Page 59 of Blind Luck

“Is it good to drink so much caffeine?”

“No?”

“Did you consider trying sleep instead?”

“I didn’t like being so close to the elevator, so I swapped rooms with Ari, and the people on the other side were doing things I don’t want to think about all night.” She smiled as if to apologise for the way she felt, but her lips quivered. “I think maybe I’ll swap back.”

“The offer of a room here is still open, for Ari too, if she wants to come. The only person doing unmentionable things is Sin, and they’re notthoseunmentionable things.”

“What kind of unmentionable things is she doing?”

“Honestly, I don’t want to ask. Did you know she carries a gun?”

“Not for sure, but I figured she would.”

Rusty had a rifle at home in Minnesota, but even there, he hadn’t schlepped it around with him. Did private investigators need a weapon? Erin wasn’t armed—he’d spent enough time studying her to know that much. She usually wore tight jeans or shorts or sometimes a colourful dress, so she had nowhere to hide a package of gum, let alone a pistol. And it wasn’t in her cavernous purse—yesterday, she’d told him to help himself to one of her emergency cookies when he got hungry, and he’d had to rummage through the rest of the supplies to find them. Keys, a billfold, pepper spray, jewellery, a novel, a bottle of hot sauce, handcuffs—not the fun kind—an apple, a tube of superglue, tissues in a ziplock bag, a first-aid kit, a can of surfboard wax, a multi-tool, a bag of peanuts, a phone charger, a yellow plastic duck, mints, several AA batteries, a measuring tape, a crochet hook with a ball of yarn, gloves, a whistle, socks, a deck of playing cards, a seashell, a padlock, a flashlight, assorted bobby pins, a bottle of Tylenol… The list went on. He was surprised she didn’t spend half her life in the chiropractor’s clinic.

“Tell me she doesn’t shoot at living targets?” Rusty said.

“Who knows? Probably. Did you get more chocolate sprinkles?”

“Not yet. We can swing by the grocery store if you want.”

“Don’t we need to go to the Neptune?”

“Kelsey does the same thing nearly every weekday—she goes to the gym, then she eats breakfast, then she goesto the office. What’s the point of sitting outside all day? She gets lunch alone, or she goes with Chris and Amber.”

And was she really having an affair at work? The only candidate for a sidepiece so far was the guy from the Galaxy. Erin was convinced he was a creep, and from the snippets she’d divulged about her past, she was doubtless in a good position to recognise one.

“So you want to…not go to the café today?” she asked.

“Thanks to your friend, we can track Kelsey’s phone”—a development Rusty still wasn’t entirely comfortable with, but it was less intrusive than following her in person—“so why don’t we back off a little? If she goes anywhere but work or the Neptune, we can catch up with her and take a look.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? That’s it?”

“I think it’s a smart idea.”

“You do?”

Off the ice, Rusty couldn’t recall anyone saying those words to him before. His parents had their own way of doing things. And Florence would always tilt her head to the side and say, “Well, it might work. But why don’t we do it this way?” He’d never minded that because she took over the purchasing or the organising or the decorating and he didn’t have to worry about it anymore. Sure, sometimes things didn’t turn out the way he hoped, like the time he needed to get a birthday gift for the team physio, and Florence said she’d handle it. The physio’s name was Nikky, and Florence had a friend named Nikki, so Rusty told Florence it was “Nikki with a y.” The cake showed up, and it said “Yikki.” Mav said Florence had done it on purpose because she didn’t care for Nikky, but why would she dislike Nikky? The two women had never even met.

“Of course it’s a smart idea—even if Kelseyishaving anaffair, she won’t be hooking up in the office. Although I guess someone could visit her in the hotel.”

“So you think we should wait for her when she comes out of work and follow her in the evening?”

“I mean, it makes sense.” Erin yawned again.

“Why don’t you get some rest? I can watch the app for an hour, and if Kelsey goes anywhere but the office, I’ll wake you.”

The phone would buzz if Kelsey moved outside one of the designated safe areas—the Neptune or the building where Miller, Sigmund, and Pace was located.

“Is Sin still here?”

“She left an hour ago with the dog, but if you’re worried about me murdering you while you sleep, you can lock the door.”

Erin looked faintly horrified. “That’s not what I meant. I think…I think you’re okay. For a man, anyway.”

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