He held up one finger to Merry and flipped open his phone.
“Hello?”
“Jason? Is Dottie up there?”
“No. Is she missing?”
“Yeah. It’s the weirdest thing. Her side of the bed is still tucked in like she never came to bed last night. I pooped out early and left her watching a movie, but here it is morning and she’s nowhere to be found.”
“Thatisweird. Maybe she decided to visit one of the othertenants and got wrapped up in a long conversation. You know how she can talk.”
“I thought of that, but can you picture her spending any length of time with any of these tenants?”
“Come to think of it, no.”
“That’s why I’m worried. Oh, and there’s another thing.”
“The power outage?”
“Yes. You don’t happen to have a generator tucked away somewhere, do you?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Is it getting cold in the building?”
“Freezing. Someone left the back door open.”
“Shit. You don’t think Dottie…”
“I don’t know what to think.”
Jason watched Merry’s brows knit in curiosity. “Look, we’re about to have breakfast, but I’ll come down and help you figure out what to do in a few minutes.”
“Okay, but don’t be long. I’m afraid the pipes might freeze and burst.”
“What’s wrong?” Merry asked.
“Apparently Aunt Dottie’s missing and the back door was left open last night. Uncle Ralph’s afraid the pipes might freeze since there’s been no heat in the building.”
“Crap. Now I feel guilty for sleeping in front of your nice warm fireplace.”
“Don’t. Just remember all the perks you’ll get from living with me. Winters in Florida, a temperature-controlled penthouse… You’ll never have to suffer.” He winked.
A look of determination stiffened her spine. “Let’s go downstairs and check on everyone. We can reheat breakfast later.”
Jason sighed. “Uncle Ralph? Are you still there?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll be right there. See you in a minute.”
Nathan’s eyes drifted open. An immediate awareness of unfamiliar surroundings startled him awake. Floral wallpaper met the white crown molding of the ceiling. It looked like the same crown molding in his apartment, but he sure as hell didn’t recognize the wallpaper. A pink wicker lamp swagged over the bed. Plus something smelled like wet dog.
Where the hell am I?He rolled and bumped up against a warm lump. Rolling the other way, he encountered the same thing.
He bolted upright. “What the…?”
On one side of him, Konrad wiped his eyes and said, “Easy buddy.”
On the other, Gwyneth stretched and said, “Well, good mornin’ sugar. I’m glad you made it. We thought you was a goner last night.”
