Page 29 of Stone
Download an Arabic/English Translation App. It won’t be a perfect solution, but it’ll be better than nothing.
By the time she arrived at the museum with the app installed, she was ready to confrontGarenth.
The police had Dr.Kelling’soffice and the workroom taped off as a crime scene, but one of the museumguards allowed her to retrieve her purse. Thanking him, she took the elevator up to the top floor, then the stairs to the roof.
She’d half-expected the gargoyle man to be gone, but he was there, perched on the ledge of the roof and looking every bit as if he was part of the architecture. He heard her approach and turned around. She was surprised that he hadn’t been more apprehensive. Holdingup her phone, she spoke into it. “You knew it was me coming up behind you?”
The app’s interpretive voice was mechanic and stilted, butGarenthmanaged to understand her question and replied, “You have confident tread. Enemy hide, not approach.” He gave the phone the eye, then spoke again. “Go now.”
Was he telling her he had to leave? Or for both of them to leave?
“Can you take me home? It’slate and I’m tired.”
In answer, he got to his feet and held out his arms. Without hesitation, she allowed him to pick her up. And this time she had no qualms about gliding over the city’s rooftops.
She directed him to her apartment building where he landed them near the water tower. Before taking the stairs down to her floor, she placed a hand on his chest and gazed up into his deep browneyes. “I’m going to bed to rest. Will you be all right until morning?”
“Stay here for sun god to come. You come.”
The last had to be a question although the app spoke everything in a monotone. She smiled. “Yes. I will return for you.” Giving his chest another pat, she left the roof to go down to her eighth floor apartment.
A hot shower managed to relax and soothe her frazzled nerves to thepoint where she could get some decent sleep. She was never aware of the large, hulking figure which parked itself outside her window and watched over her until it grew daylight.
