Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“I know. I do too, even Temple Bar on a Sunday morning.”
She smiled wistfully. “I saw your sister once, in church, but she never returned. She should have asked Lorcan for help.”
“Are you sure she didn’t?”
Mrs. Byrne straightened her shoulders. “I hope you’re not suggesting your husband is involved in your sister’s disappearance.”
“No, of course not. I just wonder why she didn’t contact him if she found her way into this community. She didn’t take Gulliver’s help, so Lorcan would have been the next logical choice.”
“Well, I guess you’ll have to ask her if you ever find her.” She glanced at the clock at the wall. “Time for Uggie’s heart medication.”
I knew when I was being dismissed. I got up and grabbed my basket. “Is it okay if I bring you homecooked food on occasion?”
“Do what you must,” she said, but I could tell she was pleased.
I headed outside. I hadn’t really found any answers, but I believed Mrs. Byrne. So if she hadn’t heard of Lorcan and Imogen meeting up, it was unlikely my husband had been involved in Imogen’s disappearance. I wasn’t sure if that made me happy since it meant I didn’t have any leads at all.
On my way home, Maeve called me to ask if I wanted to come over for tea and biscuits this afternoon. I agreed. Suddenly feeling claustrophobic at the thought of returning to Lorcan’s apartment—it was his, not ours—I decided to discover the area a bit more. The weather was beautiful, sunny albeit a bit cooler than the days before. Still warmer than September in Dublin.
My steps faltered when I walked past the Bronx police station. Was this where Desmond worked? I glanced around inconspicuously. No one was watching me. Or at least it seemed that way, but I didn’t trust Lorcan, and he didn’t trust me. The majority of the Irish community spied for him. Despite my desire to find out what Desmond might know, I quickened my stride and hurried past the building. I felt a little lost after that. Maybe I needed to return to Sodom. It was the place where answers were buried. I could feel it. I turned into Central Park and followed a small steep path through the greenery. It was a slice of nature in the big city that soothed my worries. Eventually I took a seat on a bench and closed my eyes, listening to the distant sound of children at play and chirping birds.
I spent the rest of the morning on the bench, thinking of possible places I could still visit to find out more about Imogen. The first on the list was a small modeling agency not too far from where Lorcan and I lived.
After grabbing a Reuben sandwich at a food truck, and having a quick chat with the owner to see if he knew anything—he didn’t—I made my way to the agency. I froze when I encountered a line of girls in the hallway, portfolios in hand. I soon realized it was a casting call. At least twenty girls waited in front of me, and those were only the ones I could see.
I didn’t have that much time. I tried to squeeze past the waiting girls, but one of them gripped my wrist, her sharp nails digging in. Another shouted at me, “Get in line!”
“I’m not here to be a model. I’m looking for my sister. I just want to ask a few questions.”
The girl who grasped my wrist sneered. “Right. That’s what they all say. Get back in line, bitch.”
My eyebrows shot up. I shook her grip off then slanted a look at the other girls. They all looked ready to scratch my eyes out if I dared to walk past them. “I’m not competition.”
“Obviously,” one of them snickered.
I sighed and finally returned to the end of the line. “How long will this take?”
“All day.”
I sank my teeth into my lower lip. All day. I fumbled with my phone. Swallowing my pride, I called Lorcan.
“What a sweet surprise,” he said.
“Lorcan, I need your help.”
“What is it?” The concern and tension in his voice, as if he was ready to pulverize whatever stood in my way, stunned me.
“Uhhh. I was bored so I went to a local modeling agency to ask about Imogen.”
“I told you to let me handle it.”
“Yes, when it comes to underworld investigations and asking around in the community, but this is normal stuff. I can handle it. I’ll go crazy if I stay at home all the time.”
“If you can handle it, why do you need my help?”
The condescension in his voice made me regret calling, but I didn’t want to stay here for hours. “There’s a long line of girls going to a casting call and I can’t get past it.”
What I didn’t say was that I needed someone to get me to the front of the line and a possible speak to the receptionist. Lorcan chuckled. “Ahhh, you need a bully-boy.”