“What?” Reluctantly, Bob hit the treadmill’s OFF button. The words describing Ken’s disfigured face were already building up inside him, demanding release.

“Don’t give me that. You know exactly what’s wrong. That message you made me send Bridget must have been in code. Because she showed up at your house.”

Bridget. Her name finally snapped him back to the here and now. “What happened?”

“She got past the gate and triggered the silent alarm. When the cops came, she told them she’d gotten a weird message from you and that she was worried you were having a stroke or something.”

Bob realized he’d been too clever by half, disguising his words both too much and too little. He’d aroused Bridget’s suspicions but not any useful action.

“Really?” he said mildly. “And then what happened?”

“The cops didn’t really care. They just wrote off her and this guy she was with as crazy fans. But my mom met them at your house, and she does care. She told them you’re traveling in Flanders looking at castles. She’s really mad at you, and at me for being tricked by you.”

Bob walked a tightrope of words. “I didn’t trick you, Derrick. Those questions for Bridget are really things I need to know. Maybe I wasn’t as clear as I could be because I’m not sleeping well. Just email Bridget back and say I’m in Europe doing research. Blame it on jet lag. Say I took an Ambien. Maybe even that I had a drink or two on top of that. Apologize if it was confusing and say I’ll get back to her later. You can use any words you want. And that way you’ll know there’s no hidden messages.”

“Right,” Derrick said sarcastically. “Like I can trust anything you say. You already fooled me once. You’re going to have to pay for that. So who’s the fool now?”

Who’s the fool now? Could Ken say that to Jade, mocking her for believing King Orwen would give her anything without demanding a much higher price in return? Maybe he would even say it to her corpse. After all, it was rumored that some women summoned to visit the new king never made it out of his bedchamber alive.

Belatedly, Bob ran through Derrick’s words again. “What do you mean, I’m going to have to pay?”