25

Bobby

Sunday: 12:27 AM

“And it’s a woman.”

“You’re shitting me,” Jeremy said. “That makes no sense.”

“I’m just telling you what I see. The physical evidence doesn’t lie.”

“Listen to him. Now he’s Sherlock Holmes.”

“Fuck off, Glass.”

“I don’t think Mr. Holmes had such a foul mouth,” I said.

“Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character. He didn’t have a mouth.”

Marisa elbowed Jeremy. Sweat beaded his forehead. His skin was gray, his face lined with pain. Something was wrong with him. Even his girlfriend the medical student should have been able to see that.

I brushed off Jeremy’s comments and the girls’ looks of disbelief. I was onto something. I was beginning to understand why Agent Reston was so reluctant to let go of me.

My inner sense was never wrong. I knew this, like I knew the hand at the end of my wrist.

And there was something exciting about putting together the bits and pieces to form the big picture without the fear of going blind, being murdered, or losing my mind. I tried not to think about the possibility of failure and the return of the weird epilepsy syndrome that threatened my life. Better to focus on solving the crime.

It was crazy, but I was starting to like this.

“I don’t see how the person who attacked me could have been a—” Marisa said, her voice edged with panic.

“Marisa,” Gabe said softly, “did you, uh, did you see anything? Because, you know, it could have been—not what you think it was. And, uh, well, you never went for an examination.”

Marisa looked at her as if she smelled rotten eggs. “I know what I saw. And I know what I felt.”

“Bobby,” Gabe said. “If you tried again, do you think you can learn more about Marisa’s attacker?”

“I could,” I said, “but what I really want to know is how all this fits together. And where exactly Brittany was killed. Because she wasn’t killed in this basement. She got away.”

“That girl had a one seriously bad night,” Jeremy said.

“The worst ever,” Gabe said, “and we owe it to her to find out who killed her. I think we need to pay Brendan Wavestone a visit to find out what his ring has to do with all of this.”

“Like that’s going to happen,” Jeremy said.

“Well, for starters,” Gabe said, “we’ve got his ring to return. And secondly, I can use the Gabriella Sorensen card. They broke up years ago, but he and Mom are friends since they’re on so many boards together.”

I was wavering on my feet. The use of my abilities had drained me to the point I could barely stand, but we were on a roll. And the clock was still running down.

“Look,” said Jeremy. “I’m wrecked. It makes sense that she was killed across the street in the park. That’s where she first found me. If you go there, I’m sure you’ll find more leads. I’m done for tonight. I’m going back to the apartment. Come if you want, Marisa.”

Marisa cut Jeremy a look. “It’s okay. You go rest. I think I’ll stay with Gabe and Bobby tonight.”

I groaned inwardly. Not only was it a bad sign for the two of them, but it killed my chances of getting alone time with Gabe. Which I knew, given what was going on, was a ridiculous thing to want. But I wasn’t dead. Yet.

Jeremy met her gaze. His eyes looked bleary and tired, and he seemed to sway on his feet. “Suit yourself. We’ll talk in the morning.”

“How far is the apartment?” Gabe asked. “We should walk you there.”

“Nah,” Jeremy said. “It’s only a few blocks away. But I’ll cab it.”

Jeremy and Marisa hugged chastely. Gabe and I enfolded him in a tight embrace.

It was odd how it felt like I’d known Jeremy Glass way longer than just over twenty-four hours.