CHAPTER 6
A sliver of wintry morning sun snaked its devilish fingers through the blinds, its bright light clutching at the comforter and crawling up the bed until it pierced right through Lizzy’s skull.
She pried her eyes open. Her efforts to lift her head were rewarded with more painful pinpricks to the brain. Where the hell was she?
The king-sized bed was covered in luxurious bedding. The headboard was cushioned with expensive cream-colored fabric that bordered on gaudy. The walls were painted a shimmering silver, making her feel as if she were in a Vegas hotel. The sheets and comforter were white and ultrasoft. The room was clean and neat, everything in its place.
The last thing she remembered was sitting in her office downtown, drinking a bottle of Scotch.
Hayley.
Bits and pieces of last night slowly came back to her. Hayley had shown up at the office at some ungodly hour. That’s it. That’s all she remembered.
A good fifteen minutes passed, maybe longer, before Lizzy was able to will her body out of bed. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the bureau. Not a pretty sight. Stringy, dirty-blonde unwashed hair, hollow cheeks and eyes: the ghost of someone she once knew. Wearing an extra-long purple T-shirt that she didn’t recognize, she plodded her way into the bathroom.
Hayley had gone to the bother of setting up her toiletries? The thought of Hayley organizing her toothbrush and toothpaste didn’t compute, which meant somebody else had done it. She washed her hands and brushed her teeth, then left the room in search of answers.
This was no hotel—it was a house. A ridiculously large house. Halfway down a long stretch of carpeted stairs, she got a whiff of bacon. Her stomach rumbled in a bad way.
Despite the never-ending square footage, the kitchen was easy enough to find. Kitally stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes.
“You’re just in time. Bacon and pancakes. If you prefer eggs, I can make them to order.”
“Just coffee. I just need coffee.”
“Cream and sugar?”
“No, thanks. Black.” Lizzy walked past the kitchen table so she could see into the main living area. Everywhere she looked, she saw beautifully carved columns and a combination of rich wood and stone floors. Leather seating. Minimal furniture. No decorative items to speak of. “Is this your house?”
“Actually it belongs to my parents. Once I turned eighteen, they moved to a bigger place in El Dorado Hills and left this one to me.”
“You live alone in this mansion?”
“Not any longer. Hayley’s landlord is selling her house, so Hayley needed a place to stay. There’s plenty of room for you, too.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Why not?”
“I have my own house.”
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t be living at the office if you were ready to move back home.”
The kid had a point, which was annoying as hell.
“Why don’t you just think about it? I’ll give you a key, and that way you’ll have a place to stay if you need it.” Kitally handed Lizzy a mug of coffee. “Hayley is in the office if you want to say hi. It’s down the main hall. Last room on the left.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.” Lizzy found herself in a sewing room before she finally found the main hallway. Like every room in the place, the office was spacious. Hayley sat at a large mahogany desk in the center of the room. She was buried in papers, but she looked up and said, “Morning.”
Lizzy grunted. “What are you working on?”
“Just trying to catch up on all the paperwork. We’ve got a half-dozen workers’ comp claims that need serious attention. If you’re feeling up to it later, we also need to meet with a very persistent woman named Pam Middleton. She sounded panicky on the phone and said it was an emergency.”
Lizzy eased herself into a cushioned chair, propped her feet on the matching ottoman, and sipped her coffee. Was it possible for hair to hurt? Her hair hurt. “OK. So what does this Pam . . . whoever need?”
“She wants us to find the baby she gave up twenty-five years ago.”
“Do we know why?”
“She said it was a matter of life and death. And she wants you to be there.”
Lizzy sighed. “What time is it?”
“Ten fifteen.”
“How about noon today?”
“Sounds good,” Hayley said with a nod. “Did Kitally invite you to stay here at the house with us?”
“She did, but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea.”
“I disagree. You’ve been through some incredibly fucked-up shit. All you have to do is look in the mirror to see that much. You shouldn’t be alone right now. Go ahead and drink yourself into oblivion, but do it here where we can watch out for you.”
Lizzy looked around. “It’s not a bad setup. I’ll give you that.”
“No rent, and breakfast is included. You can’t beat it.”
Lizzy took another swig of coffee. “I’ll think about it.”