Page 57 of Head Over Heels

"Hey." She reaches out, grabbing my arm. "I'm sorry."

I freeze. I nod mutely without looking back at her. I pull away from her.

"Come over. I'll meet you back at my place."

"Do you want a drink?" she asks, letting me into her apartment.

I shake my head. "Some water or tea, maybe. I won't drink around you right now." I slowly breathe in her scent. I glance around the place. Weird. There's a step ladder against the wall. "Tell me what's going on with your grandfather's stuff."

She puts on some water for tea then sits down at the table. "I don't know much. He was a Nazi and a thief."

"What do you mean? It was common for soldiers to loot—on all sides, not just the Nazis." Nonna has let bits and pieces of her story slip out over the years. We learned a little about the war during school, but not much. I was in college before it occurred to me that Nonna had lived through it, and that was why she came to this country with Mom.

She chews on her cheek for a long minute, lost in thought. "My grandmother died when I was four. I don't know exactly what happened to her. She was only in her sixties. I always thought she died from a heart attack, but I'm not sure if anyone actually ever said that."

I nod, silent. I'm guessing she didn't die of a heart attack.

"I got into the safe deposit box on Saturday, after I met Renna at school for a few hours."

The tea kettle whistles, and I get up, motioning for her to continue. "What was inside?"

"An inventory of everything. The appraisals and all the paperwork for authenticity are in a safe at the property." She waves that away. "There was also a letter to me."

I pour two cups of tea and set one in front of her.

"It was creepy, Florence. I can't even talk to Mel about it."

"Creepy, how?

"He's been watching me from his tower perch for thirty years." She nods toward the step stool. "He had a fucking camera on my living room. Tilly helped me find it and disable it. There's one at my parents house and Mel's house, too."

I frown. "To what end? Any idea?" Besides being scary, that's illegal. I wonder how long he was watching her.

"He was obsessed with me. I think because I'm his only living relative, besides mom. She shut him out as soon as my grandma died—about thirty years ago."

"That's why he left everything to you." It makes sense.

"He has a picture of me at my hooding ceremony—when I officially became a doctor. Either he was there, or he had someone else there to take the picture. Next to the picture, he has a shelf full of my favorite books."

"How did he know what you liked to read?" I frown at the thought.

"Besides the cameras? He hacked into my phone, my online shopping, email, everything. Mel's, too, I think." She sighs. "There's also a hidden room with all my favorite books since I was a kid, going back to kindergarten and first grade."

She's been dealing with this all by herself?

"Why don't you want to tell Mel?" I ask her gently. I'm sure she wouldn't blame her. Any camera at Mel's place was obviously about Josie.

"Tilly and I deactivated the cameras—at my parents, and Mel's, too. I think he killed my grandmother."

She's not making sense. "I don't follow."

"He was also obsessed with finding someone he met during the war. Only he didn't know her name or where she went after the war. He spent eighty years trying to find a ghost."

"Come sit on the couch." I pick up her tea and bring it to the coffee table. "Sit by me."

She curls up against my side.

"How much of this does Tilly know about?" It sounds like she trusts her, at least.

---