He blinks in rare surprise. “Shutting down Rockton?”
“We’ll deal with it. I’m close to solving this mystery, and that should resolve the issue.” I rise. “I’m sorry we didn’t at least tell you about Sebastian going to the First Settlement, but thank you for speaking to me. Émilie denied seeing you tonight, and I knew she had been here. Now I know why.”
He frowns. “Tonight?”
“Yes, I saw her leaving your…” I trail off as I take in his expression. “When did she speak to you?”
“Yesterday afternoon. She has not been here since.”
I mentally run through the residents who live nearby and compare it to that short list of new residents she’d been interested in.
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
“The detective has solved the case?” he asks as I stand and head for the hall.
“No, she’s solved a mystery she never realized was a mystery at all. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Tease!” he calls after me as I hurry out the door.
* * *
There isn’t a guard posted outside the clinic. That throws me, until I remember that we have no need of one. How often in the past has our overnight patient been a suspect or a victim? Far too often. But not tonight. Such a relief.
As I hurry inside, a figure rises from an examination table, and my gun flies up. I hit the light … and see my sister blinking and squinting at me.
“Casey?” she says.
I lower the gun. “What are you doing here?”
“Monitoring the patient, of course.” It only takes a second for brisk efficiency to return to her voice, and she runs one hand through her hair, returning it to perfection. “I would request, though, that you please do not mention it to Kenneth. I told him that I ought to monitor the patient, and he made it quite clear I should not do so at night, for my own safety. I pointed out that Jay is currently comatose, but he still worried.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s a glitter of pleasure there, too, that Kenny was concerned for her safety. Then she snaps back to herself and says, “Whatever are you doing here? At…” She checks her watch. “Two in the morning.”
“I popped in to check on the patient. But since you’re up, can I run something by you? I need your brain.”
“A medical question, I presume?”
“There’s a medical question included, but mostly, I just want to bounce my theory off someone smarter than me, someone who might see the holes that I’m missing.”
She frowns. “Detective work is your forte, Casey, and I’m quite certain you’re the expert in that regard. As for requiring someone smarter to vet your reasoning, any difference in our IQ is minimal enough, on the overall scale, that I hardly think you need my help.”
She peers at me and steps closer. “Are you all right? Your eyes appear to be watery. You didn’t encounter any potentially toxic substances in your search for Felicity, did you?”
I laugh, say, “Thank you,” and hug her, a brief hug that she endures, even patting my back awkwardly.
“I do believe you’re overtired, or else I am still half asleep, because I fail to see what I said that requires gratitude or shows of affection.”
“If you’d like to rest, April, that’s fine, but if you’re up…”
“I am.”
“Then I would love to bounce this theory off you. Get your take on it. Is that all right?”
That look sparks in her eyes, the dart of pleasure I’d seen when she talked about Kenny’s fretting.
“Of course,” she says. “Tell me everything.”
I do.