Night Shift (Book 1, the Night Shift series)

Chapter Twenty-two

Daniel paused under the archway to the Matinee Room, content to stay hidden behind a collection of large potted ferns.

Ruth Ann said, "I don't hate you, but I'm not going to hold your hand." He watched her join Jonathan, who was putting a platter of bacon on the table. The smell of fried tomatoes and onions made his mouth water; he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.

Daniel approached the booth tentatively and noticed with relief that Mary was missing.

Oscar spoke first. "Welcome back." He stood proud and dapper as usual. Tonight it was designer jeans and a silk crew neck sweater. "Trying to stick it out until the last bet in the glass bowl?"

Certain his voice would shake, Daniel shrugged in a kind of "no-comment" gesture. His desire for information slunk down the grand staircase like a guilty shadow.

"Come back to finish what we started last night?" Jonathan asked, his tone and the half-hidden fist by his side leaving little room for doubt as to his meaning.

Daniel glanced at Ruth Ann. Had Jonathan told her what Daniel had said? Petey huddled close to Oscar, staring at the floor. Shame burned across Daniel's cheeks. Mary wasn't the only one who deserved an apology. A clanging from the kitchen made everyone jump.

Petey said, "Mary's a bit, um..."

"Pissed," Jonathan finished.

Daniel made a path toward the kitchen. He flattened his hand against the swinging door, silently counted to three, and then pushed through.

Mary stood by the sink, wearing a white T-shirt and ripped designer jeans. Her gaze flicked back and forth between her plate of steaming omelet and his face. He ducked as the plate whirled over his head, smashing into the wall, showering him with egg and tomato. The others quickly crowded the doorway.

"Are you crazy?!" he cried out, still crouching on the floor.

Mary pointed at Daniel. "You," she said, her voice trembling, "have no right to show up like nothing happened."

Daniel wobbled to his feet. "I had to come back," he said.

"Great, you came back. Now you can leave," she said, hatefully. "There's no invisible barrier for you."

"Are you that angry with me?" he asked. "Or did you never really like me that much to begin with?"

Mary didn't flinch. "Which answer makes more sense to you?"

Oscar put up his hands. "All right, fools, that's enough. Petey, go get Blanche." He shook his head at the messy kitchen. "I need another adult."

Mary started to sweep up bits of omelet. Daniel watched for a couple of painful seconds, then he bent down, collecting the larger chunks of plate. "I can do this without your help," she snapped.

"I had to come back."

"I heard you the first time," she said.

Oscar crossed his arms. "Actually, I'd be interested to know what changed your mind."

Daniel tried to gather his thoughts. "Once I believed what I was seeing," he said. "I crossed a line. Now, I need more answers."

A look of understanding crept across Oscar's face. "Fair enough," he conceded.

"'The eye only sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend,'" Ruth Ann quoted from the doorway. Then she added with an air of importance, "Robertson Davies."

Daniel placed the shards in the sink. He wiped his hands on his jeans, then repeated what Alice had told him.

"Sure," Jonathan said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. "All this time there's been a huge pile of money waiting for you and the anonymous donor stipulated that you be told on your nineteenth birthday."

"Alice confirmed it."

"And the only information you were given was this address?" Oscar asked, smoothing out his moustache. "Do you have any idea who it might be?"

Daniel shrugged self-consciously. "Well, I was kind of wondering if it might be one of you."

Ruth Ann snorted. "We have no money."

"Besides," Jonathan said, "we didn't even know you existed until Mary came blabbing all excited after she pulled you out of the elevator shaft."

"Yeah," Daniel said, remembering the night he eavesdropped behind the bookcases. "What about Mr. Oliver?"

Ruth Ann clasped her hands. "Holy smokes," she said. "This is just like Pip and Miss Havisham." She glanced at them expectantly, but no one replied. "Hello—Great Expectations."

"Except it wasn't Miss Havisham who left him the money," Daniel said. "It was the convict from the graveyard in the first chapter."

"I know that!" she said. "I'm only making a comparison."

Jonathan put a consoling arm around Ruth Ann, then said, "So, if it isn't us, Mr. Oliver, Miss Havisham, or Colonel Mustard in the billiard room with the candlestick—who is it? Wait, why do I even care?"

Mary glared at the floor, content to let the others busy themselves with Daniel's problem. Sneakers slapped on the tile. Petey sprinted toward them. "It's Blanche," he said between breaths. "You gotta come, now!"