Page 53 of Ghostridden
“Calm down.” Ricky, half a head taller than me while standing a step above me, patted my shoulder. “I’m sure Taryn has it covered. She never misses details like that.”
“Whew. Okay, then.” I pulled out my phone, but hesitated. This wasn’t an emergency, so 9-1-1 would be inappropriate, not for a cold burglary with no apparent property damage—if I didn’t count the broken pencil. “Uh…”
Ricky chuckled softly and held out his hand. “I’ll call the sheriff, if you like. They know me.”
I handed over the phone. “Why do they know you? Because of Sofia’s break-in?”
“No. Because one of my cousins works at the office.”
“Exactly how many cousins do you have?”
“A lot.” He didn’t even look at the phone screen as he keyed in the number. “Catholic, remember? My great-grandparents each had seven siblings. It ballooned from— Hey, Yaz, it’s me. No, it’s a business call this time, so don’t give me grief for calling you at work.”
I followed him up the stairs as he outlined the details to his cousin. First thing tomorrow? I was contacting a securitycompany and getting an alarm system installed, because I wasdonewith people invading our home. How to pay for it could be an issue. Maybe Saul would give me an advance, or I could work out a payment plan with the security company. Or both. Both were probably in the cards.
When I reached the kitchen, Ricky was just disconnecting the call. He held out my phone with an apologetic shrug. “They’ll send somebody out, but not until tomorrow, probably. There was a fire in Richdale. Possible arson, so all the on-duty deputies are on site with the fire department.”
“No worries. It’s not like any of this is going anywhere.” I sighed. “Although, just in case, I should stick around. Which means no dinner date. Sorry.”
He gave me a mock affronted stare. “Perdóname, but who do you think you are talking to? I’ll hustle over to the restaurant and bring something back for both of us.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be—” The loud rumble of my stomach made Ricky grin. “Okay, you got me. That sounds great.”
“Good. Any preferences?”
“Everything’s been wonderful so far, so surprise me?”
He nodded. “I’ll collect Gil from Tia’s on the way back, too.”
“I can—”
“Maz.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “Let me do these things for you, all right?”
My shoulders slumped, a release of the muscles in my back and neck that had been tensed since I walked in the door. “I should probably protest more, but—”
“Don’t. Please.”
“I won’t. I don’t have the slightest inclination. So I’ll just say thank you. Sincerely.”
“Hey.” One side of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile. “What are friends for?”
Friends. Right. Friends.
I followed him down the hall. After I closed the front door behind him, I took a moment to lean my forehead against the smooth, cool wood. “Man, this has been a day.”
I shuffled out of the entryway, but when I passed the library doors, I spotted Avi inside. He was standing by the shelf, gazing at the photograph of him and Oren, not glitching anymore.
“I remember this photo,” he said as he ran a finger across its face. “Saul took it.”
“Yes. He told us.” I stepped inside, careful to steer clear of everything on the floor. “The day you put Oren on the deed.”
“We were so happy. We asked Saul to make us both a copy, so we’d remember while we went through the renovation.” He laughed softly. “Oren said we needed it to remind us, because renovation was such a stressful process and a lot of couples lost sight of the reason they were going through that particular hell. To have a home. To be together. To start a life.”
“This was Oren’s copy. Do you know where yours could be? I haven’t seen it anywhere.”
Avi blinked at me. “I…” He walked to the center of the room, feet flowing through the mess as though he were wading through a creek—a creek made of paper—although of course he didn’t damage or displace anything. Once there, he turned in a circle, studying the shelves much as Ricky had done. “It should have been here. A lot of things should have been here. I don’t understand— Oh!” His troubled expression cleared. “I remember. I’d moved everything so I could rearrange the books. I didn’t put anything back because I wanted Oren and I to decorate the space them together.”
“Where did you put them in the meantime?” There hadn’t been any boxes or crates in the house until Oren’s effects were delivered.
