Ghosts of Christmas Past by Corrina Lawson Page B

that?”
    â€œIt’s not really turning invisible.” Lucy explained about the telepathic command and how people only just thought they couldn’t see her.
    â€œI was so scared, and I wanted to hide from Jill so bad that I thought long and hard about her coming back to my cell and not seeing me. So she didn’t.”
    â€œAnd Al fell in love with you before you learned how to turn this on and off? Meaning he couldn’t see you at all? Not for weeks?”
    Lucy nodded. “Not till I found a way to control the invisibility. Er, I mean, telepathy.”
    â€œSo Al cared about you before he knew you were, uh, you.”
    â€œYeah.” Cassandra was more right than she realized. Lucy’s memory had been full of holes from the six years of medical torture. She’d no memory of any life before her kidnapping. Noir had been a self-creation, a desperate statement that she was still somebody.
    That Al fell in love with Noir meant the world. But now that Lucy existed again…
    â€œAl is… He understands. He gets it.”
    â€œClearly.” Cassandra looked around. “Especially if he even set up a refuge for you.”
    â€œHe only wanted me to be safe,” Lucy said.
    â€œâ€˜Only’? Lucy, a man goes through all this for you, he’s all in.”
    â€œHe never said anything about… I mean, we’re living together, but he buries himself in the job. I think he’s annoyed we don’t work on cases together as much as he wants. It feels good when we work together but…I’m not a cop, not like Al.”
    â€œYou’re helping me like a cop would,” Cassandra said.
    Lucy shrugged and tapped the papers. “The people in Salvatore’s office had some weird things to say about why they wanted him.”
    â€œLike what?”
    Lucy related the conversation between Schneider and the man helping her.
    â€œSchneider’s a piece of work. Salvatore never talks much about his job but he’s mentioned her a few times when she’s pissed him off. She’s a card puncher, she doesn’t care about the job. Burned out, he said. I’m surprised she cared enough about a dead guy to get so angry. But what could she be talking about, accusing Salvatore of stealing city property? What the hell is there to steal, anyway? Post-its? And who was murdered?”
    â€œThat’s what I couldn’t figure out. Maybe Schneider and this guy are doing an accounting trick to somehow siphon off city money to themselves.”
    â€œThat’s embezzling, not stealing property, and I got the impression from Salvatore that Schneider isn’t that bright. But maybe she’s that stupid.” Cassandra picked up the trinket. “Hey! I made this.”
    â€œThat was underneath his desk, as if it had been dropped or kicked there,” Lucy said.
    Cassandra put it on the corner of the flattened calendar page. “Salvatore would never do that. He takes care of what I give him. They must have knocked it over when they searched his office. Well, it can watch over me now.”
    Lucy stood. “You study the calendar and I’ll see what I can do with the thumb drive. Oh, why did he have the museum postcard?”
    â€œI told him about our exhibit. He was psyched for me.”
    â€œMakes sense.”
    Cassandra grabbed Lucy’s arm.
    â€œLucy, you really think my guy’s alive?”
    She nodded. “If they’re worried about him talking or hiding evidence, or creating a scheme to get you and lure Salvatore to them, that means they haven’t caught him yet.”
    â€œWe have to find him first.”
    â€œYes. I bet he was worried about pulling you into danger and that’s why he didn’t come home.” Or he might be dead somewhere.
    â€œProtecting me, that would be just like Salvatore.” Strength returned to Cassandra’s voice.
    Lucy walked over to the computer station and cracked her