September 8th, Saturday - Casey Silpetti
The next day sees the girls heading out into a beautiful Saturday morning. The rain has passed for now, the clouds have lifted and the sun is shining warmly. It’s rather unseasonable weather, but no one in the city is complaining.
Casey is torn between using all of her film to test the new lens, or using only a little in case it doesn’t work. She ends up deciding to use the entire roll that she started on and seeing how they come out before she breaks out any more film, especially as all her money went towards buying it.
However, once out there she realizes she’ll need more than that, just to be able to get enough shots to try out all the different settings she can use. She decides to use half of the second roll, with the other half using a standard lens. Maybe she can get some shots she can sell that way also.
Armed with her camera bag, a notebook to note settings for each shot, and a bottle or two of water they head out for 3 Corners, figuring that it will be the best place to try out the lens.
The 3 Corners Open Air Market on Lucas Lane is bustling as always, even more crowded thanks to the beautiful weather. The girls wander the market, also checking out some of the converted factories surrounding it that have been turned into boutiques and condo’s.
Harmony uses the chance to shop at the fashionable stalls and boutiques that fill the area, and Casey takes pictures of the sights: the crowds, buildings, artwork and more. Harmony ends up with some cute gypsy skirts and a few tanks with artwork.
They grab some sandwiches from a small deli and head to one of the numerous small parks to sit and eat. Casey gets a few more pictures there of the ducks and geese, and some children playing.
Before it gets too late, Casey finishes off the second roll of film, and gets Harmony to drop her off at school so she can develop them. Harmony leaves her there to go run some errands, telling Casey to call her when she’s almost ready so she can head back to pick her up.
She takes her time developing them, letting her mind wander as she goes through the familiar motions. Finally, she has two rolls of negatives hanging to dry. She lets her curiosity get the better of her, and carefully dries the negatives using a hair dryer. She makes contact sheets of the negatives and she studies those taken with her new lens first. She was right about how hard it is to use the lens, most of the pictures are dark smears. But a few seem ok, and with practice she could probably raise the number that come out. She marks in her notebook which settings didn’t work at all and circles the ones she wants to print on the contact sheets. Casey goes ahead and prints all the photos that are worth anything from both rolls. She uses the hair dryer again on the prints, eager to examine them more closely.
She throws away the couple that still didn’t turn out, and stacks the others carefully on the examination table. She forces herself to turn and check out the shots she took with her normal lens. There are a few in there that she thinks should sell. All in all a good days work.
She puts those in an envelope and into her bag before turning back to the exam table. She lights it, and pulls over the magnifier. The pictures are soft, the focus not quite on. They are also heavily shadowed, but she surprised that enough light could get through the lens to even get this much.
One of the pictures that came out best is one of the converted warehouses. But looking at it closely, she feels a chill run down her back.
She remembers the warehouse that she chose to shoot. It had been turned into a condo, and she had found the incongruity of the newly installed windows in the plain-jane exterior and the new landscaping appealing.
This isn’t the same building. There are no windows in the exterior. The landscaping is no longer there, although there are shadows where some of it should be.
War posters cover the wall, and there is a line of people there that were definitely not there when she took the picture. They wear the simple, dirty coveralls of factory workers, and in their faces she can see the tired look of those who have worked hard. Smoke billows out from the chimney’s that are no longer there.
Not only that, but if she looks hard enough, there are bits of color scattered about the picture. It’s most noticeable when she exams the war posters. They’re faded and pale, but there are colored, no doubt. Casey shakes her head, unable to believe what she’s seeing. She looks again, and even though it doesn’t seem possible, there is color from her black and white film and black and white printing. ‘Impossible!’ she thinks.
None of the other pictures really stands out like that one, or so she thinks until she really exams the last. It was a shot she took at the park. In the distance there were some young boys playing under the watchful eye of their mother and a wandering beat cop. There was an old man sitting on a bench in the upper left of the composure, throwing bread out to the pigeons and smiling as he watched the children play.
She had captured just the boys playing with the old man watching over them, and in fact had taken another shot right after with her normal lens in case this one didn’t come out. It had been a nice composure, the old man looking on at the memory of his youth.
But now that she looks at this picture under the magnifier, the earlier chill she had settles again deep in her spine.
The old man is no longer smiling gently. In fact, he no longer is the old man she remembered. His face is stretched, twisted into harsh lines and an overlarge mouth filled with sharks teeth. Teeth she can see are stained red. His nose is sharp and flat, two slits in his clammy, gray face. His eyes are dark and malevolent, and watch the two boys playing with an evil hunger.
She jumps as her phone rings, and in that instant of terror she swears she can see the thing’s eyes turn away from the boys and towards her.
She jumps up from the table, almost slapping her phone away in her haste to grab it. She hears Harmony’s voice on the other side, obviously in her car.
“Hey Case, it’s getting dark, so I’m on my way to pick you up. Be there in five, k?”
“Ya-yeah, sure.” She hangs up and grabs all of her stuff, hastily throwing it all in her bag without looking at it too carefully. She opens the door and walks out into the lengthening shadows, hoping Harmony makes it here quick.
Casey makes her way to the school driveway, chilled from the cooler air and still unable to shake what she saw. Harmony pulls up at the same time Casey gets there. She hops in the car and Harm zooms off, in her typical fashion.
“How’d the new lens work? Did you get anything worthwhile?”
“A couple shots turned out…” she pauses for a minute until Harmony looks over at her. “They’re weird though. It’s…it’s kind of spooky actually.” A chill runs through her as she thinks about them again. She laughs nervously, trying to shake it off. “I think I need a long hot shower and a cheesy rom-com. What do you think about Chinese for dinner tonight?”
Harmony dips her head a little and blushes slightly. “Ummmm…how ‘bout a fast shower and dinner in, then clubbing?”
Casey turns and stares at her. “Anything else I should know about our plans for tonight?”
Harmony answers fast, the words all running together, her attention very much on the road in front of her, “AidenBiancaVeronicaandCadencearecomingtodinnertoo.” She pauses a second and grins really big over at Casey, “Happy Birthday?!?”
“Harm…”
“I know you didn’t want to make a big deal of your birthday, but it’s your 18th, and it wasn’t all my idea.”
“Harmony…”
“OK, so maybe I told Aiden it was your b-day today, but I think he already knew. And he told Veronica and they kind of decided we’d all have dinner and then go to the Power Plant. V invited Bianca and Cadence, although I think Cadence is only coming for dinner.”
“You know I don’t do dancing, Harm.”
“I know that, but that part was all Aiden’s idea. He said you wanted to go hang at the Power Plant sometime. You don’t do you? I should have known.”
Casey thinks for a second and then it hits her ‘Power Plant…Legal Tender. Aiden must think something’s still up about Roni’s kidnapping.’ “I think I did mention something about it to him. I guess I just forgot.”
They pull up to Harmony’s house and both go inside. “Case, they’re all gonna be here in like a half hour. I just need to change, I swam after I got home and showered after that, so the shower’s all yours. Ummm…I know you don’t have any clothes for going out really, so just pick whatever you want from my closet.”
Casey takes her shower and with towel wrapped around her, starts digging through Harmony’s closet. She hears chatting from downstairs and then footsteps on the stairs. There’s a light knock on the door and Aiden sticks his head in. Casey blushes and clutches at the towel, making sure it won’t fall and feeling overly exposed. “Hey Aiden.”
He steps into Harmony’s room and shuts the door behind him, but he keeps his eyes on the ground. “Hey Case. Did Harmony tell you we’re heading to the Power Plant tonight?”
“Yup, I’m trying to figure out what to wear.” Aiden walks over to the closet and Casey steps back. He pulls out a silvery halter top that will only cover the essentials and some dark purple leather pants. “Wear this, we’ll match.”
Casey looks at him and see’s he’s wearing dark blue jeans that are almost black, a black wifebeater and a black, purple and silver striped shirt over it. She laughs. “I think you’re wearing a little more than I will be.” She holds onto the towel and digs through Harmony’s closet some more. She grabs a red tank top and black fitted jeans. “How ‘bout this?” Aiden shakes his head no, takes the tank and jeans from Casey and hangs them up in the closet. He hands her the halter and leather, kisses her forehead and leaves without saying a word. She smiles to herself and decides to live on the edge (at least for tonight) she thinks. She quickly puts on the wild outfit before she changes her mind and then looks at herself in the mirror. The silver halter dips low between her breasts, with just the halter around her neck and a 1 inch band across her back holding it on…not even enough for her to wear a bra underneath. The leather pants are tight, molding to her like her own skin. She’s about to go change when Harmony comes into the room, wearing a very skimpy black minidress. Casey breathes a sigh of relief knowing she won’t be the only one dressed so skimpy as Harmony gives her a hug. “Great choice, Case! You look hot!”
Casey just laughs, “Aiden picked it. It doesn’t look too…skimpy?”
Harmony shakes her head, “Of course it’s skimpy, but we’re going clubbing. You’ll fit right in.” After a beat she adds, “But Aiden’s gonna have his hands full keeping the other guys away from you. You almost ready? The food’s here and the natives are getting restless.”
“Yeah, I just have to do hair and makeup - give me 15 and I’ll be down.” Harmony bounces out of the room (and almost out of her dress) Casey thinks. She puts some mousse in her hair to give it some natural curl, but lets it air dry. She uses Harmony’s makeup to do her face and then heads downstairs.
Cadence, Veronica, Bianca, Harmony, Aiden and even the few secret service agents there sing Happy Birthday as Casey comes downstairs. Blushing madly she gives her friends hugs and tells the secret service guys thanks. She’s happy to see that one of them is Fetch, looking much better than the last time she saw him. He smiles warmly at her, which makes up for the fact that the other agent is Agent Walker. They all laugh their way through dinner…a big Chinese buffet…glad to not be thinking about the horrors of the previous week. Then they all surprise Casey with gifts. She’s quiet for a minute, forcing herself not to cry, before they all start chanting at her to open them. Cadence gives her a pile of film - different speeds and qualities, some B&W, some color.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked to use, but I figured you’d have fun with it no matter what type it was. I hope it’s ok,” Cadence says. Casey gives her a small careful hug, “It’s perfect, thank you.” The other girl has been quiet throughout the dinner, but the fact that she’s even here speaks volumes to Casey. She remembers hearing the argument between Cadence and her mother over the fact that she just wanted to have friends. And then just a few days ago, she gave up that dream, all in the effort to keep Casey and Aiden safe from whatever it was that her mother was afraid of in the first place. And yet here she is, one day out of the hospital and looking like she’s been run over with an 18-wheeler, one arm in a sling and limping along with a medical cane in her other hand.
In fact, the other girl drives home Casey’s situation in an odd way. Finally having friends when she’s obviously not to used to it. Pushing them away because of the danger involved. She sits quietly at the table, obviously happy to be there and enjoying herself, but Casey can tell it’s only a matter of time before she bolts and runs, going home instead of staying with her friends, fleeting moments that they might be. She sits there watching Veronica out of the corner of her eye, and it’s obvious to Casey the way she acts that she’s crushing on the girl. Yet she made sure that Roni knew nothing of the great lengths that she went through to try and save her, leading to her savage beating and getting shot. All with the threat of being noticed by the media, which seemed to scare her more than getting hurt. Casey thinks back to how she’s been pushing away from Aiden the past few days, even though he’s done nothing but support her.
All of this has been in the back of her mind throughout the night, but while hugging the smaller girl in thanks for a gift she could have never expected, it zips to the forefront of her thoughts. Cadence whispers in her ear, “Aiden’s a lucky guy, you’re lookin’ hot tonight!” She pulls back, a genuine smile lighting her eyes. Casey smiles back, feeling her face heat up as she blushes, glancing over at Aiden.
From Harmony, she gets a gift certificate for a massage and a mani-pedi from a swanky spa downtown. “I figured we could go together, have a girl’s day…and maybe if someone else paints your nails, you won’t chip all the polish off,” Harmony grins while she wraps Casey in a bear hug.
Bianca and Veronica went in together on a gift for Casey. They got her a new leather portfolio and had some business cards printed. Casey runs her fingers over the soft leather of the portfolio and feels the tears in her eyes trying to spill out. “Thank you both so much.” She gives each of them a tight hug and sniffles a little bit.
And finally, from Aiden she gets a new cell phone. “I had your number switched over to this phone and put you on my plan. I’m covering the first 3 months, and after that, if you want to keep it, you can just give me 10 bucks a month.” He grins at her, “It’s gotta be cheaper than that pay-as-you-go plan you’re currently using…especially since you’ve got all of us to call you now.”
Casey gapes back at him, adding it up in her head, “Aiden, that’s too much. You already bought me clothes, now this. I…it…it’s just too much.”
He gives her a quick kiss. “Then consider the clothes a back-to-school gift, and this your birthday gift.”
She looks down at her new phone, turning it over, “Thank you.” During this, Veronica and Harmony snuck off into the kitchen. Bianca dims the lights and they come back in with a DQ cake as everybody sings Happy Birthday to Casey again. Casey blows out the candles and they all enjoy ice cream cake. When they’re done, Cadence calls her mom to come pick her up. They all hang out until she gets there, although Casey is the only one to notice that it’s not her mom’s mustang that picks her up. She’s quite familiar with that car, having heard its throaty growl pull up outside so many times. She can’t tell who’s driving, but she has her ideas. Everyone else heads over to the Power Plant - chauffered by the secret service men assigned to Veronica and Bianca. The scary woman she noticed at school is also waiting outside, she follows them to the club. It looks like the Secret Service guys aren’t too crazy about her being on the job.
They get to the club and get in, their hands stamped with “U21” stamps to show they’re under-aged. The place is packed, and jumping. The building itself is one huge, cavernous room. There are walkways that run in rings around the building, some opening up into large areas that have been turned into dance floors, high above the ground. All of it is grated metal, allowing the flickering and pulsing lights to drift down through the crowds above, shadowed and feverish.
The music is a deep, throbbing wave that pulses through up through the floor and completely through her body. The heat of hundreds of dancing bodies washes over her, making her a little grateful for her lack of clothes (although only a little).
Harmony looks back at her, a huge grin covering her face. Next to her Bianca stands there looking around, her body rocking with the beat. They both look at home here, but poor Roni looks completely overwhelmed by it all.
Aiden’s hand presses against the bare flesh of Casey’s lower back, and she feels the quick ripple of goosebumps run across her skin. They all make their way to one of the tables on the bottom floor. There are numerous tables and couches and booths in this area, a resting point for those too weary to continue their revelry.
They find an empty table, and Aiden heads to the bar to get everyone something to drink. Harmony makes a motion to Casey, asking her if she wants to go dance. Casey shakes her head vigorously. Harmony smiles silently at her, and heads out onto the floor.
Aiden gets back with some bottled water and soft drinks, looks for Harmony until Casey points her out. Her exuberant personality dials itself up quite a few notches when she gets out on the dance floor.
They make small talk for a while, before Bianca joins Harmony out on the dance floor. Before long they’re surrounded by guys, Fetch’s eyes drifting over there every few moments. The scary woman bodyguard has melted into the crowd, and Fetch and Walker seem content to sit at a table next to theirs.
Casey notices that Bianca is careful to dance with Harmony and not with the guys surrounding them. Although Fetch watches closely, she doesn’t notice any jealousy in his eyes, just caution. She had almost forgotten about the hidden relationship she had picked up on between the two of them, with everything that had happened.
Roni keeps up small talk between the three of them, not allowing Casey a chance to talk to Aiden about the pictures she had taken earlier, something she wants to do. Harmony and Bianca take turns coming back to the table for a while, and Harmony even manages to get Aiden out on the dance floor when it’s obvious he won’t be able to get Casey out there easily.
Casey keeps her eyes searching the building whenever she gets the chance, looking for anything that might lead to Legal Tender. Next to the bar is a hallway that leads back to bathrooms and phones, she thinks that a few people who’ve gone back that way haven’t come back. So far it’s her only lead.
“Aiden! How funny to run into you here.” The voice comes from behind Casey, and she turns to see Chance Mors standing there. He’s got some girl on his arm that is at least college aged, and looks to be a model.
He looks over at Casey, and smiles as his eyes drift up and down her body, making the unease of her outfit come flying back. Casey crosses her arms across her chest, trying to cover herself. He manages not to leer (too much), before looking back over at Aiden. “And why haven’t you introduced us, Aiden? Where does this beauty go to school at, or have you finally realized high-school girls are too immature? Present company excluded, of course Veronica. Good to see you safe by the way, and I have to say that danger does wonders to bring out your beauty as well.” He smirks and turns back to Casey.
The reputation that preceded him was obviously true. “Actually, Chance, I’ve been going to school with you now for the past two years. Thanks to your father, that is.” She musters as close to a smile as she can, suddenly thankful that Harmony is nowhere close by.
The model on Chance’s arm looks bored, and starts to whisper something to him. He just drops his arm and pulls away from her, completely ignoring her. She looks pissed, and walks off. He pretends to examine Casey closely. “You know, you do look awful familiar. Of course (he leers), I don’t normally get to see this much of you. I’ll have to have a talk with the principal about new uniforms.”
Casey feels the heat rush to her face as Aiden steps up, not so playfully hitting Chance on the shoulder. “Hey, be nice to my girlfriend, or I’ll forget why we’re friends.”
He smiles his million dollar smile, and bows towards Casey. “My apologies, miss. I forget that not everyone is as crude as me, sometimes.” He and Aiden step off to talk for a moment, and Casey is startled by Veronica snorting out “Pig!”
She turns to the younger girl, who looks back at her earnestly. Within seconds, they are both laughing hard with each other.
They finally manage to stop laughing, and Casey notices Bianca heading back this way. Taking this to be her opportunity, she leans over to Roni and tells her she’s going get a drink.
She walks towards the bar, trying to nonchalantly check and see if anyone noticed her heading this way. She makes her way towards the hallway, wondering if maybe she should have waited until Aiden was free before she did this.
The dim hallway stretches out in front of her, seeming to go further than she had thought it would. A small sign on the wall points towards the far end, with the symbol for bathrooms and phones on it. There are a few people standing in the hallway, either talking in the relative quiet or making out against the walls.
She moves past them, her nervousness increasing the further she goes. She refuses to let it get the best of her, and at the far end of the hallway it ends in a T with a cross hallway. To the left she sees the doors of the unisex bathrooms, to her right she sees what looks like closets turned into phone booths. Neither one looks appealing to check out alone.
She doesn’t get the chance to decide which way to check first. A hand comes down on her shoulder, causing her to nearly fly out of her skin (and her top). She spins around, pulling away from whoever it is, ready to run at a moment’s notice.
She feels the shock hit her as she realizes who it is. Faust.
She stands there, part of her mind realizing that she’s awkwardly gawking at him. The bass beat of the club reverberates down the hall and through the floor, as the hall almost seems to shrink to include just the two of them. He doesn’t look too thrilled.
“What the hell are you doing here with her?” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder, and there’s no question as to who he’s pointing at.
A sliver of anger lights deep in Casey. This guy has been nothing but vague and insulting since she met him, and it’s getting rather old quickly.
“Do you really think she’d be going anywhere without bodyguards after what happened?” she spits out.
Faust actually has the nerve to chuckle in response. “Yeah, I saw them. Even the Dancer trying to look casual, like no one would notice her. She might be able to stop the riffraff, maybe even some of the big-dogs that come here, but not everything. Not if they knew what she was protecting, and wanted it bad enough. Damnit girl, don’t you know the kind of people that come here?”
“No, actually I don’t! Because all you do is speak in riddles or something. You never come out and actually say anything that makes sense.”
“Well, you’re certainly not going to get in to where you’re looking for, not without a sponsorship. And I’m not so sure you deserve one. Speaking of your little friend out there, did you figure out who didn’t want me in on the job?”
“The mayor’s people. Maybe they just didn’t want to have to put up with such an ass!”
Even with the frustration and anger welling up, she notices the suddenly grim face come over him. “Why, is that bad?”
He looks past her shoulder, as though he can see Roni even though there’s a wall in the way. Part of her wonders if somehow he can’t actually see her.
He looks back at her. “It means you might as well wipe her out of your address book, she won’t be around much longer.” He doesn’t lighten up or respond to the look of shock that crosses her face. “If Laithe is after her, he’ll make sure no one else gets to her.”
“Laithe…who’s Laithe?”
He looks back over Casey’s shoulder, ignoring her question, his eyes resting on a point past the wall. “In that case, someone’ll have to kill her before Laithe can get his hands on her. That means it’ll probably be me.”
Casey feels her world tilt, and feels a faint wave of dizziness rise up from her suddenly nauseous stomach. Faust looks back at her, and sad concern touches his face.
“It’s not like I want to. But someone as bad as Laithe can’t get his hands on what that girl is. It sucks, but bad shit happens to good people. Unless that girl gets someone with a lot of guts, a lot of power, and more than a little determination to keep her safe… well, if you don’t want to get hurt I’d suggest forgetting she’s even alive.”
Casey leans back hard against the walls, unsure if her legs will keep her upright. Of all the things she ever imagined, hearing someone she thought was good calmly talk about murdering a 14 year old girl, one of the sweetest and gentlest person that Casey has ever known, is just too much. “You mean, you’d actually kill her? Just like that? What did she ever do to you?” Casey feels her anger rising. “You can’t do that! Why can’t you protect her instead? You seem to know more about her than most people, and seem to think you know what’s best for everyone…well maybe you do and maybe you don’t, but…”
“Hey! What the hell is going on?” Aiden’s voice cuts through the noise, and she turns to see him stalking up quickly, and angry glare etched on his face aimed at Faust.
Taking one look at her face, that glare is replaced by concern as he pulls her into his arms. “Hey, you ok?” he whispers into her ear.
“What the hell did you do—” He turns to face Faust, but the hallway in front of them is empty. They both look left and right looking for the other man, but he’s not to be seen.
“What did he say, Case?”
“He said Veronica’s not going to be around much longer, and talked about having to kill her himself. Something about some guy named Laithe. She needs someone with guts and power to keep her safe, that the secret service won’t be able to protect her.” Casey feels tears on her cheeks, before realizing she’s crying. “I just…Roni’s the nicest, most genuine person I know, and as hard as it is to admit, she really is one of my only friends. I don’t think I can let anything happen to her, but I don’t know how to do anything for her either.”
Aiden takes her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. “Casey, I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it right now. Let’s head back before anyone notices we’re missing.”
“Oh wait! He said I wasn’t going to get into the place I was looking for and that even if I wanted to, I’d need a sponsorship. So at least we know Legal Tender does exist.”
“Well, at least we know it exists. We can try and find it later. Come on.”
They go back to the table to find that Harmony and Bianca have gotten Veronica out on the dance floor and another group has taken over their table. Both Fetch and Agent Walker are standing on the perimeter, as close as they can get to the girls without actually being on the dance floor. Aiden drags Casey out to the dance floor. The 3 girls pull her into their circle, leaving Aiden out. He heads to the bar to get some water and leaves them dancing. Casey relaxes a bit and even has some fun on the floor. The girls stay in a circle dancing together, even though quite a few guys try to move in. Eventually they head to the bar for water and to meet up with Aiden. They all dance some more, even Casey, and end up closing out the club. The secret service takes Harmony, Casey and Aiden back to Harmony’s house before heading back to the Kane residence. Harmony tells Aiden goodnight and leaves them alone downstairs.
“Did you have a good birthday, Casey?”
“It was the best birthday I’ve ever had! I can’t believe you guys even got me out dancing.”
“I’m glad you had fun.” He leans in and kisses her. The kiss going from soft and romantic to hot and passionate. “I love this outfit. It shows off all your assets beautifully.” He kisses her again, his hand slipping under what little fabric there is covering her breasts. “Harmony told me I could spend the night if I wanted to.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” he answers, kissing along her neck. “Said her parents are busy this weekend and she thinks I’m good for you.” He kisses some more, “Oh, and she said she sleeps like a rock and will never hear anything we do…and she keeps condoms in her medicine cabinet.”
They both laugh. “When did she have time to tell you all this?”
“When I first got here. So, what do you say? Do I get to stay, or do I have to go?”
Casey blushes beet red and very softly answers, “You can stay.” She continues in a louder voice, “But I need to talk to you about that lens Faust got me before we do anything else.”
“What about it?”
“Come on.” She takes him up to her room and shows him the photos she took with the new lens.
She hands him the first, but before she can hand him the second she stops. “That’s not right,” she says.
“What isn’t?” He looks up from the picture of the building, which she had noticed looked more faded than before when she handed it to him. But now her eyes are on the photo in her hands, the one taken at the park.
It’s faded a lot since she last looked at it – which it shouldn’t be – but is still quite legible. However, the picture has changed. The two boys are looking towards the bench, and the old man who was sitting there before is now standing. He’s still staring at the boys, but now his mouth is open in a predatory smile, and it almost seems to Casey that he’s hunched as though about to launch himself at them.
“What’s the matter Case?”
She shakily hands the picture over to him. “I don’t remember it being like this, it was different when I looked at it earlier.”
He gives her a look as he takes it from her, but as crazy as it sounds even to her, he looks like he believes her completely.
“OK, that’s creepy. Did you get a chance to ask him about it tonight?”
“No. I was a little too shocked about what he was saying about Roni.”
“Maybe we should go pay him a visit tomorrow,” Aiden says as he starts kissing her again. The kissing turns into more, “Where’s her bathroom?” Casey points the way and Aiden returns in a minute. They both end up naked, making love. Eventually they fall asleep, snuggled together.
