Into the Ether (5 page)

****

“I understand you and Walter are not on good terms again.”

Dinner was held in
Colonel Worthington
's room.
Walter had declined the invitation.
Men and wounded pride.

I rolled my eyes.
“He's looking for reasons to
cause problems for me
.
I had a friend that visited, and Walter tried to get him in trouble.”

Why had I just told him that?

Colonel Worthington
pinned me with his gaze.
“A friend?”

“As hard as it may be to believe, I did once have a life outside these walls, with friends.”

Colonel Worthington
smiled as I paraphrased his earlier words.

“Point taken.
But keep in mind, Gennie, that Walter takes his job very seriously.
He can't help himself.
Try to be a little tolerant of him.”

“What do you mean?”

Colonel Worthington
shook his head.
“It isn't mine to explain.
Sometime, perhaps, you two will get to where you can ask him that question.”

We finished dinner in silence, only interrupted by Thomason, who came in to refill his water and coal reserves before leaving again.
I yawned.
I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and it was taking its toll.

“I'll clean up dinner this evening, tomorrow is your turn.
Get some sleep.”

I smiled at
Colonel Worthington
and let myself out.
The key to my room rested in my pocket, and I stared at it for a moment when I pulled it out.
My own key.
Tears burned the corners of my eyes and I blinked.

Thomason slid from the darkness and I stifled a squeak.
He held out one hand, and a gold pocket watch dangled between two
brass-
plated fingers.
He waved it around and I put out my hand.
It dropped into my palm, warm from his touch.
Without another glance, Thomason pushed past me and retreated into the museum.

I turned the timepiece over in my hands.
The outer case was etched with swallows in flight.
I pressed the button and the front swung open.
Inside, the glass was cracked, and there was no movement of the hands.

On the inner cover, someone had etched something.

To my Darling Elizabeth.
J.

My fingers traced the edges of the watch.
Without thinking, I opened my mind and was suddenly swamped with images of fire and water.
Someone was shouting, and I tasted saltwater and lamp oil.

Someone called out for Elizabeth, but before I could make out a face, the world fractured at the edges and went dark.

 

I woke up ensconced in a pile of blankets.
Warmth surrounded me and I stretched, hissing when cold air kissed my arms.
I ran a hand through my hair and jerked when pain radiated through my scalp.
A small bump had formed on the back of my head.
I didn't remember falling.
There'd been that strange dream about water and Thomason giving me something.
Gold.
Small.
A pocket watch!

I looked around the room, expecting to find him lurking, but then chalked it up to my own foolishness.
When I got out of bed, just to be certain, I turned out my pockets, opened the door
,
and searched, but I couldn't find the watch anywhere.
Pulling off my dress, I grimaced.
I had been so sleepy I hadn't even taken it off.
Then I realized I hadn't gotten around to asking Terry for a change of clothes.
That would have
to be taken care of soon.

I draped a blanket over my shoulders and padded to the water closet down the hall, washing my face and hands in the warm water that pumped from the sink.
One of the bonuses to steam power was a constant supply of hot water.

Feeling refreshed, I decided that I'd dreamed the whole incident.
Thomason made me nervous.
My fingers prodded the bump on my head.
That couldn't be explained.
I shied away from the question.
Perhaps I'd just hit
my head on the metal headboard.

Colonel Worthington
and I ate breakfast then headed upstairs.
I was to work at the visitor's desk again.
I think he found it easier to keep track of me there.
Adele could tell him if I went anywhere, and we both knew that I could find my way around the museum with
ease
.
I'd done it in the dark more often than he realized.

Halfway through the day,
Colonel Worthington
reappeared.
He held a folded note in one hand and his expression said he did
n'
t like whatever was going on.

“You have a letter.”

I stared.
“What?”

He thrust the fine
,
ivory
,
linen envelope at me.
I took it, staring at the flowing script that spelled out my name.
“But I don't know anyone who would write me a note.”

Colonel Worthington
shrugged.
“They apparently know you.”

When I didn't immediately open it, his expression softened.
“Can you read, Gennie?
”

My face burned.
“Yes.
I just…I've never gotten a letter before.”

Adele smiled and patted my shoulder.
“Go find a bench and read it, dear.”

I wandered away without answering.
I located a bench and sat, sliding one hand under the green
,
wax seal.

 

Ms. Bond,

I hope this letter finds you well.
Your friend, Terry, has provided the note and will be waiting outside to escort you to an appropriate area where we may speak.
Your methods have proved surprising, and my employer wishes us to speak further about the job.

Do not make me wait.

S.

 

I crumpled the letter in my hand and stalked back to
Colonel Worthington
and Adele.

“I take it the letter was not good news,”
Colonel Worthington
commented.

I shook my head.
“I have to leave for a bit.
I'll be back later tonight.”

Colonel Worthington
stared at me for a long moment.
I felt as though he were looking for an answer in my face.
I didn't understand the question, so I waited.
He must have found what he was looking for, because he finally nodded and stepped to the side.

“I'll see you for dinner then.”

I
agreed and
strode toward the front.
Anger burned a hole in my gut.
Spiros and his high-handed methods grated.

Sure enough, Terry sat on the steps outside, flipping his hat in his hands.
His back was to me, but before I could get close, he sprang up.
“Gennie!
I'm sorry about this.
Not my idea,
believe
me.”

I stopped short.
Purple and black flesh circled Terry's right eye.
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?”

He shrugged and attempted a grin.
“You should see the other guy.”

“Terry
—”

“Leave it, Genevieve.
You have bigger things to worry about.”

We stood there like that for a moment, until he reached out and snagged my hand.
He squeezed it once and smiled.
“Really, Gennie.
It's nothing big.”

I didn't believe him and he knew it.
But he was right.
Spiros was a bigger problem.

“You're going to explain that later.”

He snorted.
“Much later, maybe.
If you're nice to me.”

I
sighed
and
allowed
him to lead me away from the museum.
I should have released his hand, but he didn't seem inclined to let go, and it made me feel better.
I refused to think about what that might mean.

We didn't go far
, just
past Berkley Square and then behind a building
, before
we turned the second corner
.
Terry released my hand, but would
n'
t allow me to move first.
He led the way.

Spiros waited, casually leaning up against the brickwork admiring a rosebush.
We were in someone's garden, hidden from prying eyes by plants and brickwork.

“It seems you
'
ve become more comfortable in the museum than anyone expected.”

He still had
n'
t looked at me.
My eyes
cut
to Terry, who stood off to the side, his arms loose, but one fist clenching over and over.
I looked between the two of them and realized that Terry and Spiros were almost
the same
height.
When Spiros turned to look at me, a small cut showed on one cheek.

That solved the problem of who Terry had gotten into a fight with.
I'd figure out why later.

“I
'
ve always enjoyed the museum.
And as for being comfortable
…”
I shrugged. “
The
curator plays things close to the chest.
I have to at least appear like I want to stay there or he's never going to tell me anything useful.”

Spiros snapped a rose off the bush near him.
Petal by petal he ripped it apart, occasionally popping one into his mouth.
“Be sure that you keep your goal in mind.
There are other ways of accomplishing this task, though they are
n'
t the preferred method.”

Irritation sparked.
“I know I don't have forever to do this, but no one said it was immediate.”

Spiros straightened and threw the destroyed rose on the ground.
“You have no idea who you
'
re dealing with, Ms. Bond, so I suggest you just do the job as quickly as you can and get back to your underground hovel.
Y
our time limit will extend only a month further.
If you cannot do this by then, we will devise other methods.”

Eyes narrowed, I nodded.
“Fine.”

With a pointed look in Terry's direction, Spiros exited the garden.

“That was it?”
I demanded.

Terry's face was shuttered.
He did
n'
t want to tell me something.

“What
'
s going on, Terry?”

He pulled at his too-short coat sleeves.
“It's better that you stay in the museum for now, okay?
Things at home are getting
…strange.”

A chill traveled over my skin, raising
goose bumps
.
“What do you mean?”

He shook his head.
I set my feet and glared.
“Tell me.
I'm not two years old.”

“Clarissa has been taken.
One of the others thinks he saw her being loaded into a police auto and
shipped
to one of the mills.
Elliot's run off to try and find her.”

My heart skipped a beat.
Elliot wasn't even able to keep himself out of trouble.

“That black eye wasn't from Spiros.
You were trying to help Elliot.”

He had the grace to look guilty.
“They
'
re the same.
Justin and Spiros won't let me out of their sight because they think I have some kind of influence over you.
I told them even if I did, I wouldn't be used against you.
They got upset.”

I looked away.

“Aw, now don't cry.
That's why I didn't tell you to begin with.”

I swiped my hand across my face.
“I'm not crying.
I got something in my eye.”

Terry snorted.
“You're an even worse liar than you are a thief.”

I stuck out my tongue.

He stepped away and reached under a bush near the gate we'd entered.

“I thought you might need your things.”

I took the bundle.
Terry was
n'
t always good with words, but he always knew what I needed.
“Thank you.
I was beginning to get a little desperate.”

He smiled.
“I thought you might be.”

We started out the gate and he hesitated.
“I can't go back to the museum with you.
Spiros will be waiting for me.
I'm not allowed out on my own anymore.
No one is with all the police.
But if you need something, you know how to find me.”

I stood clutching the bag he'd brought and stared.
His face colored
,
and he pressed a kiss to my forehead before striding the same way Spiros had.

I don't know how long I stood there, but I wandered the streets around the area for a while, thinking
things
over.
Something about this whole
plan
had stunk from the beginning, but it was worse now.
Justin seemed to have forgotten everything he'd ever taught us, and Spiros had taken over.

And Terry
…My
mind shied away from that subject.
All I knew was that I cared about him a great deal, and he was being mistreated on my account.
Based on the weight of the bundle in my arms, he had brought me everything I owned.
His message couldn't be clearer.
Things at home were no longer safe.
It was no longer home.

When I finally realized the sun was setting on the horizon, I turned my feet to the museum.
I climbed the steps and entered just as Walter was closing up for the night.

“Thought we'd gotten rid of you.”
He grunted.

He squinted at my face, and something in his demeanor changed.
His tone remained gruff, but it seemed to have lost some of its bite.
“Get on with you, then.
Colonel Worthington
's kept your dinner warm.”

I dropped my bundle of things on the table and then knocked on
Colonel Worthington
's door.
When I heard him call out a greeting, I opened it.
Sure enough, a
covered
plate rested on the back of the stove.

“I wasn't sure you hadn't run off for good.”

I shook my head.
“Just had to get some things from a friend.”
Getting the words past the tightness in my throat was difficult.