I scanned through the various departure times. Though at first they seemed random, the data hinted at a bigger pattern. “Idris, do you have the map and valve cycle information with you?”
“Of course,” he said in a supercilious tone that I chose to ignore. He dug the papers out of his messenger bag and passed them back to me. I murmured a thanks and spread everything out on the seat between Carl and me. My pulse quickened in excitement as I compared the Katashi info and the valve cycles.
“They work in a rotation,” I said, smile widening. “They go to each valve in time for the burps, which means we have a good chance of predicting who’s going where and when.” My pulse thumped harder as I peered at the schedule for the upcoming emissions. “I need a pencil. A pen. A goddamn crayon.” Carl pushed a pen into my hand, and I jotted down correlations. “There are two valves coming up in the next few hours. Tessa’s house and the one at Leelan Park. Only a few miles apart.” I tightened my grip on the pen. “Tessa’s team will almost certainly be coming from the Gator Farm, and it makes sense that she’d take care of the valve at her own house. That gives us a window of opportunity to reach her house first and—” I took a deep breath. This was the tricky part— “symmetrize that valve and be out of there before she shows up.”
Pellini shot me a baffled look in the rear view mirror. “Did I miss something? Who’s going to symmetrize it? I don’t have the skills, and Idris doesn’t know what to look for.” He gave Idris a wince and a shrug. “Sorry, dude.”
I expected Idris to snarl, but he merely extended a hand toward the charts and my notes. “Mind if I take a look?”
“Nah, go for it.” I handed the lot over to him. Made sense for him to double-check my work.
He skimmed through the schedules, hands tight on the papers. At long last he relaxed and exhaled. “You have a plan for how to symmetrize the valve?” he asked me, expression unreadable.
Grimacing, I shifted in my seat. “I don’t know if it could be called a plan, but I thought that Pellini could tell you what to do and you’d, um, do it.” Crap. It sounded a lot more pathetic when I said it out loud.
But Idris surprised me with a thoughtful nod. “We have nothing to lose by trying.”
Wow, had he gone and had a spa day while I was in jail? “Great!” I said. “Let’s go take care of that valve!” I’d wonder later why he was so agreeable. Right now I wanted to get to Tessa’s house before Idris remembered he was Mr. Grouchy.
Chapter 34
Pellini did the same drive-by-the-house-twice thing as Bryce, then turned onto a side street to park. I approved of his caution. Katashi’s people had been watching my place long enough to know Jill’s schedule, which meant they knew Pellini’s truck.
He let out a low whistle as we walked up to the house. “Man, this place used to glow like Vegas,” he said.
It was weird to think that he’d been able to see the arcane during all the crap of the past year and a half, but I also completely understood why he’d kept it so thoroughly to himself. “I know what you mean,” I said. “Seretis ripped out the wards and protections like a cleaning lady through cobwebs—and all without alerting the spiders.”
I hurried everyone inside on the off chance a nosy neighbor decided to come chat. There were no aversions to keep them away now. Despite my nerves, I grinned at the sudden image of all the neighbors approaching the house like a horde of zombies.
“Carl, will you be our lookout?” I asked after I closed the door.
“Absolutely,” he said and positioned himself in the sitting room where he had a view of the street.
Eilahn bounded up the stairs to get a vantage from one of the attic windows or, more likely, the roof. For a fleeting moment I worried that a neighbor or bad guy might spot her, but quickly dismissed it. Eilahn knew how to stay out of sight.
Pellini and I followed Idris to the library. Idris moved straight to the valve and dropped to his knees, but Pellini took two steps in and stopped in shock.
“All of those boxes of books were in this one room?” he asked, incredulous. He made a slow turn, taking in the empty bookshelves and the scant dimensions of the library.
“Every one of them,” I said. “I should’ve taken a picture, because even I can barely comprehend it.”
Pellini shook his head in disbelief then leveled a frown toward where Idris knelt on the hardwood floor. “Hang tight,” he said and stepped out of the library. Mystified, I waited, and a few seconds later he returned with one of my aunt’s sofa cushions. He dropped it a few feet in front of Idris then lowered himself to kneel on it. “I’m a big guy in my mid-forties. I ain’t stupid.”
Idris flicked a glance to the cushion. I expected a disparaging look but instead it was more I wish I’d thought of that. Smothering a laugh, I dashed to the sitting room and grabbed another cushion, which Idris accepted with grace.