chapter one hundred

When I opened my puffy eyes, the sun was poking long fingers along the far wall. My face felt thick and distorted like someone had kicked it. I raised myself up slowly and groaned at the effort. Why couldn't I just unscrew my head for a few days until everything felt better? But I supposed going headless would have involved a whole other set of complications. I staggered to the bathroom and did what people do first thing in the morning. After that was done, a quick glance in the mirror confirmed my suspicions that things were definitely going to look worse before they started to look better. As I was swishing some water in my mouth trying to get rid of the taste of teeth left un-brushed the night before, a man with a huge white hand appeared in the open doorway.

"Cabberon!" I blubbered as water dribbled down my chin. "Whab are you doing ub here?"

"Mind if I use my bathroom?" He spoke slowly, as if running on seventy percent battery power. I swallowed the water, not having the courage to spit in front of the detective, and moved towards the doorway. For some reason, Cameron wouldn't step aside to let me out. The painkillers were probably making him a bit slow and stupid, so I took him gently by the shoulders and pushed. Nothing moved, so I pushed harder. A mischievous smirk took up residence on his mouth and I backed away, raising my hands in the air in surrender.

"Okay. What do you want?"

"While I have you here, I thought we might discuss the terms of our arrangement," he began cryptically.

"Um, what arrangement would that be?" Was he talking about the land deal? Was he telling me he didn't appreciate my taking over his bedroom and bathroom without asking?

"I will obviously be needing a little help in the next few weeks," he lifted up his left hand, in case I didn't catch his point, "and I would like to hire you as my personal assistant." He held up his one good hand to stop me from interrupting. "Let me warn you that it might include some, how shall I say, delicate operations." He smiled at my look of concern and added, "Basically, I won't be able to button a shirt very well."

"No!" I surprised both of us with my emphatic response.

The smile quickly disappeared off his face. "I understand. It would be uncomfortable for you." He shrugged. "That's fine, I'll get a home care service. I just thought that..." He left the sentence unfinished.

"I'm sorry..." I began.

The phone in the bedroom jangled and Cameron left me standing apologetically in the bathroom. It was Richard Sanders with news about Viola. Tait had contacted him this morning with an ultimatum: unless Sanders dropped all intention of exposing the corporation, Tait could not guarantee the safety of Richard's wife and unborn child.

I stood speechless in the middle of the bedroom as Cameron relayed this new development to me. He shook his head and muttered, "So now they’re adding kidnapping to their long list of crimes.” He stared out the window for a moment and then I saw the hard edge of determination settle on his face. “I think it’s high time to pull the plug on these bastards. You coming?”

Blair strode out of the room and I had no choice but to follow him.