Chapter 10 - The Book with the Broken Spine
I dragged Ben behind a concrete barrier. His brace caught on a loose board, and he cursed through clenched teeth.
"You okay?"
"Define okay."
Torres's team moved fast. A dark SUV screeched across the harbor road, cutting off the shooter's escape. I heard two more shots, then a shouted command. Silence followed.
The gunman was gone, but the abandoned rifle had a sticker on the stock: a little blue compass, exactly like Ben's.
"A calling card," Torres said. "Or somebody wants you to think Ben is involved."
Ben didn't flinch. "If I wanted her dead, I had an easier chance five minutes ago."
"True," Torres said. "Doesn't mean I won't check."
I brought them to my apartment, a small second-floor place above a laundromat. The stairs smelled of soap and burnt toast. It was ordinary, and that ordinariness had been the point. Five years of invisible living had turned even the hum of a dryer into comfort.
My door was unlocked.
Inside, books littered the floor. The kitchen drawers stood open. Someone had ripped the curtains down and smashed the framed photo of my mother.
Chloe was sitting on the couch, crying.
"What happened?" I demanded.
"A man came. He said you had something that belonged to him. I told him you weren't here."
"Why were you here?"
She held up a spare key I'd forgotten she'd had since college. "I wanted to apologize."
I didn't believe her. Maybe she didn't believe herself.
The paperback was missing from my shelf. Its title was The Long Way Home. Mom had read it to us when the power went out during storms.
"Did you see the man take a book?" I asked.
Chloe shook her head. "He left with a bag."
Torres checked the hallway camera. The intruder had worn a maintenance uniform and carried a black duffel. His face was hidden, but one thing was clear: before leaving, he paused at Chloe's shoulder and whispered something.
I looked at her. "What did he say?"
She began to sob harder.
May you like
"He said," she whispered, "Dad gave him the key."
THE SCARS THE ADMIRAL REMEMBERED
