“Mine, too.”
“First things first: We gotta find this card reader if we want answers. Doesn’t Jake Marlowe have some kinda house upstate?”
“Yes. An estate. I heard Will say it belonged to his family.”
“Seems like a good place to start.” Sam let out a long, hard sigh. “Aww, how we gonna get into Marlowe’s house anyhow?”
“I know somebody who could.” She turned the car toward the Bennington.
“Coast is clear. The professor’s room is empty,” Sam said, letting Evie into the apartment.
Jericho stepped out of the bathroom, startling them all into shrieks. He was shirtless, with a towel wrapped around his waist. Evie pretended to be interested in Jericho’s painted battle figurines on the kitchen table while stealing sideways glances at the impressive muscles of his broad back.
“I didn’t know we had company,” Jericho growled at Sam as he ducked back into the bathroom. A moment later, he emerged in trousers and an undershirt.
“I’m mostly decent,” Jericho said. “What’s got you both so excited?”
They sat at the table while Evie and Sam told Jericho all about their meeting with Moony Runyon.
“The samples,” Jericho said when they’d finished their tale. “In all of Will’s letters to Cornelius, Will mentioned collecting samples from the Diviners they were testing. Wait just a minute.” Jericho disappeared into his room and returned with a cache of bound letters.
Sam snorted. “You kept those and I’m the bad guy?”
“Sam, you steal from people all the time.”
“Just like Robin Hood.”
“He gave to the poor.”
“So … I’m poor.”
“I’m not going to entertain this argument,” Jericho said. “I’d meant to ask Will about it at some point. And they were a little damaged, so I kept them out of the damp basement.”
Watching Jericho untie the string and sift through the letters made Evie antsy. She wanted to know what was in them and didn’t at the same time.
“Here’s one. ‘Today we visited with Miss Maudie Lemieux, a Diviner in Poughkeepsie with the ability to commune with the spirit world through séance.’ Et cetera, et cetera …”
“Et cetera, et cetera?” Sam said, incredulous. “You’re skipping over the best parts, Freddy.”
“You know how to read, don’t you, Sam? You can go through them to your heart’s content,” Jericho said, exchanging a brief smile with Evie before returning his attention to the letter. “Here it is: ‘She consented to allow Margaret the liberty of a sample or two.’ ”
“Diviner blood,” Evie mused.
“The question is, what did they do with it?” Jericho asked.
“I got a feeling whatever it was, we’re the end result,” Sam said.
Evie examined the letter. She squinted at the return address, feeling a tingle. “ ‘Hopeful Harbor, New York,’ ” she read aloud. “Where’s that?”
“That’s the name of Marlowe’s family home upstate,” Jericho said. “Why?”
“Sam, remember when I read your mother’s photograph, I heard Will asking her to come to the Harbor? I thought it was an actual harbor somewhere. But what if he meant Hopeful Harbor? What if that’s where all the Project Buffalo testing happened?”
“Doll, I think you were right that all of these things are connected. And don’t say anything about Nietzsche and the eternal recurrence, Freddy.”
Evie frowned. “What’s the matter, Jericho? You do look very serious.”
“He was born that way,” Sam said. “Came out reading philosophy.”
“It’s these letters. The last one was from Will, dated 1917. It read, ‘You were right. I was wrong. I’m sorry.’ That’s it. No explanation.”
“Maybe he was sorry for being a chump.”
“Maybe,” Jericho said. “But what if it was something else?”
There was a creaking sound, and they all stilled, eyes on the door in case it was Will coming home. But it was only the wind making the Bennington’s Victorian bones moan.
Evie bit her lip. “Jericho, I feel awful asking this—”
“But it’s not going to stop her,” Sam said.
“What if you said yes to Marlowe’s offer? What if you went up to his estate after all?”
Sam sat up, looking from Evie to Jericho. “What are you talking about?”
Evie ignored him. “You could spy on him, report back to us.”
“Spy on Jake Marlowe?” Jericho’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a tall order.”
“Wait, why are we spying? What are you talking about?” Sam pressed.
“Marlowe was part of the Paranormal Department. He knows what happened with Project Buffalo! And that card reader is probably at his house. You could find it for us.” Evie took Jericho’s hand. “Please. We have to know what happened.”
“All right,” Jericho said. He didn’t want to let go of Evie’s hand just yet.
“Really? You will?”
It was her smile that did it. Jericho would do anything for that smile. Hadn’t he wanted to make his mark? This was a start. Instead of shelving books filled with adventures, he’d be living one. “I’m almost out of serum. I have to do something. At least if I’m spying on Marlowe and getting answers about Project Buffalo, I won’t feel like he holds all the power over my choices.”
Sam waved his hands. “Is no one gonna tell me what this is about?”
“Okay if I fill Sam in?” Evie said.
“You’ll have to. Otherwise, he’ll never shut up. You’ll wander the streets hearing only his annoying voice in your head. I can think of no greater torture,” Jericho deadpanned.
Sam clipped Jericho’s arm playfully with his fist. Jericho didn’t even flinch. Wincing, Sam shook out his hand. “Holy smokes, you are solid.”
“You can see me out, Sam. I’ll tell you on the way,” Evie said, putting on her hat.
Sam nodded at Evie’s hat. “It’s called a tam,” Sam whispered to Jericho. “Whatever you do, don’t insult it.”
“I don’t know what to say to Will, though. He and Marlowe hate each other, and Marlowe hates Diviners. If Will hears I left to join up with Marlowe’s exhibition, it’ll feel like a betrayal,” Jericho said, the thought weighing heavily on him.
“Will could never hate you. It’s only for a few weeks, and then you can let him know the truth,” Evie promised. “Oh, thank you, Jericho!” She hugged Jericho, and Jericho didn’t say what bothered him most about their plan: He’d be away from Evie.
Evie shrugged on her coat and made a beeline for the telephone.
“Thought we were leaving. What are you doing now?” Sam asked.
“I’m calling an emergency Diviners meeting.”
“Now? Here?” Sam asked.
Evie made a face as she dialed Theta’s number. “Don’t be silly. At the Hotsy Totsy. I’m not having this discussion without jazz and gin.”