Echoes of the Past

Chapter 7: The right haystack

When Edward awoke, the first thing he noticed was that, for the first time in months, he felt rested. Even more amazingly, the excruciating headache that had followed him since the incident in Connecticut had dulled to a fading ache. He turned on his side with a yawn and found the spot beside him empty. Mary was gone, leaving the imprint of her head on the pillow and her smell lingering on the sheets as the only traces of her presence.

His mind still pleasantly groggy from sleep, Edward sat, rubbing his eyes. It was already daytime and sunlight filtered through the coloured glass of the windows, spilling on the tiled floor to create pools of red and blue. Fighting the urge to lie back and let sleep take him again, he forced himself on his feet. Better go find Mary, he thought and he headed toward the door with one last longing glance to the soft mattress.

He found her sitting at the dining room table a small wooden pipe resting at the corner of her full lips. Edward couldn't help but to smile at this strangely out-dated habit of hers. It seemed so out of place for a woman in her mid twenties and yet it just fitted her.
"Good morning," he greeted sitting down next to her.
"It's a quarter to three. A bit late for good morning, don't you think?"
"I slept all day?" said Edward bewildered
"Looks like you needed it." She motioned to the coffee pot on the table. "Coffee?"
"No thanks," he said. "I should probably get back to house arrest before Ed reports me as a missing person."
"I already called him this morning to let him know where you were."
Edward winced. "How pissed was he?"
"Somewhere between very and ready to strangle you. You should know better than to leave in the middle of the night without leaving mommy a note." She took an other drag for her pipe and exhaled slowly, pausing to watch the smoke dance in the air . "Don't worry, I talk edhim down a bit. Truth be told, I think he was just relieved you slept."
Edward rolled his eyes in a childish display of annoyance. Still he secretly made a mental note to apologies to his mentor. For all Edward's complaints about Ed Tatcher'a mothering, he actually treasured that aspect of their relationship. It was as close to having a parent as he'd ever gotten.

"Well, I should go," he said glancing at the antique clock that stood in the dining room. "Thanks for that chat and for calming down Ed."
"My pleasure."

As Mary walked him to the door, Edward found himself considering how to say goodbye in this situation. The protocol he normally applied to colleagues certainly didn't apply here, nor did the one he used when taking his leave of one-night stands. A handshake seemed too formal and he was slightly afraid she'd interpret anything more as him hitting on her again. As if she sensed his discomfort Mary patted his arm playfully and shot him a radiant smile he couldn't help but return.

"One last thing, Edward," Mary said has he was crossing the threshold. "About your little problem with the Athena."
"Ah, that?" This new dead-end hadn't even crossed his mind since he had woken up.
"I think you were just looking in the wrong place. The Internet is too big a haystack, it's too easy to miss the needle or to find the wrong one."
"And do you have a smaller haystack for us to search?"
Mary crossed her arms and the corner of her lips twitched, forming her usual secretive half-small smile. "I just might have."
"Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"Now, where's the fun in that."
Edward bit back an amused grin. "You do have a flare for the dramatic, I'll give you that."
"Just meet me near the park between the Industria avenue and la Paseo de Marti at exactly 12:00 in two days. Bring Thatch."
"Tatcher," he corrected.
Mary looked at him with a frown "What?"
"You called him Thatch. And while his impersonation of Blackbeard is quite something, he's hardly the real deal."
Edward expected her to laugh, but he got nothing more than a quick smile that never quite reached her eyes.
"Maybe in another life," said Mary, her forced smile quickly melting away. "Just remember 12:00 sharp. I'll be at one of the terrace near the park".