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When he was placed back in his bed, she thought he might go right to sleep. Instead, he looked up at her. “Oh, hi, Diz,” he mumbled tiredly.
She smiled. He’d always called her Dizzy, because she’d called herself that when she was first learning to speak, and it’d stuck.Dizzy Girl,he’d call her, since she was always tripping over her own two feet. At least he remembered that. She stepped in and sat on the edge of his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Eh. Same old. I should be able to get out of here in a little bit, though.”
Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. She looked at the nurse, who was busy filling his water cup. The nurse gave her a guarded look, as if to say,I don’t know where he got that information.
“Oh, well, you need to stay here as long as it takes. And it takes time to get better,” she said brightly.
He waved her off. “I am better. I’m perfectly fine.”
That wasn’t even close to true. Inhisreality, maybe. But not this one, the one the rest of them had to live in. In that reality, he was far from okay. He didn’t remember the times he was reduced to a combative, confused, frightened man who could do nothing but lie in a motionless heap and yell at people to leave him alone.
She pressed her lips together, wondering how to break it to him.
His watery eyes widened, and she could see the pain in them. “Is it Charlie?”
She winced at the name. Her brother was only eighteen when he disappeared, and the wealthy family that had owned the yacht where he’d last been seen did everything possible to bury the story, make it seem like he’d gone off on his own. It was bullshit, of course. But though the respected private investigator Edward Fortune had done everything he could to bring Charlie back, he’d run up against brick walls, again and again.
“No. It’s not about Charlie. Charlie is still . . .”
She couldn’t bring herself to say it.Missing. Presumed dead.Years later, her father still held out hope, even when his health was failing.
“It’s not that,” she finally choked out.
“Something wrong at the agency? Too much to handle?”
She knew that, eventually, it would come around to his baby, the Fortune Agency. She didn’t like talking about it with him.Too much to handlewould’ve been a dream come true. The truth was, save for trailing a couple cheating husbands and a murder in Rhodes she’d solved last month, her caseload had all but dried up.
It was a far cry from the Fortune Investigations Agency that Edward Fortune had run successfully for most of his career.Thatagency had been New Jersey’s best, admired by presidents and important people all over the world.
This one, the one she ran? Not so much.
She was trying to keep it afloat, but paying for rent and his care wasn’t exactly cheap. She’d burned through the money she’d gotten from the case in Rhodes as fast as if she’d lit a match to it. Most of that money had gone to pre-paying for several months of his care, and to paying off debt.
Now, her bank account was just as sad as it usually was. Here she was, in the same situation she’d been in last month. With a noose, slowly tightening around her neck.
“No, you don’t worry about it,” she said, fluffing his pillows. “I can handle it. Just get better.”
“I will,” he said sleepily, settling down and letting his eyes closed. “You’ll see. I’ll be back at the end of this month. Make sure my clients know that.”
“Come on. You love it here,” Sarah said, giving his hand a tap. “You don’t want to say goodbye to us.”
He smiled. “As much as I love it here, I’d much rather sleep in my own bed. I miss my home.”
Daisy smiled only because she knew he was looking at her for confirmation that he’d soon be back there, but the moment his eyes drooped shut, she frowned, looking around his room.
He would never be back at the agency, or back home. No matter how much he wanted it. This room was it for him.
Dr. Bower came into the room, jabbing something on a tablet. He glanced at his patient and smiled. “Already asleep, huh?”
Edward Fortune snored softly in response.
Daisy blew out a breath, her father’s last words streaming through her head.I miss my home.“Doctor, can I speak to you outside for a moment?”
“Of course.” He motioned her out into the hallway.
She wasted no time when they stepped out. “What will it take for me to bring my father back home?”
