Night Shift (Book 1, the Night Shift series)

Chapter Thirty-five

Daniel sat at the piano in the Music Room, listening to Clara hum a few bars of melody. She stopped and gave him a nod, prompting him to experiment with several chords.

"I think you almost have it, gorgeous," she said.

He was surprised at how quickly he was learning the song. "I wonder," he said, "if she might have played this for me when I was really young, like when I was a baby?" There was a hopeful lilt to his question.

"She must have; you play like it's familiar to you." She studied him for a moment, then slid down on the bench. "Virginia was so talented, and full of music, you obviously get that from her. But that wasn't her greatest attribute. She was one of the most loving and nurturing souls. I can see a lot of that in you, too. It's only natural that she was the one to care of Petey. We rely on each other, but she was the main influence in his life."

Daniel felt a little stab of jealousy at the mention of Petey's name. "Did she teach him to play?"

"She tried," Clara laughed. "But he squirmed too much. Never could sit still long enough to learn the notes properly. Musical ability isn't one of his attributes."

There was a comfortable connection with Clara, not only because of the music, but because she had been his mother's confidant for so many years. He asked, "If she loved you all so much, how could she leave without a word? And why didn't she come back for the rest of you?"

Clara grew quiet and folded her hands on her lap. "I've thought about that a long time. I believe that whatever took her away from us was beyond her control. I'm not sure if we'll ever find out all the answers. But at least we know she was having a wonderful life, and that makes me happy." She patted his cheek. "And if she hadn't left, we wouldn't have you, gorgeous!"

Daniel smiled at her touch. "Did she ever say anything about my dad?"

"No. Did you ever ask how they met?"

"Growing up I never cared about it, really. After the car accident I wanted to know everything, but my dad was completely shut off from those memories. It hurt to talk about, so I stopped asking. I thought that once enough time went by I could ask again."

"But now he's gone too," Clara said, softly. "Don't worry, with all of us working toward the same thing, we're bound to come up with an answer. The right inspiration will come along." They both looked up, hearing footsteps. "Speaking of inspiration." She smiled.

Mary came over to the piano. "How's the lullaby?"

"He already knows it," Clara praised.

Mary beamed down at him. "Can I hear it?"

Daniel's heart skipped a few beats. "Sure." He nodded. He wiped his palms on his jeans a few times, then began to play the sweet melody. Clara left the bench and put an arm around Mary's shoulder.

Mary looked thrilled. "It even sounds familiar to me," she said. "I'm sure it will make Petey remember." She turned to Clara. "Can we get him right now?"

"Easy, girl," Clara warned. "Petey's not going to be tricked into anything. You know he's slier than a fox. He has to agree to it first."

"We've been waiting for twenty years to find out what happened!"

Clara moved her head to the side. "What's wrong, Mary, everyone not working hard enough on your latest escape plan?" Then she sauntered out of the room, already singing by the time she passed under the archway.

"You got in trouble," Daniel teased.

Mary gave an impatient snort. "Maybe it's because she just woke up, that the time doesn't seem to drag along for her like it does me," she grumbled.

"I think it depends on the company you keep," he said. "For me, the time inside Willard's always goes faster than the outside. I can't believe the weekend is almost over. I hardly got a chance to break in my bachelor pad. "

Mary ignored the suggestive tone of his voice. "How about a sliding lesson?" she suggested instead. He followed her down the grand staircase to the ground floor, listening to her tips on riding the brass handrail. "We'll start practicing here," she said.

"Did you expect me to fall down all four flights?"

"No," she said, pointing to the Confectionery, "my reason is purely about satisfaction. Let's sugar up before we start."

They sat on the bottom step, sharing red licorice ropes and a handful of candy-covered chocolates. Daniel secretly smiled, noticing how Mary left the blue-coloured ones until last. He made a surprised sound then pulled his phone out. "I completely forgot about Alice," he said, starting to type an Easter message.

"Will she be mad?"

Daniel grinned and kept texting. "She's probably stuck behind a huge pile of files. Alice always takes work home."

"That's kind of sad," Mary said.

"I guess, but she loves her job. Plus a lot of people depend on her to win in the courtroom." He tucked the phone away, and stole another licorice from Mary's fist.

"You learned the song so quickly," she said, between chews. "I wonder if we should also think about the other senses, like sight, touch, and smell. We could use one of the pictures from your album." She turned to Daniel. "What's wrong? You look pale."

"Maybe I ate too many sweets." He stood and began to walk down the aisle.

"Okay." She wavered, then fell into step beside him. "I think you're right about the sugar, but the good news is that Oscar's making curried lamb on rice for dinner. Hopefully you'll feel better after that."

"Uh-huh." He wondered if she was happy to keep him around only to test her various escape theories. It's not like she's hiding the fact she's desperate to leave Willard's. The thought was so obvious, he thought it must be true.

His footsteps were dull thuds against the tile. This Easter weekend was nothing like he'd hoped. Mary, he noticed, was content to stroll along, probably hoping to rush the front doors again.

They continued walking through the various departments until he led her to the secret room. Mary stood alone at the threshold. "Um..." she started. Daniel's phone chimed. He reached into his back pocket, expecting to see a reply from Alice. "Wow, is she always that fast?" Mary asked.

He looked up from the screen. "No," he said. "It's from Monique. She found that history report, but she's not working until next weekend."

"Oh."

"But she can meet me tonight if I want."

"Oh," she said again. "So...what do you want?"

Daniel put on his coat and grabbed his backpack. "I guess I'll go get that report." He walked through the security office and down the elegant corridor toward the main doors. Mary's sneakers slapped the tile behind him as she ran to keep up. He walked a few extra feet beyond the black granite, purposely leaving her behind.

She glanced at her waterproof watch. "I guess we'll have that lesson on the banister later tonight?"

"There won't be enough time." Daniel paused at the door. "This is what you want, right? Getting clues about the store and finding a way out is the most important thing to you, isn't it?"

Mary chewed on her lower lip, then simply nodded.

Daniel gave her one last look, but she didn't say anything. He tugged on the backpack, stepped outside, and then locked the main doors behind him.