Chapter 28
BERNADETTE CRENSHAW
Frank waits by the train exit doors that open into a spacious room filled with state-of-the-art equipment on every wall. They’re lined with stainless steel tables laden with all sorts of papers and what looks to be high-tech chemistry equipment and advanced lab equipment.
A large wooden bookshelf seems out of place against the white concrete floor and walls, as if someone were trying to make the clinical room cozy but gave it minimal effort.
“What is that?” I ask, pointing near a robotic arm where a glowing blue tube sits inside a glass container.
“It's the moonflower turned into a formula,” he answers.
“Wow, this is so cool,” I say, watching as the robotic arm moves, grabbing the small tube and shaking it.
A set of glass doors I hadn't noticed before suddenly opens, and a fog pours into the room alongside a wiry-haired man, walking with his face shoved into the notebook in his hands.
“Working late, Jekyll?” Frank asks the newcomer.
“What the hell are you doing here? Oh, hello,” the man says, dropping the notepad to his side when he notices me at Frank’s side.
“Jekyll, this is Bernadette,” Frank says, introducing me.
Jekyll grins and wiggles his brows at Frank. “Guess you didn’t waste any time with the wooing. Look at you, you’re almost smiling.”
“You’re Jekyll Edwards, the lead scientist at Talbot, aren’t you?” I ask, recognizing the name from a magazine article I read a few years ago.
“I am. You’ve heard of me?” he asks, putting a hand to his chest as if delighted.
“Yeah,” I grin, glad at least some good has come of the deep dive I did on Frank before Aubrey ever visited Romania.
“I’m showing her the lab. Did you find anything?” Frank asks, tucking his big arms over his chest.
Jekyll glances at me awkwardly and I turn away, reading the room, stuffing my hands in my pockets to dissuade myself from touching anything as I look around and let them talk.
“It’s only been a few hours, and besides, I’m dealing with my own dilemma at the moment,” Jekyll whispers back.
Giving Frank a sidelong glance, I notice his gaze is firmly on the doors Jekyll just walked through.
“Nothing you can help with. Hilda is just being cranky and decided to lock me from the house so I’m catching up on some work. In fact, you may want to get her back to yours soon. I’m going to have to ransack the place to find my spare key,” Jekyll pouts.
“Ready to go, Bernadette?” Frank asks.
“Sure,” I answer, and make my way across the room to them both.
“Good meeting you, Bernadette, until next time, Frank. I so enjoy our visits,” Jekyll says with a wave and turns his attention to a table in the corner.
“Do you visit him a lot?” I ask once we’re out of earshot and through the double doors.
“If you consider every few years a lot. After you,” he says, gesturing for me to climb aboard his train again.
I shake my head to myself and get on, settling back into the cushioned leather.
“So, I just have one more question,” I tell him once the train starts moving.
“Just one?” he asks, a glimmer of amusement in his gaze.
I raise a brow, knowing my next query is about to make or break my little fantasy monster romance. There’s no way I can move forward without knowing what he did, and Aubrey, for whatever reason, didn’t tell me after it happened. “Why did Aubrey say you’re a monster?”