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Sandra climbed into the minivan and Bob teleported his way in. She noticed that he didn’t buckle his seatbelt. Why would he? If she decided to hit a moose, he could just teleport out of harm’s way. She hoped he would then call for an ambulance to care for his non-teleporting friends.
“Well, what did you find out?”
He glanced toward the stone bench where Jake still sat. “I could ask you the same thing.”
She started the van and cranked the air conditioning, even though it only blew hot air at their faces. Bob reached down and turned the fan down.
“You first,” she said.
“I read his file.”
“Either you’re a fast reader, or it was a short file.”
“Both. As we might have assumed, Phoenix had an addiction. He stayed here for six weeks and stayed sober that whole time. There was nothing in his file about any problems. Seems as though he was a model patient. It wasn’t a very exciting collection of paperwork.”
“Did you at least find out where he was from?”
“Yes!” He sounded excited. “Lewiston. I even got a home address, though I’m not sure what good it will do us.”
“Tiara said he still lived at Hope House. Maybe that’s his parents’ place?”
“No idea, but I don’t think we should bother his parents unless we think of a very good reason. I’m sure the police have already talked to them.”
Sandra made no such assumption.
“Your turn. What did your new friend tell you?”
She was excited to think she might have learned more than he had, without the benefit of invisibility. “He said Phoenix wasn’t a troublemaker and didn’t have any enemies.” She paused and wished she knew how to do a steering wheel drum roll. “And he said that Phoenix and Tiara had a thing.”
“A thing?”
“Yes.”
“What is a thing?”
Was he joking? He was an angel, not an imbecile. “You know, like a relationship.”
“Oh, that sort of thing.” He paused, and she sensed his wheels were turning. “I had a feeling that might be the case, but as an angel, the nuances of romantic entanglements are often lost on me.”
She had no idea what he’d just said.
“If I were a betting angel, I would bet that she calls you.”
An influx of hope surged into Sandra’s chest. “I certainly hope so.” She started the car. “Even if she doesn’t know anything, I’d love to talk to her again. I’m not even sure why, but I liked her.”
“Yeah.” Bob sounded contemplative. “I liked her too.”
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SANDRA CAME HOME TO chaos. Joanna and Nate had cooked, and they’d used every dish in the house to create something that loosely resembled lasagna. Meanwhile, Peter had sprinkled catnip on the living room carpet, and Mr. T had gone to town, shredding a square foot of the carpet in the exact middle of the living room. It would be a while before that would get replaced—Sandra could almost hear the cash register dinging in response.
At least Sammy looked safe and sound. She scooped him out of the Pack ’n Play to see he’d left a large brown patch behind. She looked down at his onesie and saw the blowout. “Nate!” she called, trying not to sound too irate. “When was the last time you changed Sammy?”
Peter looked sheepish. “I did it like twenty minutes ago. Why, did I do it wrong?”
“No, of course not. Will you please get Mr. T away from the living room and then vacuum? I’m going to go give Sammy a bath.”
“Okay.” He sounded hesitant.
She kept walking.
“You want me to vacuum Mr. T? Why don’t we just buy a Cat Vac?”
“No!” she called back without slowing down. She was suddenly in a great hurry to get the bathroom door shut behind her. “Vacuum up the catnip!” She didn’t even know if there was any catnip left, but if there was, she wanted it in the vacuum, not in the carpet. And no way was she going to buy a Cat Vac. First of all, they cost a zillion dollars, and second, her baser self did not want to add to the Barney fortune. The Cat Vac was what had turned Richard Barney into an empire. Before he’d invented the odd contraption, he’d just been an ordinary veterinarian. But then he’d invented the small box into which people shoved their cats to have them “shed in six seconds” and the money had started falling from the sky. She rolled her eyes at the thought and slammed the bathroom door.