Forty-Five
Tuesday, December 21
Bailey’s Key
After telling Mel and Charlie that Nguyen had taken Rascal, Eva went back to her sound lab. Finn had emitted a lot of clicks, and she wanted to run them to see if he had any additional information to share with her. But all she got from running a Cymaglyph was an amorphous shape that could have been the hull of a boat or a Jet Ski. So Nguyen had arrived on some kind of boat; that didn’t tell Eva anything she didn’t already assume.
As she stepped out of her lab, Eva ran right into a man’s chest. She startled when he seized her with strong arms, thinking someone had come to kidnap her too, then realized he was only pulling her into a bear hug. She smelled seawater, sweat, and an old familiar scent that told her exactly who was holding her.
Th
