Page 88 of Caper Crush
“This isn’t about feelings,” he says.
This investigation seems to be all about feelings for me.
“I know.” I drink my water. “If it were, I’d still think it was Edmund. And now we have knowledge in his column too.” I open up the Google doc with our suspect spreadsheet on my phone and add anXunder Closet Knowledge for Edmund.
“It seems too obvious for Edmund to hire the actor and then invite you along. Couldn’t Vinnie have set that up, using Edmund? Do you have anything more concrete to tie it to Edmund? Why do you think it’s Edmund?”
I tell him about my childhood incidents with Edmund. “And he has too many illustrations done of my sister.”
“What?”
“I know a fair number of other artists in the city. Once, someone was showing me their portfolio, and there were five different illustrations of my sister from different photos. She said some guy had contacted her and sent her the pictures.”
“Maybe he was making her a present.”
“It was still creepy,” I say. “Maybe it was the way the artist described how particular Edmund was about the illustration, almost as if he were creating her or fixing her in the illustration. He’d softened her nose.”
“Hmm.” William’s head is cocked. I like the way he listens to me.
“It doesn’t sound like much, does it?”
“I would be disturbed, too, if I saw illustrations of my sister and her features had been changed.”
William’s sister is stunning. The female equivalent of him. It’s unlikely anyone would want to alter her features. She lives in Oregon.
We both finish dinner and rest against the couch. William makes no effort to get up. The silence lengthens. I glance at him and catch him looking at me with a soft gaze. A flicker of electricity, like a charged wire, runs between us. My heart pulses. I’m buzzing. My stomach is doing cartwheels. William holds my glance. My hand flattens against the smooth straw of the tatami mat.
But then he looks away and moves to take the dishes.
“Why did you and Itsuki break up?” I ask.
“She said I wasn’t the one.”
“Ouch,” I say. “How did she know?”
“I didn’t ask her to explain,” he says wryly, then stands with the dishes. “Do you want to use the bathroom first? I’ll do the dishes and then make this into a bed.” He nods at the couch.
“I’m sorry I can’t help,” I say.
I pull myself up on my crutches and hop over to the bathroom with my bag of clothes and toiletries. Uncle Tony packed my least sexy pajamas. Did he look for the biggest, most shapeless T-shirt he could find? This had to have been at the bottom of my pajama drawer. He also found really baggy, striped pajama pants that I should have thrown out but I’ve kept out of sentimentality.Way to be a wingman, Uncle Tony.
I wash my face, brush my teeth, and gingerly change clothes. William’s bathroom cabinet is pretty sparce, just the male essentials.
He yells that he’s taking the dogs for a walk.
I come out, and the couch is now a bed. I hop back over with the crutches.
I settle into the bed, resting my head and foot on pillows. Staring up at the white ceiling, I doubt I will fall asleep easily. There’s clearly some strong chemistry between us, given that both Saanvi and Uncle Tony commented on it. I think I’m good for William.
The door opens, and the dogs race back into the house. They sniff me again on the couch, and I pet them both. William follows more slowly.
“Are you comfortable enough?”
“Yes, thank you. Five stars for the dinner and accommodations.”
“I’ll turn off the light then,” he says.
I nod.
