Chapter 23
1415 Words
23
What felt like an eternity later, Sam heard the toilet flush and Lilith’s approaching footsteps. Click, click, click. That sounded like Lilith was back in her heels, but she was barefoot when she left. So why—
Lilith appeared in the doorway. She’d changed out of the comfortable clothes and was back to wearing her tight dress. The wrinkles from yesterday detracted from the sleekness, but nothing could detract from Lilith’s beauty.
“You’re leaving?” Sam asked, her chest tightening.
Lilith nodded.
“Oh.”
“Yes, I just got a text. They need me back home.”
“Right. I mean, this girl’s morning was a bit of a failure anyway,” Sam smiled, trying her best to sound cheerful. She couldn’t tell whether she was disappointed or relieved that Lilith was going. Maybe she was both. She’d hoped they’d talk about their almost kiss and what that meant. Or maybe they could’ve finished what they started.
It didn’t seem likely anymore.
She glanced backwards to make sure Shadow was alright waiting in the garden, safely away from the scattered popcorn, and stood up. “I’ll walk you out.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I let myself in, I can let myself out. I’m a big girl.”
“But—”
“Thank you for being such a great host,” Lilith cut her off, not letting her finish. Without wasting a second, she dashed out.
“What about Fickle?” Sam called, chasing after her.
“Huh?” Lilith paused as she opened the front door. “Oh, right… Let’s meet up at his estate later. Say, six?”
“Six? O—”
The door fell in its lock.
“—kay…” Sam muttered. What had she done wrong? She could muster a good guess, but was the idea of kissing her so appalling that she had to run away?
If Sam had doubts whether she should or shouldn’t pursue her feelings, the answer was clear. Lilith wasn’t into her and why would she be? Sam was a middle-aged, retired divorcée without much to offer. She’d never be able to keep up with someone as wild and sophisticated as Lilith anyway.
On her return to the living room, she grabbed a broom from the storage room and brushed all the spilled popcorn together. She’d have to scrub the carpet and give the floor a good wash before she could allow Shadow to come back inside or the puppy would go crazy.
Dejected, she sank down on the couch and hid her face in her hands. Rejection shouldn’t hurt so much but there was no denying the fact, Sam concluded. For all of Lilith’s teasing and flirting, she wasn’t actually interested.
A sigh escaped Sam. She’d have preferred to stay in blissful ignorance and kept that little flicker of hope alive that maybe… maybe someone like Lilith could fall for her. She’d hoped that after her divorce, she’d have a new chance at love. A beautiful sunrise after a dark sky, the rainbow after the storm.
But the reality of the situation was different. There was no sunrise, no rainbow. Just dark and haunting, blue eyes that she couldn’t reach. And later they’d have to work together to solve these murders.
How was she supposed to face the other woman?
Sam growled and slapped her cheeks. How pathetic was she? A couple of days ago, she hadn’t even been looking at Lilith like this and now after a couple of comments and remarks, her heart was broken?
No chance. She was going to act like a professional and bury her newfound feelings. If she kept ignoring them, surely they’d dissipate and eventually evaporate. That was all she wanted.
“Stop moping,” she ordered herself. She grabbed the broom and swept the last popcorn kernels together. Regardless of what was happening, she still had a murder to solve and that mattered more than anything.
To keep her mind off everything, she pottered around the house, doing all kinds of little chores. Rearranging the coats near the door, taking stock of her whiskies, changing the bedding. There were a hundred and one things to do in the house and none of them distracted her from Lilith.
Despite the awkward moment, Sam couldn’t wait to see her again. Six couldn’t come soon enough.
Jittery from nerves and copious amounts of coffee, Samantha arrived at the Fickle estate just before six. She didn’t want to seem too eager but the endless pacing through her house wasn’t helping anyone,
Luckily, Lilith wasn’t there yet.
She gathered a deep breath, allowing the fresh air to help reset her mind.
Lilith was just a friend, Lilith was just a friend, Lilith was just a—
“Hello.”
Samantha snapped around, the whole host of nerves racing back through her. Her throat constricted as she stumbled over her words. “H-Hi.”
Unable to stop herself, Sam stared at the other woman. She’d only just seen her earlier that day, but she’d already forgotten how beautiful she was. It was almost unfair how gorgeous her features were. Someone like her belonged in catalogs and magazines, Sam thought. In the real world, people were a little pudgy or too skinny. Some had slightly disproportionate features and were defined by imperfections. But Lilith… She was just perfect.
With a grin, Lilith adjusted her handbag and nudged towards the mansion. “Ready?”
“Huh?” She blinked slowly, trying to clear the thoughts away.
“To interrogate our lead.”
“Oh, right! Yes, ready. Ready, ready,” Sam jibbered. She turned away to hide her heating cheeks and walked towards the gate. She needed to get it together but how could she get a grip when just being around her was making her jittery?
“Wait.”
Before she could ring the doorbell, Lilith caught her arm. Her warm hand wrapped around Sam’s wrist, a touch that was somehow soft and firm at the same time.
Sam gulped as the other woman inched closer. Without words, with just that piercing look of her, Lilith’s free hand reached up to brush the lapel of Sam’s trench coat.
“Umm…” A guttural sound escaped Sam’s lips as she stared in the other woman’s eyes.
Lilith smiled, her features softening. “You had something stuck.”
The tension shattered.
It took Samantha a couple of blinks to return her thoughts from the daze. “What?”
“Here.” Lilith held up a piece of fluff and let it escape in the wind. “All gone now.”
She smoothed the lapel carefully and without a second look back, she rang the bell like nothing had happened.
We waited for a good minute before the front door opened and Fickle wobbled out. His strange cane swung back and forth as he made his way over to us.
With a big smile, he arrived at the gate. “Miss Fatuus.”
“Finnegan.” Lilith greeted.
“Beautiful day for a visit,” he mused. He turned to Sam with an equally big grin. “Miss Rain.”
“Mister Fickle.”
“Your timing is impeccable. Tea has just finished brewing,” Finnegan said as he swung the gate open. “Ladies.”
Reluctantly, Sam followed Lilith onto the Fickle estate. Just like the first time, the street noise muted as she crossed the boundary, but it didn’t phase her this time. There was always some funny business going on when it came to the Nox.
She followed him and Lilith into the mansion, even more on guard than the first time she came. She scanned the hallway, trying to take stock of everything. On first glance, everything seemed the same but it felt… off. It took her a second look to figure out why.
The portraits on the wall were still missing their left eye and the dangling teeth from the chandelier were as creepy as she remembered. Everything was the same as during her first visit, except for the bronze statue. The bottom half of the body was gone and had been replaced by the top.
How strange.
“Tea?” Fickle proposed as he hung up his cane on the skull head knobs. He clapped his hands, shouting at thin air. “Tea for my guests!”
Samantha exchanged a weary look with Lilith as they followed him into a different room. Instead of the kitchen, Fickle brought them into a quaint study. Heavy bookcases framed the walls and egg-green couches with embroidered roses surrounded a small coffee table to create a small seating area. A fire crackled in the hearth and the side table was set with a steaming tea pot and three cups.
Had he been expecting them? How did he or his servants know to put out three?
Suspicious.
A little twinge shot through her knee as she sat down opposite of him. In silence, he poured three cups of tea and pushed them across.
“Another special blend. Cinnamon, star anise, and a secret ingredient. Please, try it.”
Samantha stared at the cup without any intentions of picking it up. “Mister Fickle, could we ask you some questions?”
“That depends. Are you going to taste the tea?”
- Writer
