Greywalker - Kat Richardson [48]
“Why would a rich man take money from your brother?”
Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a guess. Some people are greedy, no matter how much they’ve got. Or Cam could have offered him something else. He’s a smart guy. He’d have found out what Edward wanted.”
“Do you think Edward could have anything to do with Cameron’s disappearance?”
Her face became bleak. “He could.” She leaned toward me. “Do you think my brother’s dead?”
“No, I don’t. I think he’s alive, but in hiding or unable to let anyone know where he is. Could Edward arrange something like that for Cameron?”
She frowned. “I think he could kill someone. And I know I wasn’t the first plaything he had, so he could do that, too, but I can’t imagine it happening to Cam. He’s very strong-willed. And he’s smart, like I said. Not very many people ever put one over on Cam. If he’s not sick or locked up in some fashion, he’ll find some way to save himself. But it’s good someone’s looking for him. You’ll find a way to help him, won’t you? You’ll find him?”
“I’ll do my best. I think I will find him. Soon.”
Now she was fierce. “Good. You know what I said before, about how Cam gets everything? Well, it’s not because I hate Cam. I don’t think he even wants it. It’s what Dad wanted and what Mom wants. That makes me a little pissed, still, and sometimes I really could hate Mom and Dad—if it was worth the energy—but I don’t. None of that is worth my time. But Cam . . . Cam is worth my time because I was worth his. You find my brother. And when you do, let me know. I owe him a lot. And I love him a lot, too. If I can help, you just say so.”
“I will.” I handed her one of my cards. “If you think of anything, call me.”
She looked at my card as if memorizing it before reaching down and placing it between the pages of her book: Divina Commedia by Dante. She reached into her lap and picked up Chaos, raising her to her face for one more nuzzle. Chaos yawned, nipped lightly at Sarah’s nose and licked her. Sarah kissed her and offered her to me. I took the ferret and put her into my bag, where she stuck her head out of the top for a good view.
Sarah walked me toward the door. I stopped in the doorway, unable to resist.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure,” she answered, shrugging and reaching to stroke Chaos’s head with a finger.
“What are you doing here? What is this place?”
“This?” she asked, looking around. “This is my place. It was my grandparents’ house. I inherited it a couple of years ago when the trust matured. My family’s really into trusts. Right now I guess it’s some kind of therapy. I’m trying to fix it up a bit. It’s a lot better than it was when I came here in March.”
“What about the motorcycle parts?”
“Those belong to my sort-of boyfriend. He’s in Italy right now, visiting his family, and I kind of like to have the mess around to remind me of him.”
“Oh. So that’s why Dante in Italian.”
She blushed and looked away. “No. That’s why the Italian boyfriend. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
She surprised me. “Do you think I would be good with ferrets?”
I smiled at her. “I do.” I gave her the name of the shelter where I’d found Chaos and told her to call them. She smiled, looking twelve years old.
As I drove away, I waved. Sarah waved back. I found I kind of liked the girl, but I felt more drained than by any other interview I’d ever been in. Despite my tendency to feel instantly chummy with any other ferret person, leaving was a relief.
By the time I reached my office, it was raining in earnest: big drops that hit with a splat like a thrown water balloon. I bundled Chaos into the bag and tried to run between raindrops. We both got wet.
The answering machine was blinking. I pushed the button as I set down my bag. Chaos jumped out, tumbled