The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(31)

“Then I will put it on my bookshelf right next to my Book of Questions, because I think your autobiography will have a lot of answers to the questions in my book.”

She smiled at him with genuine affection. “One of the things I learned about you last night is that you think too much about the echo box.”

He stared at her. “I think about it a lot because I am very close to figuring out why it won’t work.”

“Eddie, how long have you been very close?”

He blinked several times. “Eleven years and three months.”

“That’s a long time to try to think about only one thing.”

“I’ve thought about it for a lot longer than that, but that’s how long I’ve been very close.”

“How much progress have you made in all that time?”

“Fourteen percent.”

She nodded. “Just over a percent a year.”

“One point two four repeating.”

“At this rate, you’ll need another seventy years to finish it.”

Eddie corrected her. “Sixty-nine point one zero nine.”

“That’s a long time, Eddie.”

“Yes, it is. A very long time. I don’t want to have to wait that long to hear my mother’s voice.”

“Which means in order to finish it, you’re going to have to come up with a completely different approach. Something new. It might be surprisingly simple, but it also might be terribly complicated. There’s no way to know what it is right now, but to reach a different destination, you first have to change the journey.”

Eddie looked confused. “How do I change the journey?”

“It helps to first clear your head.”

“I don’t want to clear my head.”

“I didn’t mean literally. It’s only an expression.”

“I don’t like expressions.”

She marveled at how easy it was to forget his limitations. “When I want a fresh start, I like to take a walk.”

“Where do you walk?”

“Somewhere I haven’t walked before.”

“Antarctica. I have never walked in Antarctica.”

“Neither have I, but I was thinking somewhere a little more accessible.”

“Miami Beach, Florida, is more accessible.”

“It’s beautiful outside. Why don’t we go out in the yard?”



A gentle afternoon breeze greeted them as they exited the building. The sun shined brightly as they walked onto the rolling lawns surrounding Harmony House. Eddie paused, closing his eyes. He slowly rotated his head from side to side.

Skylar watched him. “What do you hear?”

“Everything.” He focused on a bird flying overhead and watched it land in a nearby tree. It was an American goldfinch, the New Jersey state bird. The goldfinch chirped. Eddie chirped back. Looking reassured, he continued walking. “Where are we going on our walk, Skylar?”

“Nowhere in particular.”

“That’s a strange destination.”

“Haven’t you ever walked just for the sake of walking?”

“No.” He kept walking. Listening to his footsteps. And to traffic somewhere off in the distance. Staring at the ground in front of him, he was trying to process the notion of walking nowhere in particular. “This is kind of like when you were communicating nonverbally, isn’t it?”

“How do you mean?”

“We are doing one thing, but we’re really doing a lot more than that.”

“That is very perceptive of you.”

“This is also very memorable, just like that was.”

“I think walks are good for people.”

“So are eating fruits and vegetables, and not smoking, and drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol.”

“Those are all true.”

“According to the surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.”

“That is also true.”

“Have you ever been pregnant, Skylar?”

She hesitated slightly. “That’s a very personal question, Eddie.”

“Dr. Fenton says I should not ask very personal questions.”

“Unless you know someone very well, that’s probably a good idea.”

“I don’t know anyone very well.” They kept walking.

This was an important opportunity, and she knew she had to take it. “Yes, Eddie, I was pregnant once.” Her voice quivered almost imperceptibly. On her list of memories she’d rather forget, this was number one.

“Was it a boy baby or a girl baby?”

“Neither.” She thought about how to admit to an abortion without actually saying it, but without lying, either. “The pregnancy stopped. I never had the baby.”

He took a moment to process the answer. “Will you try to have another one?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so, Eddie.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s just not something I can ever see myself wanting.”

He studied her. “My mother wanted me, but she died when I was born.”

“I am sure she wanted you, too.” She briefly thought of how little her own mother had wanted her or her brother. How else could a woman abandon her small children?