Page 30 of Already Lost

He walked back to the ward by some miracleand then to the room he already knew well, the room where she’d been stayingall week. It was a shared room, but that was fine. The other residents on theward spent most of their time asleep. And besides, it gave them something togiggle about together.

“Hi,” he said, approaching her bed with asmile. He was hesitant inside, but he didn’t let it show on his face. He knewshe hated it when he was hesitant and shy and nervous. She would tell him togrow a spine or get out of her sight.

“Hello,” she beamed, sitting up a littlestraighter in the bed. “You’re here at last. I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I just got a little held up,” he said,leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. She didn’t need to know what he was heldup by. “I brought you some snacks.”

“Did you get those cookies I wanted?” sheasked eagerly, almost like a little girl.

“I did,” he said, grabbing them out of thebag with a rustle. He put them down onto her bedside tray and wheeled it overto her so she could reach them.

“Well, then, let’s have cookies and talkabout your day,” she said, smiling as she opened the packet for them. He satdown in the chair beside her and took a cookie first, chewing it while hethought about what he was going to say.

“Nothing much happened today,” he said atlast. “I just went to the store for you and came here.”

“Well, then let’s have a good hour or soto make up for it,” she said, biting into one of the cookies herself. Shereached out and tapped his hand on the bedsheet, then held it, keeping himthere. Warmth spread through him from her touch. She was still his grandmother.Despite what any of the doctors could say, she was still always going to bethat. He would make sure of it.

“These are good,” he offered, finishinghis cookie, and dusting off his spare hand on the side of his jeans.

“Did you hear anything about school?” hisgrandmother asked. “Have they given you the extension you asked for?”

“I’ve been working on it this morning,” hesaid. “I’m still doing the work until I hear back from them. It shouldn’t betoo long now. Maybe tomorrow or the day after.”

His grandmother snatched her hand back outof his with a furious look. “So youdiddo something today!”

“Only studying,” he said. “I didn’t thinkit was worth mentioning.”

“You lied to me,” she hissed. The woman inthe next bed over stirred slightly. He shook his head, swallowing.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said. “I reallydidn’t think you meant studying. I thought you meant, you know, going out anddoing things. That’s all.”

“You’re trying to gaslight me,” shesnapped. “That’s what you’re doing. You’re going to make me think I’m losing mymind. Well, I’m not, you know. So you can tell those doctors to stop being partof the act as well!”

“I’m not trying anything,” he pleaded.

“Don’t you talk back to me, boy!” shesnapped, her eyes flashing anger. She lifted her hand into the air and hebacked away, almost knocking his chair over in his haste to move backwards.“Where are you going?”

“S-sorry,” he said. “I’ve got to go. I’vegot some things to do. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

He turned and fled before she could yellat him again, and still her voice echoed after him as he escaped the ward.

He had to finish his work. That was theonly way to save her.

He had to finish his work now.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Laura was already typing things into hercell phone as Nate drove, following the rabbit hole where it would take her.She started with a search for Nena Flora, trying to find out exactly who thesinger had been – beyond the barren Wikipedia page.

When you couldn’t find out what you neededto about a celebrity, you just had to treat them like a normal citizen. Laurasearched birth and marriage records, trying to find a mention of the name.

“Here we are,” she exclaimed. “Nena Floralived here in the area in the 1930s. That must be why she worked with thisparticular record company. She was a local.”

“Did she have any kids?” Nate asked.

Laura’s lips curved up at the edges. Hewas always thinking along exactly the same lines she did. It was why they wereso good at working together. She had already figured that a child of the singerwould have a deep personal connection to the song – a song that no one elseknew about. They would even have a deep personal reason to want to make itfamous again. If they were already inclined towards killing, maybe it wouldmake a twisted sense to incorporate the song. “I’ve got two children registeredin the late thirties. Then those two kids also have children registered – I’mseeing one in the fifties and one in the sixties. They each just had onechild.”

“And those descendants?”

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