Chapter 16
Borja
Iwake up and roll over, seeking the warmth of Farnsworth’s body next to me, but the bed is cold. Peeling my eyes open, I look around the dark room, but he’s not here.
I hope he’s not freaking out about last night.
I slide from the bed, walk into the bathroom to take care of my needs, then head into the living room to look for him. I find him sitting on the couch, fully dressed in his suit, hair groomed, bent over a book.
“Hey.”
He turns his head to look at me. “Good morning.”
“Is it? What time is it?”
Farnsworth looks behind him at the stove in the kitchen. “Three a.m., apparently.”
“Why are you up?”
“I had an idea. I started thinking about the different pieces we have put together so far, and how they could lead to the next clue.”
“I’m listening.”
He smiles. “Yes, well, it would be far less distracting to talk to you if you put some clothes on.”
Chuckling, I drag my hand through my hair. “Be right back.”
In the bedroom, I throw on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then rejoin Farnsworth in the living room, sitting next to him on the couch.
“Okay, so what are you thinking?”
“Well, so far, we know that the Horror has left bits and pieces of himself in several items. We have a book, a brooch, and a pocket watch. So, when I was thinking about all of those things and reading the missing pages from the book, I thought of a potential next object to seek out.”
“Yeah? What’s that? I’m all ears.”
“The brooch went missing for several years, we don’t know where it was or who it was donated by.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I think if we can figure out where it was, we should be able to find the next piece. There has to be a connection to the family that had the brooch in their possession all this time.”
“Okay, so we know it was returned to the hotel by an anonymous source, right?”
“Yes, but I found some suspicions that a family—one of them was a cousin of the Wolcott family—had the item all those years before it was returned to the hotel.” He smiles. “That cousin was the father-in-law of Lady Brent.”
“Dang. You found all that?”
“Yes, in my records.”
“Your records?”
“I know it’s not the internet, but we do have access to records on many of the living. Things just take a little longer to find.”
“Okay, that’s wicked cool. Do you know where the family might live now?”
“Yes. They’ve never left Boston. They live in an area called Back Bay.”
“Ah. They’re still rich.”
“Is that a wealthy neighborhood?”
“It’s pretty posh. So, what do you suggest? Do we just show up?”
“Let me ask you this, Borja. What would you do if I were not here?”
I grin, nodding. “Okay, yeah, I would probably try to see if I could find them in a public environment, maybe where I could just approach them without, you know, crashing their house.”
“That’s a thought. Anything else?”
“Uh, if I couldn’t do that, I would probably see if I could call instead of just showing up. People don’t really like that in New England—just showing up. Especially rich people. They’d probably be pretty suspicious of us.”
“Then let’s start there.”
“Let me grab my phone. I’ll see if there’s any public events they might be at.”
I return to the bedroom quickly to get my phone, then take my place next to Farnsworth on the couch again. “What’s their name?”
“It’s still Wolcott.”
“Perfect. Any kind of first name?”
“The cousin is Howard, but it would be Howard’s descendants at this point, right?”
“Howard Wolcott descendants.” I type it into my phone screen, adding “of Boston” before hitting search.
“I might have found a person that could be connected to their family,” Farnsworth says, flipping through a thick book. “His name is Michael.”
I tap on my screen, scrolling through the results, then I search “Michael Wolcott, related to Howard Wolcott” and right away I hit pay dirt.
“Holy crap!”
“What?” Farnsworth asks, leaning close to me.
“Michael Wolcott is a gallery owner in Boston.”
“A gallery?”
“An art gallery. They’re having a silent auction two nights from now. He’s got to be there. It’s his gallery.”
“How opportune.”
“Heck yeah, this is perfect. We can just show up at the gallery, find out who Michael is, and see if we can talk to him.”
“Is it a private gallery?”
“No, it’s open to the public.”
Farnsworth tilts his head. “Then why do we have to wait for the art gallery event? Can’t we just go there?”
I chuckle. “Huh? Yeah, Captain Obvious.”
“Who?”
“Nothing. Just a saying. We should definitely just go down there and see if we can talk to Michael.”
“Yes.” He lightly touches my arm. “Time is important with what we do. Always look for the most expedient route.”
“Makes sense.” I pat his hand. “We make a good team, Farnsworth.”
His expression goes blank as he just stares at me for a moment. Then he blinks. “Yes. Yes, we do.”
I lean back on the couch. “Are you feeling weird about last night?”
“What about it?” he asks, as if nothing unusual happened.
“What we did.”
“No, I don’t feel weird. I’m just trying to get back to work, that’s all.”
Not buying that. “You do feel weird.” I lean a little closer to him, putting my hand over his where it’s resting on his thigh. “I don’t want you to feel awkward. We need to talk about it.”
“We don’t need to talk about anything. I’m perfectly fine. We have a mission, and we should be focused on that mission. Nothing else. I’m perfectly fine.”
“You’re also stumbling over your words, which is very unusual for you. Come on, Farnsworth, talk to me.”
He exhales slowly, leaning slightly back across the couch. “Okay. I suppose I am a bit jumbled.
I don’t exactly know how I’m to act, how I’m to behave today after having such an intimate experience with someone. You see, it’s never happened before.”
I tangle my fingers with his. “We can do what makes you comfortable. We can either not talk about it and act like it didn’t happen, or we can talk about it and decide where we want to go from here.”
He nods, lowering his gaze to our entwined hands. “Did you mean what you said last night?”
“Every word.”
“I meant about… about doing it again and what you might like me to do to you?”
“When I said I wanted you to fuck me. Yep, I meant that.”
He nods, biting his bottom lip.
“Do you have questions about that?”
“Questions? Um, no, more—well, yes, I suppose. I just don’t understand.”
“What’s to understand?”
“Well, you’re so experienced and worldly, and I’m so not.”
“And we had great chemistry last night, didn’t we?”
“Yes. Yes, we did.”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“I suppose so.”
“How does a person get experience?”
“By doing things.”
“Exactly.” I lift his hand and brush my lips against the back of it. “I don’t mind being the first person to show you around this modern world. I definitely don’t mind being the lucky guy who gets to kiss and touch you.”
He laughs softly, shaking his head. “You’re very good for a man’s ego.”
“I’m not just blowing sunshine up your ass, Farnsworth. You’re gorgeous, and I find you very, very appealing.”
“Thank you. You know it has to be temporary, of course.”
“Of course. Is that something I have to get used to? I can never have a lover? Never fall in love?”
“No, that isn’t the case. Do you remember reading about the love bond in the handbook?”
“Love bond?” I repeat, searching my memory. “It sounds vaguely familiar.”
“Most Chasers skip over that part. They’re too overwhelmed by all the other duties and responsibilities they have to notice it.”
“Yeah, maybe that was it. What do I need to know about it?”
“Borja, your heart works like it always did. Your emotions work like they always have. Except for an added boost of immortality, you’re the same man you’ve always been. You can fall in love just as any mortal human being can.”
“But then they grow old and die, and I don’t.”
“Right, unless there’s a love bond.” He exhales slowly. “It’s a ritual I would conduct on your behalf, and it would essentially tie your chosen person’s soul to yours, thereby giving them immortality.”
My jaw drops. “Seriously? That’s pretty major.”
“Yes. It’s also very, very rare.”
“Why?”
“As I understand it, it’s difficult to find somebody who can understand what you do and how you must live.
It’s not like a regular job. You don’t just blend in with society anymore.
You’d have to tell the person, and they’d have to accept it.
There must be a great deal of trust built at that point.
They’d also have to be willing to accept a love bond with you, and you only get one.
If they were to leave, it would destroy you. ”
“I see. Well, I guess it’s neither here nor there right now.”
“No, but if love is something you seek, you can find it.”
“What about you? You could find love too, couldn’t you?”
He shrugs. “It’s extremely difficult for me, because I live in the Revival House, and I’m not exposed to the mortal world very often.
When I am, it’s usually just for brief periods.
I suppose I would have to either choose to spend time in the Above to find a mate, or I could, I don’t know, stumble upon someone in my world, like a Chaser. ”
Farnsworth actually blushes. The longer he’s up here, the healthier and more human he looks.
“I don’t really interact with Chasers much. Only briefly.”
“Except for me.” I smile. “Wouldn’t that be something if you and I fell in love?” He clears his throat, trying to tug his hand away, but I hold it tighter. “Is that so far-fetched?”
“It doesn’t make any sense. I live in the Revival House and you live here in the Above, and, well, it just… it just wouldn’t work.”
“You know something, Farnsworth? My grandmother used to tell me that love will always find a way.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that when two people are in love, regardless of the obstacles they face, they’ll figure it out. Don’t you think you should at least hold out hope that something like that could happen for you?”
“I’m not at all interested in it.” He pulls his hand away successfully this time and straightens his bow tie. “I’m much too busy for those kinds of things.”
“But at night, when it’s quiet and the work is done, don’t you wish sometimes that you had somebody to talk to, cuddle with, maybe watch a movie with?”
“No,” he says, but I hear the lie in his voice.
He’s built up a defense, one that keeps him safe from wishing for things he believes he can’t have.
And that’s understandable.
I’d probably do the same thing in his position.
“We should really focus on work,” he says.
“Sure, we can do that. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You didn’t. It’s just…” He gazes up at me.
“I don’t have the energy to think about things that don’t matter, things that will never happen.
My work keeps me busy and satisfied, and it’s enough.
It’s always been enough.” A faint smile plays on his lips.
“But you, Borja. You’re still young and vibrant.
You can fall in love. You have a chance. ”
“I guess so, but like you said, it’ll be harder now, and it wasn’t exactly easy before.”
“One of my Chasers, his name is Wilder. He was single for many, many years, and never had any inkling of falling in love or settling down. But he did. He met someone, and it changed everything for him. If it can happen for Wilder, it can happen for anyone.”
“Then by that logic, it could even happen for you.”
He glances away again, and I take that as my cue to drop the subject.
“I’m gonna go take a shower and get dressed. Help yourself to coffee.”
“Thank you.”
I walk away with my mind whirling with thoughts. Of course, I’m not in love with Farnsworth, but I certainly like him a lot, and last night was fire. Underneath that uptight exterior is a very passionate man dying to be let out.
Maybe this is all temporary, and once the mission is done, I’ll never see him again, but I’ll enjoy it while I can.
It’s enough for now.