Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Jeremy peeled foil off his plate, laughed at the stick figure horse Dallas had drawn into his pancakes, and got his food into the microwave as the coffee maker beeped completion. William had only prepped half a pot, enough that Jeremy could have a mug here and pack some to go. Jeremy clung to the mug for dear life as he watched the clock. The coffee was gone long before his food was, but eventually Jeremy could pile everything into the sink and get his plate soaking.
He plucked up the travel mug William had set out for him and hesitated when he saw what was hiding behind it: William had moved his keys in here so he could go out the side door if he wanted. Beneath the ring was an index card that simply said, “Drive safe,” in William’s tidy handwriting. Jeremy pocketed the note with a smile, grabbed his bags and coffee, and snatched up his keys on his way to the door.
The extra caution was unwarranted: Bryson’s car wasn’t out front. Where he’d gotten off to this early in the day was a mystery, but Jeremy would take his blessings where he could find them. He dropped his things in the passenger seat, put his coffee where he could reach it, and started the trek east toward campus. This time of day there was little traffic to contend with, and the morning was cool enough Jeremy could put the windows down while he drove.
Laila had left the porch light on for him. Jeremy parked behind her car, grabbed his bags, and took the stairs up two at a time. There was a piece of paper taped to the front door as he reached for the handle, and he hesitated at the sight of a crudely drawn guillotine. Laila’s neighbors hadn’t expressed any reservations about Jean’s presence this summer, even in the days following the interview, so this was an unexpected rudeness. Jeremy tugged it loose, checked it all over for a message or any hints as to who’d left it, and brought it inside with him.
The bicycles that had been tucked into the back corner of the living room all summer were now moved to the living room doorway, their tires eating up half the hallway. Cat and Laila tended to ride to campus during the school year, both to make the trek between classes faster and so they could grab groceries on the way home from practice. Last year they’d set a slow enough pace to campus he could run alongside them as a warmup, but this year he’d be walking to Lyon with Jean. Since the morning workout ran until seven-thirty and the first class of the day started at eight, the Trojans were set to rendezvous directly at the fitness center at six.
Jeremy found his friends sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at the kitchen island, munching their way through overnight oats with bleary eyes. He took up a spot opposite them and set the paper down where they could all see it. It took a second for them to register what they were looking at, and then Cat and Laila went perfectly still. Jean’s eyes narrowed a bit in annoyance, but he kept eating.
“It was taped to the door,” Jeremy said, glancing over at Laila. “No visitors last night?”
“None that we heard.” Laila pushed her bowl aside in picking up the piece of paper. “I’ll talk to Gary about getting security cameras set up out front, but I’m not sure how useful that will be. I don’t think it was a neighbor—no sane person would risk losing their lease now that school is underway.”
“Man...” Cat took the drawing when Laila moved to set it down. She glanced at Jean’s face to gauge his mood, but he was more interested in his food than this new complication. “We were so careful to cover our tracks. No one should know he’s here except us and the Foxes. Who else could it be?”
“Someone idiotic,” Jean said. “We haven’t used the guillotine in thirty years.”
“Almost exactly thirty,” Laila agreed. “September 1977.”
“I like that you two just know this off the top of your heads,” Cat said dryly. “Nerds.”
A glance at the clock showed he had some time to linger, so Jeremy cracked his drink open and set to inhaling it. Cat and Laila went back to their oats, but they kept glancing toward the artwork with moody stares. Cat was scraping the last spoonful into her mouth when her phone dinged. She scooped it up, opened her new message, and said “Oh!” so loud Laila nearly jumped out of her skin.
Cat dropped a quick kiss against Laila’s shoulder in apology before turning on Jean. “You get to meet the water kids today! Angie’s already setting up at Lyon.” She set her phone aside so she could count them off on her fingers. “Angie’s a grad student studying biokin... etic... uh.”