“The reds aren’t quite— Wait a minute. Whose is that?”

Whose indeed? I clawed at my memory. I’d had little contact with women. Only a few—

“Just someone I hooked up with once. She left it here. It was a year ago, at least.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“Silver, there’s been no one since you.”

“It’s only been a week.”

“Which means I couldn’t possibly be lying to you. You’ve been with me nearly nonstop.” I tossed her the shirt. “This is it. Either that or you call in.”

She threw the shirt back at me. “I’ll go home and change.”

“You might be late for work.”

She bit her lip again. God, she looked adorable. Would Charlie chance being late for a brand new job?

She stood impudently and picked up the shirt. “It’ll do.” She grabbed her skirt and marched into the bathroom.

And I tried not to chuckle out loud.

She’d be going to work commando today.

And I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about that.

She came out of the bathroom, her hair freshly brushed, the skirt looking nearly wrinkle free. The stretchy V-neck shirt was tight on her, which made her breasts look amazing, and she was right. The reds didn’t quite match, but only she and I would notice that. We had painters’ eyes. They were close enough.

“Close enough,” she agreed, when I mentioned it. Then, instead of hurrying out as I expected her to, she sat back down on the bed.

“Don’t you need—”

“In fifteen minutes. I can make it if I leave in fifteen minutes.”

Worked for me. I began lowering my pajama pants.

She held up her hand. “No, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t come here to…have sex. I really didn’t.”

“We just had sex, silver.”

“Yeah. I was there. But I came to talk to you.”

“Oh?” I sat down next to her. “What about?”

“About the key.”

My skin chilled, so much that I rubbed my upper arms to ease the cold.

The key.

The key I needed to bury for my sanity.

The key I needed to unearth to save my family.

The key only Charlie knew about.

“I told you the first time in the lobby. There is no key.”

She touched my cheek, the palm of her hand so warm against my now freezing skin. “There’s a key. You already admitted it to me earlier. You’re hiding it, Roy. And it’s killing you.”

39

Charlie

He didn’t deny my words.

I hadn’t meant to be so blunt. Whatever was inside him wasn’t literally killing him, but it was eating him up. Something about what Lacey had recalled had him spooked.

“It’s the name,” I said. “James.”

“James,” he said softly. “Jim.”

“Right. Jim. Who is it, Roy? Who is Jim?”