The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(37)
She wanted him to know that she never meant to keep him at arm’s length—she really didn’t—but that she didn’t know how to overcome the barriers she had erected so long ago. She didn’t know how to fill the void that had always been there inside her. He had deserved better, and she wished she could have given it to him.
She would have to spend the rest of her life knowing that she hadn’t.
Skylar didn’t sleep at all that first night. She called Fenton’s office about the time she would have normally arrived at Harmony House to tell him she would not be coming in for work the rest of the week.
At the news of Jacob’s death, Fenton sounded empathetic. “My God, you poor dear. Is there anything I can do to help?”
She said there wasn’t, and that she’d be back to work next week.
“Take all the time you need.”
Skylar started to plan Jacob’s funeral, but didn’t get far. It was too soon. Thinking about him lying dead in a casket was too much. His bloodless face. His lifeless eyes. She kept breaking down. Jacob’s parents wanted to make the arrangements, anyway. They were giving him the burial plot they’d been saving for themselves. The funeral was still three weeks away, to give family members time to make their travel arrangements. Skylar thanked them for their help. His mother asked Skylar if she wanted company in Jacob’s apartment, but Skylar declined the offer. She wanted to be alone.
By Saturday morning, the walls were closing in. She needed to get out, but didn’t know where to go. Shu Han Ju? She couldn’t. And it was too bright and sunny outside to go to Central Park. She didn’t want to be around all those cheerful, happy people. She even thought about going to the Met, but didn’t want to break down in front of a bunch of stuffy art lovers and tourists. Maybe a vacation would do her good. Mexico? Italy? Paris? None of it sounded remotely bearable.
That left Harmony House. When all else fails, work. She couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in her office with the one photograph of her and Jacob on the shelf, but she could at least bury herself in another box of materials on Eddie. His files were the only things she thought she could focus on.
She arrived at the Harmony House driveway gate later that morning and showed the guard her ID. She parked in the lot, taking a moment to collect herself. The beige Impala was parked in its usual spot, but there was no sign of the mystery man. Upon entering the building, Skylar veered toward Fenton’s office before heading to her own. She thought it would be a good idea to check in with the boss before retreating to her office. To let him know she was okay. That this wouldn’t interfere with her work. In fact, all she wanted to do was disappear into it. Nineteen hours a day, seven days a week, for the next ten years. Maybe then she would be ready to move on.
She found it curious that Stephen Millard, Dr. Fenton’s faithful secretary, was not at his desk, when it suddenly occurred to her that it was Saturday. Only a skeleton support staff worked on the weekends. Fenton probably wouldn’t be there, either. She turned to exit, when she heard a voice from inside Fenton’s office. It was not the old man’s. It was Eddie’s. He had recognized her from the sound of her footsteps. “Skylar, come here. I’m in Dr. Fenton’s office.”
She entered to find Eddie sitting exactly as he had been the last time he was in here. The echo box sat on Fenton’s coffee table, connected to Eddie’s laptop. The eight one-inch satellite microphones were moving in perfect unison as they pointed around the room.
“Hi, Eddie.” She tried to sound as cheerful as she could, hoping to conceal the incredible sadness overwhelming her from Eddie, as well as from herself.
“Dr. Fenton isn’t here today, because today is Saturday and he doesn’t usually work on Saturdays. At least, not anymore. He used to, but after his wife died, he started to garden because that is what his wife liked to do, and Dr. Fenton says gardening reminds him of her. Her name was Ruth. They were married a long time.” Eddie never once looked at Skylar. His eyes were glued to his laptop screen.
“Are you sure it’s okay for you to be in here?”
“Dr. Fenton gave me permission to come into his office anytime I thought it was really important, and I thought it was really important.”
“What’s going on?”
“I came up with a new approach, just like you suggested.” He said it quite like the way she had spoken the phrase to him, but he still didn’t look at her.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Skylar was barely holding it together.
“It was surprisingly simple, also just like you said.”
“What was?” Eddie pointed to the echo box. She turned toward the device. “You mean to tell me it’s working?”
“Almost.” He innocently turned back to the laptop screen, where he watched the loading progress bar below the three-dimensional image of the office. “Eighty-three percent, eighty-four percent . . .”
She moved closer toward the laptop screen to see for herself. Ninety-one percent. Ninety-two. She was stunned. “Oh my God.”
He knew that phrase meant shock, surprise, or dismay, but he couldn’t tell which. “Are you okay, Skylar?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
He made his BUZZER sound, but never looked away from the laptop screen. Ninety-five percent. Ninety-six percent. Eddie seemed much more calm than he had previously. Like he knew this time was different.