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“What happened?” Jake asked. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but…”
Fiona looked at his face. He seemed so sincere, and though something like this would normally be mortifying for her, she felt strangely safe at that moment, like she could tell Jake anything.
“I had a dream about my sister,” Fiona said. “She… went missing ten years ago.”
Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh God, Red, I’m so sorry. That’s brutal… no one ever found her?”
Fiona shook her head. “No body or anything. She just… vanished.”
Jake’s face softened.”That’s really tough,” he said. “It must be hard to not know.”
Fiona nodded. “It’s been really hard. But in my dream, she was here, alive… and then she died right next to me.”
Jake nodded, listening but keeping quiet. Fiona could hardly believe she was telling him all this.
“But then,” Fiona continued, her voice barely above a whisper, “she came back to life and tried to attack me. It was awful, Jake.”
Jake reached out and put his hand on Fiona’s arm. His touch was gentle, but strong enough to remind her that she was safe. Fiona nodded her thanks at him. She needed to pull herself together.
“Um, this is really embarrassing,” she said, and Jake stood up. She had to admit, she missed his warmth at her side, but the reality came in and reminded them both that this was a bit too intimate.
“Sorry for barging in,” Jake said, rubbing the back of his neck. He was wearing pajamas too—a black shirt and plaid pants. Fiona’s face flushed yet again. It would be easier if he weren’t so attractive.
“That’s okay, I appreciate it,” Fiona murmured. “Um—we should get ready. Lots of work to do, right?”
“Of course,” Jake said, turning away. “See you out there, Red.”
With that, Jake left the room, and Fiona let out a sigh of relief. On one hand, it was nice to have someone comfort her, but on the other, she hoped Jake wouldn’t think she was mentally weak from now on.
But what even was that dream? Fiona had truly never had one so vivid and real. Maybe looking into Joslyn’s case was having a negative impact on her mental health.
Fiona shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. She needed to get ready for the day—they had a lot of work to do.
***
After getting dressed and pinning back her hair, Fiona met Jake in the living area of the penthouse suite. Morning sun poured in through the windows and bathed the suite, making it even more inviting than it was last night. Jake was dressed in a casual suit and was sitting on the couch with his laptop on the coffee table. Next to it was a paper bag, and Fiona smelled eggs. Jake nodded at Fiona when she saw him.
“You hungry?” he asked. “We’re gonna need some brain food soon, so I went downstairs and grabbed us a quick breakfast. Dig in.”
Fiona sat down on the couch next to Jake and opened the paper bag. Inside were two breakfast sandwiches and a small container of hash browns. She couldn’t believe he had gone out of his way to get her breakfast—she felt her face heat up again.
“Thank you,” she said shyly. “This is really nice of you.”
Jake smiled at her as he took a bite of his sandwich. “It’s no problem,” he said. “I figured we could have an early start to our day if we had breakfast here together. Speaking of which—I’ve just been running down these lists again. Still no matches.”
Fiona took a bite of her sandwich. She’d had a lot of time to think last night. They already tried one of the senator’s “enemies” and it had gone nowhere. But she couldn’t help but keep thinking about his bee allergy, and how that seemed to be a major clue. She felt like whoever killed the senator with the hornets knew he was allergic.
The thought suddenly struck her, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before.
“Jake,” she said, “what if we shouldn’t be looking at a list of enemies, but a list of his friends?”
Jake looked at her, his expression thoughtful. “Explain,” he said.
Fiona paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before continuing. “What if the killer isn’t someone who wanted revenge or justice? What if it’s someone close to the senator? Someone who knew about his bee allergy and used that as a way to kill him without getting caught?” She leaned forward, her eyes bright with excitement. “Maybe we need to start looking at people in his inner circle—those who would have access to him and know of his allergies, and cross-reference those names with the list of entomologists and insect keepers.”
Jake stared at her for a long moment before speaking. “Red, that’s a great idea,” he said, and Fiona felt a burst of pride. “I think you might be onto something. Let’s start researching right away.”
Fiona smiled, feeling a rush of energy.They could do this.
