of her bed, which was the one closest to the desk. “Won’t Tom suspect a trap?”
“I have no doubt that he’s always wary, but he still has to work. I’m hoping the backstory will slip Jenny past his defenses. Plus we’ll camouflage the lure by making it difficult for him to locate her. We’re not going to include an address, email, or phone number. But we will make it possible for him to identify her apartment building from landmarks in photographs.”
“By her you mean me?”
“Exactly.”
“Why not Virginia Beach then? We’re here. And here is a lot cheaper and faster than Miami.”
I met her question with a question. “Who’s the best lookalike on our list?”
She got it right away. “Sandy Wallace in Miami. We need to go there anyway.”
“And?”
This time Skylar took two beats to reach the right conclusion. “It makes Tom all the more likely to check her out. Two fish in the same barrel.”