“Personal might be more difficult. I’d need some time looking into each member of his immediate family.”
“You know what hacker-extraordinaire would help this move quicker?”
Sebastian nods. “I’ll touch base with Christian.”
My eyes focus on the screen. “Make sure to check Spain.”
“Spain?”
“Yeah, the projected destination just popped up.”
Sebastian rises to his feet. “I’m going to work on this. We’ll touch base soon.”
I rub my temples, frustrated with having to get him on foreign territory. “If he’s in Spain, that’s where we’re going to have to go.”
“Looks like it,” he returns. “It’s only a matter of time before the police find the same information.”
After Sebastian leaves my office, I lean back in my chair, taking a minute to think through the resources and tools we have at our disposal, when my eyes find the window and the lush green forest. Gray clouds roll in casting a dark shadow into the office. A flutter from the side catches my eye. Wings spread wide, the raven flies right up to the window.
“Hey, buddy.” I roll closer to him.
His eyes dart around the environment, on the lookout for both predators and prey. Perched comfortably on his favorite branch, we both enjoy the silence and solitude of the dense forest surrounding us.
“I saw him in the kitchen the first night I stayed here.” Lux’s quiet voice sounds from behind me.
I open one arm, gesturing for her to come to me. She walks around the desk, a lightness in her steps I haven’t seen before. She’s becoming more comfortable in my house and with me. And my heart warms at the thought.
Lux crawls onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and resting her head against mine.
“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” she whispers. Our eyes locked on the mysterious bird inches away from us, only separated by a layer of glass.
Clasping my head behind her back, I pull her tight. “Yes.”
“I love ravens,” she tells me. “I haven’t really seen them much before, except here on your property.”
“This one hangs around often.”
She draws her head back, her eyes flickering to me. “He reminds me of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe poem,The Raven,” she says.
I smile, already aware she’s a Poe fan.
“It’s mine too. Which makes it even more fitting to call you Raven.”
“Yes.” She blushes. “I’d like to say his writing is what inspired my own.”
“I’m glad you found comfort in his words.” I lean in close, letting my breath dust her lips.
She smiles and kisses me lightly. “Yes. I am a crime writer, remember?”
“Yeah. His work shows our shared human experience.” The bond growing between Lux and I intensify with each passing day. “Sometimes it can be the most effective way to communicate.”
“Through writing?” Her eyelids close as we both pepper each other’s mouth with kisses.
“Yes,” I say. Then she tucks her head under my chin.
“The poem’s beginning verses have remained with me since I was a child. I might even remember the final ones if I tried hard.”
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…” she recites the first line in a whisper.
