Chương 7
For three days after the hospital, Emma did not return to the estate.
I did not ask her to.
I also checked my phone often enough that Luke finally took it from the table during lunch and placed it facedown.
“You’re making me nervous.”
“Give it back.”
“You haven’t received a message.”
“I know.”
“You checked fourteen seconds ago.”
“I was looking at the time.”
“There’s a clock behind me.”
“I don’t like that clock.”
Luke slid the phone back across the table.
“You’re handling this well.”
“Go to hell.”
Peter entered carrying soup and looked between us.
“I can come back.”
“Stay,” I said.
Luke pointed at me.
“See, Peter, that’s growth.”
Peter set down the bowl carefully.
“What happened?”
“He hasn’t threatened you all week.”
Peter considered that.
“He asked if I had life insurance yesterday.”
“I was making conversation.”
Luke stared at me.
“You asked because he overcooked steak.”
“It was a legitimate question.”
Peter left before either of us could involve him further.
The estate had become quieter without Emma, but not the way it had been before she arrived.
Before, silence had felt natural.
Now it felt like evidence of something missing.
Harold cleaned my hallway every night with professional precision.
He never hummed.
He never complained about the temperature.
He never leaned against a wall when he thought nobody was watching.
He also never told me when I was behaving like an ass, which should have made him the perfect employee.
Instead, I started avoiding him.
On Saturday morning, Mrs. Alvarez appeared in my study carrying an envelope.
“Emma’s final check came back.”
I looked at it.
“Why?”
“Wrong forwarding address.”
“She hasn’t moved.”
“She apparently changed where she receives mail.”
“Why?”
Mrs. Alvarez gave me the patient look people used when they had information they intended to make me work for.
“I don’t know.”
“Call her.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“She answered.”
I waited.
“She said she’ll pick it up Monday.”
My chest eased in a way I pretended not to notice.
“How is she?”
Mrs. Alvarez smiled very slightly.
“You could ask her Monday.”
“I’m busy Monday.”
“Of course.”
She placed the envelope on my desk and left.
I stared at it for nearly a minute.
Then I put it in the drawer.
Monday came.
By nine in the morning, I had moved two meetings out of the study because I did not want anyone occupying the room when Emma arrived.
At ten, I told myself I had moved them because the conference room had better acoustics.
At eleven thirty, I asked security whether anyone had signed in.
The guard said no.
At noon, I had lunch.
At twelve forty-seven, the intercom buzzed.
“Ms. Carter is at the front gate.”
I answered too quickly.
“Let her in.”
A pause.
“She’s on foot.”
“Send a car.”
“She says she’ll walk.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course she does.”
It took her seven minutes to reach the house.
I knew because I watched the security feed.
She wore jeans, a dark coat I had never seen, and new sneakers.
Her hair was loose.
She carried a canvas tote over one shoulder.
She stopped twice on the long driveway, once to look at the frozen fountain and once because one of the security dogs decided to investigate her bag.
She crouched and scratched behind its ears until the handler apologized.
When she entered the foyer, Mrs. Alvarez hugged her.
Emma looked surprised.
Then she hugged her back.
I turned off the monitor.
Three minutes later, there was a knock on the study door.
“Come in.”
Emma opened it halfway.
“You busy?”
“Yes.”
She looked at the empty desk.
“With what?”
“Thinking.”
“That explains the smoke.”
I stared at her.
The corner of her mouth moved.
She stepped inside.
For several seconds neither of us said anything.
She looked healthier.
Not well, exactly.
Less transparent.
The shadows beneath her eyes remained, but color had returned to her face.
“You look better,” I said.
“You look the same.”
“That sounded insulting.”
“It was an observation.”
She glanced toward the drawer.
“Mrs. Alvarez said my check is in here.”
I opened it and handed her the envelope.
She took it.
Our fingers did not touch.
That annoyed me for reasons I refused to examine.
“You eating?”
She sighed.
“I knew this was coming.”
“Answer.”
“Yes.”
“Regularly?”
“Yes.”
“What does regularly mean?”
“Food goes into my mouth several times a day.”
“Emma.”
“My doctor gave me instructions.”
“You have a doctor now?”
“I went to the clinic Friday.”
“Good.”
The word came out before I could disguise my relief.
She looked at me.
“I’m taking iron.”
I nodded.
“They want more tests.”
My expression changed.
She noticed.
“It’s probably nothing dramatic.”
“Probably?”
“That’s what the doctor said.”
“What tests?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You’re doing it.”
“Doing what?”
“Trying to take over.”
“I asked a question.”
“You ask questions like warrants.”
“I like information.”
“You like control.”
“There’s overlap.”
That earned a small laugh.
She looked at the envelope in her hands.
Then the room seemed to become more difficult for both of us.
“I should go.”
“You came all this way for a check?”
“I need the check.”
“I know.”
She shifted the tote higher on her shoulder.
“I also wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“The hospital.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
She looked at me directly.
“That’s why I’m saying it.”
I rubbed my thumb against the wheel rim.
“You scared me.”
“I know.”
“And you were stupid.”
“There it is.”
“You were.”
“I know.”
“You should have gone home from the facility.”
“I know.”
“You shouldn’t have tried to make your diner shift.”
“I know.”
“You need better shoes.”
She looked down at the new sneakers.
“These are forty dollars.”
“They look like forty dollars.”
“Okay, now you’ve crossed a line.”
I smiled before I could stop myself.
Emma saw it.
She smiled too.
May you like
Then she took a breath.
“I still don’t want my old job back.”
