Chapter Eighteen
next morning I woke up disappointed to find the other side of the bed empty. I'd slept soundly all night after helping Ryan fall asleep, but I felt tight and tense after sitting on the couch for several hours waiting for him to fall into a deep sleep. I'd hoped to wake up next to him, but realized I should have known better. Ryan wasn't the kind of guy who would show up in a girl's bed uninvited.
"Ryan?" I called hoping that he was somewhere downstairs and would come bounding up the stairs ready to join me. There was no answer, though. "Ryan? Are you down there?"
When I got no reply, I pulled on my robe over my nightgown and headed down to see what was going on. I saw my laptop open on the counter and a slip of paper lying next to it. I picked it up and read:
Echo,
Sorry I couldn't stay. I need to take care of a few things. Be back in a few days. Don't worry.
Ryan
I slammed my hand down on the counter and swore under my breath before I ran to my purse and pulled out my phone. I quickly typed out a text and hit send. He'd have to respond to me at some point.
I sent a second text to Cece asking her to come over, if she could, before I headed into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock at the door, and when I opened it, Cece was standing there holding a carrier with two coffees and a bag of pastries from the bodega down the block.
"You rang, chica?" she grinned as she stepped through the door and set the food down. She gave me a hug and then grabbed a coffee and the bag of pastries as she made her way to the couch. "So, what's up?"
"Thank you for the coffee," I said with a grateful smile as I grabbed mine and joined her.
"No hay problema, chica," she smiled as she pulled a cheese danish from the bag and took a huge bite. "And again, I ask, what's up?"
"I don't know what the hell is going on," I said as I took a sip of coffee, then proceeded to tell her about the funeral and what happened afterwards. "And when I woke up this morning he was gone. I have no idea where he went or what he's doing."
"The boy doesn't want to be found," she said as she chewed thoughtfully then said with a mischievous grin, "But that doesn't mean we can't find him."
"I know we can find him, Cece," I said shaking my head. "But does that mean we should? I'm worried about him. He's lost his friend, his father and now the money and his father's company. And I'm getting cryptic emails from his dead father giving me information about the project he was working on, but no insight into why he was doing what he was doing or what I should be doing with the information."
"That is bizarre," she said as she brushed the crumbs off of her blood red tank top. Her nail polish matched the top perfectly as did her lipstick. I felt mousy and plain next to her bold look. "But lay out the details, chica. Your boss dies, his son comes home, and you start getting classified information that you are not supposed to share with the man who fired you just before you get fired. How does this all fit together?"
"Well, now that you put it that way," I laughed. "It seems kind of obvious that Dr. Powell was doing something that he didn't want Mr. Baines to know about, but Mr. Baines must already know something about it and thinks I do, too, or else he wouldn't have fired me, right?"
"Ooooh, you're a regular Sherlock Homes," she said taking a second pastry and biting into it. "I love that guy, by the way."
"My evil ex-boss?" I asked.
"No, Sherlock Homes," she laughed harder. "Stay with me, chica."
"Cece, you're crazy," I laughed with her. "But what does this all mean? Now Ryan's gone AWOL and I need to figure out what to do with the emails."
"Maybe it's part of a larger puzzle," she suggested as she licked her fingers. "What else could be going on? Think about it, chica!"
"I don't know, maybe Julian Baines had Dr. Powell murdered so he could get his hands on the research?" I said feeling completely foolish for even thinking such a ridiculous thing. When on earth had someone murdered? That was a plot device for television shows, not real life.
"Could he have done it?" Cece asked.
"Cece, that's just plain stupid," I said. "Why would Julian Baines want to kill his best friend the man who also happens to be his business partner?"
"You're asking me?" she said. "I can think of a hundred different reasons for why people want to kill one another; old grudges, money, sex, power...want me to keep going?"
"But what could Dr. Powell have that Baines would want enough to kill him for it?" I asked.
"Not a clue," Cece said as she peeked into the bag and asked, "You want this last one?"
"No, it's all you," I said turning the problem over in my brain. I had no idea what Baines's grudge could be, but all of a sudden I thought of someone who might know. I turned to Cece and asked, "Want to run an errand with me?"
"Sure, why not?" she smiled. "I'm fed and caffeinated, so I'll be great company for a few hours!"
I laughed as I gathered my things. I hesitated before loading the laptop into a bag and throwing it over my shoulder. I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but if I had a chance to install the program I'd spent the past several days coding, I didn't want to miss the opportunity.
"Alright, Cece, let's ride," I said as I pulled open the door and crossed my fingers hoping that what we were about to do wouldn't get anyone in trouble.