She picked up the dirty clothes, stuffed them into a laundry bag, and shoved the bag into her suitcase. Her windbreaker was in tatters, so she dropped it into the wastebasket. She would have to buy a new one before she went outside. She paused, wondering exactly where she was going out to. She had taken the room for two nights, and her plane ticket home was for four-thirty that afternoon. Was she really leaving? Was her part in all of this over? She remembered her promise to herself the night before that she would see things-through to the end. She had made that promise for Ariel and Audrey and Boot, but for herself, as well.
She looked around the morn. Well, what she would do next depended on what John Ross had to say.
The long, dark, feral shape of the demon chasing her through the park flashed unexpectedly in the back of her mind. She hugged herself and set her jaw determinedly. She was done with running out of fear and a lack of preparation. She would be ready if the demon came at her again. She would find a way to deal with it.
But it was John Ross who needed strengthening. It was Ross the demon was really after, not her. She was Just a distraction, an annoyance, a threat to its plans for him. Once Ross was subverted, it wouldn’t matter what she did.
She went out the door and rode the elevator dawn to the lobby. Ross was sitting in a chair across from her when she stepped out, and he came to his feet immediately, leaning heavily on the walking stick.
“Good morning,” he said. as she came up to him. She saw the shock in his expression as he got a closer look at her face.
“Good morning,” she replied. She gave him a wry smile. “The rest of me looks just as bad, in case you’re wondering.”
He looked distraught. “I was. Did this happen at Lincoln Park? I got your message from Stef.”
“I’ll tell you everything over breakfast. Or lunch, if you prefer. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since yesterday about this same time. Come on.”
She led him into the dining room and asked for a table near the back wall, some distance apart from those that were occupied. They sat dawn facing each other and accepted menus from the waitress. Nest studied hers momentarily and put it aside.
“You said something’s happened,” she prodded, studying his face.
He nodded. “Fresh Start burned down last night. Ray Hapgood was killed. They made a positive identification this morning.” His voice sounded stiff and uncomfortable. “Ray was working the night shift for me, it turns out. I didn’t know this. I didn’t even know I was scheduled to work it this week. I don’t know why I didn’t know, but that’s the least of what’s bothering me.” He shook his head. “Ray was a good friend. I’m having a lot of trouble with that.”
“When did this happen?” she asked right away. “What time, I mean?”
“Sometime after midnight. I was asleep. Stef woke me, got me up to take a look out the window, to make sure of what she was seeing. We called 911, then rushed over to wake the people in the building. Stef went all the way to the top floor. She got everyone out but Ray.”
Nest barely listened to him as he filled in the details, her mind occupied with working out the logistics of the demon’s movements between Lincoln Park and Pioneer Square. It couldn’t have been both places at once if the events happened concurrently, but there was an obvious gap in time between when it was chasing her and when it would have set the fire. It would have had to rush right back after she had escaped, but it could have done so.
But why would it bother setting fire to Fresh Start? What reason could it possibly have for doing that?
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said suddenly. “I’ve been thinking it, too. But the fire marshall’s office says the fire started because of frayed or faulty wiring in the furnace system. It wasn’t arson.”