Ryan couldn’t let it go as he kept his eyes locked on the door, maybe hoping for a return visit. Grace felt a wave of relief knowing they were gone.
“What did he want?” asked Annie nervously.
“To taunt us, I guess,” said Grace as she came out from behind the counter to stand next to the spill, which had spread on the floor like a brown lake with a jagged shoreline.
“It’s all right, folks,” Grace announced in a loud but calming voice to the patrons, who were still chatting nervously amongst themselves. “Those men are gone, nothing to worry about. Free slice or a drink for anyone who wants one. We’re sorry for any inconvenience, but everything is fine.”
Grace found a folding Wet Floor sign tucked behind the counter and set it in front of the spill, wondering what was taking Sarah so long to get the mop and floor cleaner.
“Why would he come here to taunt us?” asked Annie.
“I don’t know,” said Grace, wondering when the anxious feeling would abate. “Add insult to injury, I suppose. Make us suffer.”
“Because he’s suffering? He didn’t look too broken up to me,” said Annie. “I didn’t get one vibe off him that he gives a rat’s ass about Rachel.”
“Maybe that’s because he knows what really happened that night and he doesn’t care,” said Grace.
“Yeah, because he was there at the apartment, murdering her,” said Annie. “But then why come here?”
“Why does an arsonist return to the scene of a fire?”
Grace answered before Annie could.
“Because they get off on seeing the damage they caused, that’s why. The trial is coming up. For a guy like Vince that’s like a full moon calling out the crazies.”
At last Sarah returned, with a bucket, mop, and the news that they were out of floor cleaner.
“No, we’re not,” Ryan said. “We have a box of ammonia in the storeroom. You just have to dilute it with water. Hang on.” He managed to keep his tone a few tics from condescending. He headed off for the storeroom in a huff, Sarah following behind.
Grace was about to use the mop sans floor cleaner, but something held her back. She turned her attention to Annie.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Annie said, then grimaced. “Oh, sorry. Expression.”
“Actually, it is Penny I’m thinking of,” said Grace. “Ammonia … it might not have crossed my mind, except Ryan just mentioned it. That’s what I smelled in the visiting room when Penny suddenly reappeared. Someone got sick or something before I got there, and the place had been fumigated with ammonia.”
Annie’s blue eyes conveyed her curiosity.
“At first I was sure it was Eve who’d shown up to lunch that day because, well, that cold look in her eyes was there. Then I remember she sniffed the air and her whole expression changed. She got a strange, blank look, and before I knew it, it was Penny. She was back, with no idea where she was or what had happened.”
“She also stuck around for a while afterward in the ER,” said Annie, who knew the story.
Excitement blossomed on Grace’s face. “Scent can be a powerful trigger,” she said.
“Do you think smelling ammonia could bring back Penny again?” asked Annie.
“There’s only one way to find out,” said Grace.
CHAPTER 20
MITCH MADE HIS WAY （without getting lost this time） to the visitors’ entrance, where he awaited Grace’s arrival. He’d spent the night researching the innate power of the fifth sense—smell—and he couldn’t wait to debrief her on all he’d learned.
A buzz rang out, followed by a loud clank as the steel door to the visitors’ entrance opened. In stepped a burly guard, and close on his heels came Grace, with a determined stride and cool smile. Perhaps if he’d said unequivocally that Penny had DID, a friendly embrace might have followed that smile.
With a flash of his employee badge, Mitch sent the guard away, leaving him alone with Grace to walk and talk in private. They exchanged pleasant hellos before Grace took a step back, appraising Mitch anew.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, probing eyes narrowed on him.
“I’m fine,” he said, mustering some conviction, though Grace did not look fully convinced. “Didn’t sleep well last night,” he added, which was a half-truth. He wasn’t going to cloud the day with news about Adam and his return to rehab.
“Tell me about it,” said Grace, pointing to a trace of dark circles that only now did he notice under her eyes. “Are we all set?”