The Cartographers(71)

Priya held up a set of hangers with clothes wrapped in plastic that had been draped over the back of her chair as evidence. “We would have invited you if we knew you weren’t at your party.”

Felix nodded.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah,” he said, so unconvincingly that they all laughed. “Sorry. Just got a lot going on right now.”

“You want to talk about it?” Priya asked, propping herself on the side of his desk.

“I was just thinking,” he began, slowly spinning in his chair. “Once we have our copies of all the library’s maps—”

Naomi threw up her hands. “It’s always work with you!”

“I know, I know.” He shrugged helplessly.

“Look, Felix,” she said after they’d finished chuckling at him. “I have to go—we left Charlotte in the lobby since visitors aren’t allowed outside of business hours. You should go home, too.”

“I will.” He sighed.

“I mean it,” she replied, rolling her eyes at his tone. “Go do something not work-related, for once.”

“Maybe go apologize to Nell for whatever reason you gave for ditching her at the event you just left,” Priya suggested.

Felix groaned. “No, that’s definitely over. It wasn’t ever not over to begin with. But it’s definitely over now.”

“Felix.” Priya sighed, throwing up her arms.

“I don’t know,” he said, and sighed too. “It’s all a mess. There’s too much history there.”

Naomi shook her head. “This is life, Felix—not a test scenario. It’s never going to be perfect. You just have to go for it.”

“So inspirational,” he replied with mock awe, and she pretended to punch him in the arm. An alert popped up on his screen as Felix rubbed his bicep, catching his attention. “Well, next time you’re all going out, let me know. I’d love to meet your wife too, Naomi. And your boyfriend, Priya,” he said.

“I’ll bring him if you also bring Nell,” Priya winked.

He grimaced. “Touché.” He glanced at the alert out of the corner of his eye again, trying to see if it was actually an emergency, or if it could wait a moment. “I think I really need to move forward with my life. I’m doing my best to forget about all of that.”

Naomi shook her head, sighing, and turned to head toward the door. “There’s not a map for this, Felix. If you keep waiting around until you have one, you’re going to lose her for good.”

But Felix was no longer listening. And neither was Priya, it seemed.

“Hey,” she said, her eyes on the screen as well. The alert had flagged part of the NYPL system.

Just then, everyone’s phones dinged, and the giant flatscreen overhead turned on.

“Is that the library on the news?” Naomi asked, pointing.

“Again?” Felix sighed, as the door to their office opened abruptly, startling them all.

“William,” Naomi said. “What are you doing here on a weekend?”

But William didn’t answer the question. “I just got the alert,” he replied, his gaze snapping quickly between all of them to make sure they were already aware of it.

“Oh my God,” Priya murmured. She turned her phone toward Felix, but she didn’t have to—he was already staring at his own.

“The chair of the NYPL has been murdered?” he cried.





XVII




The ticking called gently to her, like a beacon in the darkness. Nell wanted to turn her head toward the sound, but when she tried, nothing happened. Her eyelids felt as heavy as stone. But the ticking kept calling. A calm, even click that pulled her closer to waking inch by inch if she focused on it. Its steady rhythm gradually made her aware of her nose, her fingertips, the rise and fall of her chest, the pillow behind her head. And the pain.

Oh, the pain.

“Don’t try to sit up,” someone said to her. “Francis! Francis! She’s awake!”

It was Swann. Familiar hands softly pressed her shoulders back down.

“Welcome back, Nell,” Francis’s measured voice replied as it drew closer. She felt a light touch on her forehead and realized that he was checking under a fold of fabric—a handkerchief pressed there. “You really gave us a scare.”

“How is she? How are you?” Swann asked, the last question directed at her. Nell tried to muster a response, but it came out as a groan.

“The bleeding’s stopped, and the swelling isn’t bad. I think she’ll be all right.”

“She’s going to be all right?” Swann asked, deliriously happy.

Hands were back at the handkerchief, taking away the old wrap and replacing it with fresh material, propping up her head a little. She instantly knew that it was Francis again, not Felix.

Felix was not there. He hadn’t come back to find her after the fight.

“Do you remember what happened?” Francis asked her softly.

Nell’s eyes finally opened. The room was a fog of blurry streaks and dim lighting. She was reclined on a couch, a cushion under her head. Faintly, she recognized the tall shape and circular face of a grandfather clock in the background—the ticking that had been calling to her—but not much else. Swann and Francis hovered in front of her, crouching by the armrest, and two more blurry shapes floated behind them.