Kaitlin.”
“She’s not in there.”
“According to Ruby, she is.”
“Well, the dog’s wrong. That’s my room. Kaitlin knows it’s off limits.”
His room? Max had wondered where he slept but assumed he had a place connected to the lab. “She’s usually right.”
“This time it’s not.”
“She’s not an it,” Max gritted out. What was it going to take to get him to lighten up?
He came up the stairs, brushed by Max and opened the door. Lo and behold, there stood Kaitlin, looking for all the world like a kid caught rummaging through her parents’ room.
Seeing Gary’s thunderous face, Kaitlin spoke up quickly, “I—came to see if you had any laundry.”
He folded his arms. “Laundry,” he echoed skeptically.
Max didn’t believe her for a moment.
“Yes, you asked me to take your sheets to the Laundromat. Remember?”
Max could see him scanning the room as if looking for her real purpose.
“I remember,” he said, “but I also remember telling you not to be in here without permission.”
She smiled that cute twenty-five-year-old smile that probably made lesser men believe her every word. “I know I’m not supposed to be up here, but sometimes, Adam, you get so busy that you forget stuff like washing your sheets.”
“Oh really?” He looked her up and down, then said harshly, “Get out, Kaitlin.”
Her shocked eyes morphed to hurt. “You don’t have to be so mean, Adam Gary.”
“Out.”
With her lip quivering, she shot Max a nasty look, then made a hasty exit.
Max waited until she was gone to say, “Guess Ruby was right, after all.”
He didn’t say anything.
Max wasn’t surprised, so she asked instead, “Do you keep anything connected to your work up here?”
“One of my desktops is over there.”
Max could see the screen saver on the computer’s monitor. Multiple strands of Einstein’s famous equation e = mc 2 floated lazily over the screen. “Check and see if she logged on or tampered with your disks. If she was up here after sheets, I’m five-foot-two.”
Max thought he smiled in response to her quip, but like last time, it vanished so quickly she wasn’t sure.
While he sat down and booted up, she checked out the room. This was obviously the attic. The space was circular, with walls paneled in cherrywood. Large windows overlooked the lake. Built-in shelves, filled top to bottom with books, dominated one wall, and a huge black metal bed covered with a beautiful indigo quilt dominated another. Where his downstairs outer office resembled a cave, this space with its plush gold and ivory Turkish rug, framed artwork, and neatly stacked audio components resembled a cocoon. Also unlike the office downstairs, the bedroom was barracks clean, not a book or paper out of place. The room exuded haven, and she thought it would be the perfect place to cuddle in and let the world go by, but she doubted he knew anything about that. On the other hand, she liked seeing him in real clothes. He was wearing an old MIT T-shirt, jeans, and Reeboks. Without the lab coat, the lean muscles in his arms showed themselves for the first time. He had atrim waist and the jeans fit real nice. Not bad for a brother made out of ice water.
To put herself back on track, she asked him, “Any idea what she really might have been doing?”
He shrugged. “No telling. Nothing seems moved or out of place, though.”
“I’ll have a lock put on tomorrow.”
“Good.” For a moment there was silence as he did a quick scan of his programs, then said, “Nothing indicating she logged on so far.” Adam clicked on his mailbox and saw a message from his mother. Smiling, he opened it. A digitalized picture began to load and seconds later her face appeared. Her brown eyes, so like his, were filled with intelligence, and as always a spark of mischief. He glanced to the bottom of the pic and froze. Beneath the picture were the words: Will the lioness fight as fiercely as the cub? Have a good evening. Your
“She’s not in there.”
“According to Ruby, she is.”
“Well, the dog’s wrong. That’s my room. Kaitlin knows it’s off limits.”
His room? Max had wondered where he slept but assumed he had a place connected to the lab. “She’s usually right.”
“This time it’s not.”
“She’s not an it,” Max gritted out. What was it going to take to get him to lighten up?
He came up the stairs, brushed by Max and opened the door. Lo and behold, there stood Kaitlin, looking for all the world like a kid caught rummaging through her parents’ room.
Seeing Gary’s thunderous face, Kaitlin spoke up quickly, “I—came to see if you had any laundry.”
He folded his arms. “Laundry,” he echoed skeptically.
Max didn’t believe her for a moment.
“Yes, you asked me to take your sheets to the Laundromat. Remember?”
Max could see him scanning the room as if looking for her real purpose.
“I remember,” he said, “but I also remember telling you not to be in here without permission.”
She smiled that cute twenty-five-year-old smile that probably made lesser men believe her every word. “I know I’m not supposed to be up here, but sometimes, Adam, you get so busy that you forget stuff like washing your sheets.”
“Oh really?” He looked her up and down, then said harshly, “Get out, Kaitlin.”
Her shocked eyes morphed to hurt. “You don’t have to be so mean, Adam Gary.”
“Out.”
With her lip quivering, she shot Max a nasty look, then made a hasty exit.
Max waited until she was gone to say, “Guess Ruby was right, after all.”
He didn’t say anything.
Max wasn’t surprised, so she asked instead, “Do you keep anything connected to your work up here?”
“One of my desktops is over there.”
Max could see the screen saver on the computer’s monitor. Multiple strands of Einstein’s famous equation e = mc 2 floated lazily over the screen. “Check and see if she logged on or tampered with your disks. If she was up here after sheets, I’m five-foot-two.”
Max thought he smiled in response to her quip, but like last time, it vanished so quickly she wasn’t sure.
While he sat down and booted up, she checked out the room. This was obviously the attic. The space was circular, with walls paneled in cherrywood. Large windows overlooked the lake. Built-in shelves, filled top to bottom with books, dominated one wall, and a huge black metal bed covered with a beautiful indigo quilt dominated another. Where his downstairs outer office resembled a cave, this space with its plush gold and ivory Turkish rug, framed artwork, and neatly stacked audio components resembled a cocoon. Also unlike the office downstairs, the bedroom was barracks clean, not a book or paper out of place. The room exuded haven, and she thought it would be the perfect place to cuddle in and let the world go by, but she doubted he knew anything about that. On the other hand, she liked seeing him in real clothes. He was wearing an old MIT T-shirt, jeans, and Reeboks. Without the lab coat, the lean muscles in his arms showed themselves for the first time. He had atrim waist and the jeans fit real nice. Not bad for a brother made out of ice water.
To put herself back on track, she asked him, “Any idea what she really might have been doing?”
He shrugged. “No telling. Nothing seems moved or out of place, though.”
“I’ll have a lock put on tomorrow.”
“Good.” For a moment there was silence as he did a quick scan of his programs, then said, “Nothing indicating she logged on so far.” Adam clicked on his mailbox and saw a message from his mother. Smiling, he opened it. A digitalized picture began to load and seconds later her face appeared. Her brown eyes, so like his, were filled with intelligence, and as always a spark of mischief. He glanced to the bottom of the pic and froze. Beneath the picture were the words: Will the lioness fight as fiercely as the cub? Have a good evening. Your
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