“What do you mean by that?” I asked, even though I knew already. My dad had spilled it all. And Alice was right. Emily got stuck with a monster because of her conning. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was why she’d given it up. Maybe she’d finally had to pay a price she wasn’t willing to pay. Maybe it was because of us.
Alice glared at a fire hydrant, though I was pretty sure she was mostly angry with herself. She hadn’t meant to tell me as much as he had. It was like she had appointed herself keeper of all my mother’s secrets. “Nothing,” she said. She didn’t speak again until we turned onto Baker Street, and then she grabbed the grocery bags from my hands and said, “Don’t be surprised when we get home.”
“Surprised?”
“There will be men stationed out in front of the house for a while.”
“Men? What kind of men?”
Alice paused, like she was trying to figure out how to say something. “I’ve called in a few favors.”
“What does that mean?”
“They’re men who owe me.”
“Owe you?” I’d barely asked when Alice’s own words came back to me. But now I have him, in case I need something later on. “Wait. Are they marks?”
Alice glanced at all the people on the street around us and scrunched up her lips at me in a reprimand.
I lowered my voice, but I was by no means done talking. “You brought men from who knows where, and you expect they will protect us from whom? From the policemen my father will send? From the actual criminals he may know? What are you thinking here?”
She didn’t answer me, but she didn’t seem guilty or upset, either.
“Have you thought about what will happen if they find out you’ve been conning them?”
When Alice finally looked at me, a bit of the defiance she’d shown Mallory was back. “I’m not counting on them to play soldier or cop. They’re just window dressing for now, all about appearances. He’s shown his players and we’re showing him ours.”
“And if he calls your bluff?”
Alice raised a single brow. “If we need soldiers, I’ll make a different call.”
When we got home, two men stood on either side of our stoop, staring straight ahead like playacting soldiers and acknowledging Alice with a nod as she passed by. They took their jobs very seriously, it seemed. But something was off. I thought maybe it was that I’d expected to feel crowded by their added presence, but once I started up the steps, it was like they weren’t even there.
I didn’t realize what was missing until I reached the top step. The noise. I looked behind us and the two men standing guard were the only people on the street in front of our house. No flashes or camera lights, no whirring, buzzing, or clicks. But more important, there were no questions. Not one reporter was left. And that realization alone made me turn toward a confused Alice and say, “Thank you.”
“What’s this? Are you playing psychological warfare with me? I get a scolding followed by gratitude?”
I shook my head and glanced back down at the men.
Alice looked at me, wary. “Okay. You’re welcome.” She pushed my hair behind my shoulder and then rested her hand there. She smiled first, which made me grin, and she didn’t let go of my shoulder until we were in the house and heading toward our rooms.
Chapter 10
A violin ringtone whined from my phone the minute I lay on my bed. The Offenbach Barcarolle. Lock was calling, though he should’ve been in class just then. I toyed with the idea of ignoring it and texting him some kind of lecture about his education, but I wanted to talk to him more than I wanted to play with him.
“Yes, I went to see my father today, but I don’t want to talk about that or about them finding the sword or his—”
“They found the sword? Wait, never mind.” I could perfectly picture his dismissive hand gesture. “I want to talk about the letter. It definitely wasn’t from your dad.”
“I know.”
“Yes, but now I have an address. . . . You know?”
“An address?”
“You first. How do you know?”
“I brought it up when I saw my father today and he had no idea what I was talking about. Now you. ?You have an address?”
“Can I come over? It’s better if I show you in person.”
I smiled. “You mean that you can draw out the explanation and make yourself look more clever if you show me in person?”
Lock didn’t laugh with me, but I could picture the rise of his brow as he said, “You are devastating for my ego.”
“Someone must balance all the adoration you get from my brothers. Very well. Come over after school.” I was so entirely sure of his expression just then, I added, “Don’t scowl, and go back to class.”
“I’ll be there at lunch,” he quipped back, and promptly ended our call.