Page 17 of Kept

She’s still on the sofa, right where I left her. I grab the rest of the water and hold out a hand to pull her to her feet. She finishes straightening her pants and wraps herself in the blanket before following me through the house. She stops at the threshold to the bathroom, looking very confused.

“You drew me a… bath?” she asks, stepping closer to the tub.

I nod. “I’ll leave you something to sleep in.” Then I leave and close the bathroom door behind me.

In a life full of painful moments, walking away at that exact moment certainly made the list.

CHAPTER 10

Vincent

Not the way I anticipated spending the night, I think, closing the door to the guest room and locking it.

My phone buzzes. Marco. I answer in Italian in case my new friend is planning on listening in.

“What did you find?” I ask.

“Her name is Sarah Williams. She just turned twenty-two, and she moved to New York about two years ago. From Colorado, but her history is a little murky. She might have had a name change at some point. It will take a bit to unravel.”

I pop some leftover pasta in the microwave. “What else?”

“Nothing unusual. Lives in a shoe box in the navy yard, doesn’t seem to owe anyone money.”

“Any mention of someone named Robert in her history?”

“You hire a psychic on the side, brother? Yeah, get this, she’s a ballerina. Like tutus and shit. There was some play this weekend and one of the other dancers listed is some cat named Robert.”

The microwave dings.

“You microwaving dinner again? It’s called takeout, man. Embrace the future.”

“You think there’s takeout better than mamma’s pasta?”

“Naw, but Morelli’s is pretty close.”

“Marco, that’s because they learned to cook from the same angry old Sicilian bat.”

He laughs. “You ain’t wrong, boss. But on business, what you want me to do about this Robert dude?”

“Just keep an eye on him for now. And text me her address. I’m going to poke around her place.”

“Sure thing. By the way, where is she tonight?”

“Here.”

“There?”

“Something wrong with your hearing Marco?”

He snorts. “No, just surprised. What are you going to do with her?”

“I have no fucking idea.” I hear Marco laughing in the background. “Just send me everything you have on both of them.”

“Sure thing, boss.” He disconnects.

I finish my dinner and settle down in my office to go over the material Marco dug up. An article about the Swan Lake premiere pops up, with Sarah’s face and her trim body held aloft by a young blonde man.

Sarah Williams and Robert Crosby as Odette and the Prince in the New York City Ballet Company’s premiere weekend performance of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

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