“I have many firsts to take from you. A lifetime’s worth.”
She opened her mouth, probably about to protest, but I stepped away.
“I’ll find you later. Be a good girl and keep your head down. Stay out of trouble... even though I know it’s hard for you.” With a wink, I turned away and headed out of the room.
I had detectives to make suspicious.
I returnedto the attic room once I’d poked around and seen where the detectives were in their investigation. They were going through the papers in Benedict’s office while Pavol and Dr. Blackwoodwatched silently from the hallway. Blackwood I still didn’t have a good read on, but Pavol was sweating bullets. He mumbled to himself, pulling at his collar and generally looking like a guilty bastard. It seemed he’d also been partaking in the spiked wine from their private lounge.
I made sure not to be seen. I didn’t want the detectives to come asking me anything. To fix the mess I’d gotten into with the unplanned killing of Benedict, I needed to get out of here clean... and take Katarina with me. I had a hunch that Pavol wouldn’t say anything about me. He thought I was here to keep an eye on him on behalf of Centrium Group. He wouldn’t want to rattle his sponsor’s cage.
I’d had a few close calls in my years building my reputation as L’Ombra, but this was the closest. I was invested because of Katarina. I was worried because of Katarina. I was taking risks because of Katarina.
For the first time since I was a teenager, I had something to lose, and it was making me impulsive and uncontrolled.
The stairs to the room at the very top creaked ominously, and it was nearly pitch-black except for the candle I was holding to light the way. The window of the attic room showed the denseness of the falling snow.
I went to it and looked down as candles were lit in the chapel below, barely visible through the snowstorm.
I stood aside and watched the patients of Hallow Hall file into the small chapel on the snowy grounds. The detectives had just left. The snow was really coming down now, but Pavol hadn’t canceled the vigil he’d decided to hold for Benedict. It was performative, of course. Pavol was paranoid about the cops and what they might find wrong with Hallow Hall. He was going out of his way to appear above suspicion.
As for me and Katarina, we would have to wait until tomorrow for the detectives to find the most vital evidence. I had done what I could to shut this place down. It would have to be enough. I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed a number.
It rang a few times before a familiar voice sounded over the line.
“Lucciano residence.” The words were followed by a long, hacking cough and throat clearing.
“Paolo, you sound like the Crypt Keeper.”
“Well, isn’t this place a crypt? No one ever comes here except me,” Paolo, my housekeeper going on ten years, said with contempt.
“Well, don’t get too excited, but I need you to get the house ready for a guest.”
“Which ex-military friend is it this time? Are they going to sleep on the floor again, or should I make up a bed?”
“She’s not ex-military,” I told him, and silence came over the line. “She’s not just a friend, either.”
A low chuckle sounded. “She?Well, that’s a different story. Should I make up the guest room or... will the lady be staying with you?”
“With me, from now on.”
Paolo’s voice was warm now. “Certainly, I will see to that immediately. Do you happen to know what her favorite flowers are? Wine, fabrics, books, foods?”
The rapid-fire questions made me chuckle.
“I don’t know any of that, but I will in time. For now—snowdrops. She likes spring flowers.”
“Ah, yes, snowdrops, a symbol of resilience and fresh beginnings, resurrection. A beautiful choice.”
“Calm down and don’t go over the top. You’re not a cartoonclock trying to make Beauty fall for the beast. I can handle that part.”
He sniffed. “So you say. When can I expect you?”
“Tomorrow.”
He squawked in protest and promptly hung up.
I pocketed my phone and made my way downstairs toward the chapel for the vigil.