Part 7 (1/2)
”You're not answering the door like that,” he said firmly as his hands cupped my b.r.e.a.s.t.s through my T-s.h.i.+rt. ”Those are mine and only mine. I don't want some other guy getting a view of the nipples that I made hard.”
”Jakob, you're being ridiculous. You know Blake is just a friend.”
”A friend that wanted you and most probably still wants you,” he said grumpily as the doorbell rang.
”Jakob, stop being stupid.”
”Put on a bra and some shorts,” he said as he grabbed a pair of black sweatpants. ”I'm going to answer the door.”
”Without a s.h.i.+rt on?” I said snarkily.
”And with no boxers either.” He grinned as he walked to the door. ”Maybe he'll notice that he interrupted us at an inopportune moment.”
”You're gross.”
”Nope. Just h.o.r.n.y.” He laughed and slapped me on the bottom as he hurried out of the room. ”I expect you to finish what you started when he leaves.”
”You're the one who started it,” I protested as my face flushed, but he just walked out of the room.
”Sorry about earlier, Bianca.” Blake's face was flushed, and he looked up at me with a guilty expression. ”I hope you weren't waiting at the coffee shop too long.”
”It's fine. I was more worried about you,” I said as I sat next to him. I could see Jakob glaring at me as I rubbed Blake's leg.
”I got caught up at the library.” Blake's eyes were blazing with excitement. ”I didn't want to leave until I was clear about what I found.”
”What exactly did you find?” Jakob asked impatiently. ”Is my dad alive?”
”Well, I'm not sure.” Blake leaned forward as his voice lowered. ”But there is no death certificate for him.”
”What do you mean there is no death certificate?” Jakob frowned. ”There has to be a death certificate.”
”There isn't one that I can find.” Blake shook his head. ”Which isn't altogether unusual, because they never found a body.”
”Yes, we know that.” Jakob rolled his eyes.
”Did you know that your dad was working on a cryopreservation machine?”
”A what?” I said in confusion.
”A machine to help humans stay alive forever.”
”Like in Vanilla Sky?” My jaw dropped, and I looked at Jakob. ”That's a movie with Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz.”
”Ask me if I care.” Jakob smiled at me. ”Though I'm glad to know if I ever need a movie-related lifeline, I can call you.”
I stuck my tongue out at him and turned to Blake. ”So what you're saying is that Jeremiah is alive and will live forever?”
”No.” Blake laughed. ”I don't know that. As far as I can see, there are no machines that can guarantee an everlasting life. No one can live forever.”
”So he's dead, then?”
”I don't know. We have no valid proof of his death.” Blake shook his head, and Jakob jumped up, an exasperated look on his face.
”So what are you saying?” Jakob sounded annoyed. ”Aside from the fact that my dad may be dead or alive? Is that what you were so excited to tell us?”
”No.” Blake grinned and gave me a look as if to say, Is he always like this?
”So you know how when you and Bianca came back and they arrested him for embezzling, it came out that Larry Maxwell became Larry Renee?”
”Yes, we knew that already.”
”And you know how Rosie is Larry's daughter?”
”Yup.” Jakob was irritated, and I gave him a short look. I wondered if his blue b.a.l.l.s were why he was being such a d.i.c.khead. Maybe I needed to take him into the bedroom and finish the job I'd started before we talked to Blake.
”Well, did you also know that Larry has only been married once?”
”What?” I frowned, and Jakob stopped pacing back and forth.
”Larry has only been married once,” Blake said with a grin. ”And that was to Rosie's mother, Brigitta.”
”But what about Mrs. Renee?” I said with a frown. ”I've met her. We've both met her.” I looked at Jakob, and Jakob nodded his a.s.sent.
”Yeah, we both met her.”
”What if I told you that Mrs. Renee didn't exist?”
”We saw her in the flesh,” Jakob said. ”Unless you're now going to tell us that the frightened woman we saw was a ghost.” His voice was sarcastic as he stared at me. ”There's another one for you, Bianca. Maybe we're real-life ghost whisperers.”
”Ghost Whisperer was a TV show, not a movie.” I rolled my eyes at him and then looked back at Blake. ”But we did see her, Blake. She definitely existed.”
”Yes, I believe you saw someone.” Blake nodded. ”However, whoever that someone was, was not Mrs. Renee. She was not related to Larry.”
”But they've been married for years,” I said, as my mind raced back. ”I know that for sure. I've met her before.”
”Maybe they were common-law spouses,” Jakob said. ”Is that all you've got for us?”
”Did you know that Larry bought the house in Long Island the week after Oliver Case died?”
”Oliver Case?” Jakob frowned. ”Steve's dad?”
”Yes. Oliver Case had one relative at the time of his death, a younger sister by the name of Penny. She was never married. And she disappeared a couple of days after her brother died.”
”How do you know that?”
”I uncovered a missing persons report in my research. She left her job and never came back-her landlady filed a report a few days after the funeral. She said that Oliver was the one who sent in the rent check every month.”
”Okay, so say all that is true,” Jakob said as he sat back down. ”Say Mrs. Renee was Oliver's sister. Why would she marry Larry? Or pretend to be Larry's wife?”
”That's what I wanted to know.” Blake grinned excitedly. ”Why would Oliver's sister disappear and take up with Larry?”