I grin. “Thanks! Oh, and Owen said he thinks that the company fixing our water leak can get insulation soon, so I’ll probably have a real wall again before long.”
“Are you sad about that?” Emerson asks, genuinely curious.
“A little, actually. Because it might mean the end of waking up to sticky notes from him. The one I got this morning said,Something about today feels like the calm before the…awesome. Or maybe it’s the calm before more construction. Jury’s out. And in parentheses, the note said(I can’t wait for the wedding.)Isn’t he just the sweetest?”
“Like a big, fluffy cinnamon roll,” Emerson says.
I give him a sisterly smack on the arm, then thank him again for all of his research before heading out to finish preparing for the missions we’ll be running early next week. Of course, to do that, I’llhave to get my mind off both Owen and how I’m going to dig deeper into whatever it is that Giovanni must be hiding.
When I get home from work, Reese and Miles are sitting on opposite ends of the couch, turned toward each other, with their legs in the middle. They each hold a bowl of mini marshmallows that they are taking turns trying to toss across the space between them to land in the other person’s mouth.
I drop my keys on the table by the door, hang my bag on the hook, kick off my shoes, and say to Miles, “If it weren’t for the fact that you worked out of town so much, I’d be annoyed how often you get off work before me.”
“You say that like you’re not secretly jealous of my deeply impressive work-life balance.” He tosses a marshmallow in the air toward me, so I open my mouth, and it lands right in. “Or my ability to always hit my target.”
“Whatever, balance boy,” Reese says as she tosses a marshmallow into Miles’s mouth. “The scoreboard says you’re down by two.”
My phone starts to ring, so I pull it out. “Huh. It’s Emerson.” It’s only been maybe thirty minutes since I last saw him. I answer and say in my best cheerfulcustomer-service voice, “Charlie’s Pizza Palace—where every call gets extra cheese and zero judgment. Can I take your order?”
“I’m guessing you’re at home and you’re worried that Owen and/or Reese can hear?”
I glance at the thin and mostly see-through wall that separates my place from Owen’s. I can see his fuzzy person-shaped blob at his kitchen counter, possibly making himself a sandwich or something. He’ll totally be able to hear this conversation, so I’m not just talking in code for Reese’s sake. “Both, actually. We’re always happy to offer delivery and takeout.”
“All right. I found something. Giovanni made a hefty donation to the La Scala Mare in Naples.”
“Oh, one of our Italian specials.”
“But the weird part? The building’s already been restored. It’s been open for years. He specifically requested a solo walk-through. No staff. No publicity.”
“So… ordering off the menu.”
“Three days before he flew to Maryland to tour The Shadowridge.”
Huh. “He didn’t order any breadsticks or sauce? He just wanted to be seated alone?”
“Exactly. Like he maybe needed to confirmsomething.”
“Some people like to be super particular about their order. Is there an order history?”
“Still looks squeaky clean on the surface.”
“Okay, keep the oven hot and let me know when you’ve got more ingredients.”
“You got it. And if anyone asks, this call was about a disappointing pepperoni shortage.”
“Obviously. Talk soon.”
I end the call, smiling to myself that I’ve got at least a first clue to go on when it comes to investigating Giovanni, and then I glance at our shared wall.
“Let me guess,” Reese says, deadpanning. “That phone call was actually about what movie he wants to go see?”
I turn to my roommate. “Close. Except it was a stage production.” I know that Miles is curious about the phone call, too, so I give him a meaningful look when I say “stage production.” I know he’ll piece it together and know I was talking to Emerson about The Shadowridge.
Reese turns to Miles. “Do you and your siblings play that ‘try to respond to their call as if you’re a restaurant’ game only with Charlie, or do you do it with each other, too?”
Miles gives an amused smile. “If you want to find out, try it next time you call me and see if I play along.”
Reese laughs and then launches a marshmallow at him.
