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Concerned that she thinks I’m hitting on her, I add, “Not as a date, just as a friend. Absolutely no obligation at all. I’m sure you’re busy, and it’s the last thing you’d want to do.”
“It’s not that,” she says. “Did Huxley ask you to check on me?” She doesn’t look annoyed, just suspicious. I decide honesty is the best policy.
“Yes, he did, and I promised I would. But it was a kind of kill-two-birds-with-one-stone thing. I don’t want to spend the weekend at this house alone, and I thought it would be a chance to catch up and have a bit of fun.”
Her lips curve up. “I see.”
“I think if Huxley knew I’d ask you out, he might have had second thoughts about asking me to contact you.”
“I thought it wasn’t a date,” she says.
“Ah… yeah, nah, obviously it’s not, because we live on opposite sides of the world. It’s purely platonic.”
“How dull. In that case, the answer’s no.”
I laugh. “You haven’t changed.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” I smile. “Will you come?”
“Well, how can I pass up the chance to go on a platonic date with the Striking Viking?” Her eyes twinkle.
I feel a surge of pleasure. “Excellent. Well, like I said, there’s some kind of cocktail evening on Friday night, so I thought I could pick you up in the afternoon and…” I trail off as I hear a doorbell, and she looks past her laptop.
“Fuck,” she says.
“Everything all right?”
She bites her bottom lip. “Someone’s at the door. I’d better answer it.”
“Okay.”
“Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks.” She folds down the lid of her laptop—but she doesn’t close it completely. I don’t think she’s realized she’s still transmitting. I can’t see anything, but I can still hear what’s happening in the room.
I stare for a moment, my cursor poised to end the call. But then I hear her say, “What the hell are you doing here?” and I lower my hand, concerned.
If she’d been anyone else, I might have told myself it was none of my business, and waited for her to call back. But before I left, Huxley took me to one side and said, “Can you do me a huge favor?”
“Of course,” I replied.
“Can you check on Heidi?” He gave me her phone number, email address, and physical address. “Just a phone call would be great, but I’m worried about her.”
He’d already told me that she’d broken up with her boyfriend a few months before, but this was the first time he’d expressed concern. “Why?” I asked.
“She won’t talk to me about it,” he says, “but she’s told my sisters that her ex is harassing her.”
“Oh no. In what way?”
“I think it’s mostly online. Evie said she’s trying to get her to report it to the police, but she doesn’t think Heidi’s called them yet. I’m worried it’s more serious than Heidi’s letting on.”
“Have you talked to her about it?”
“She changes the subject. I worry about her, that’s all.”
