“He’s okay.” The two men gripped forearms, and Owen pulled Trey to his feet.
“Did you hit your head? Are you dizzy?”
“Yeah, I rapped it some, and no, not dizzy.”
“You sent us outside so you could do this. That’s out of bounds, both of you. Completely out of bounds.”
Scared and pissed, Trey thought, and took Sonya’s hands. “You’re right, it is. Sorry.”
“Listen, Trey could probably use an ice pack. How about you be mad at us downstairs?”
“All right, I think we’re done with the hunt for the day, and I can be mad anywhere.”
“I really am sorry.” Though she tugged at it, initially, Trey kept her hand in his. “I should have told you I wanted another look. I felt it made more sense for you to be out of the house when I did, but that’s no excuse for not being up front about it.”
“I see exactly what Anna means.”
“About what?”
She shook her head. “I’ll get you an ice pack and a beer, and you can explain all this.”
Because he felt Cleo hanging back, Owen slowed his pace to hers. “You’re pissed, too?”
“For Sonya, I am. My problem is I was working my way up to doing exactly what you did, so I’m saying as little as possible.”
“Smart move. Don’t try it alone. Just don’t.”
“I have some things that might help if I can get in there.”
“I just watched Trey get hit by something I couldn’t see, hard enough to send him flying about eight feet until he hit the wall like he’d been tossed by the Hulk. Don’t try it alone.
“I really want that beer now.”
* * *
In the kitchen, Sonya, coolly silent, got an ice pack, wet a cloth.
“Hold that to your nose.”
“It stopped bleeding.”
“I can see that.” Despite her anger, she trailed her fingers gently over the back of his head. “You’ve got a small knot, but that’s not bleeding.”
She handed him the ice pack. “Hold that there.”
“Got it. Thanks. Sonya, you can’t leave the room closed off forever.”
“I don’t know. I’m thinking of having a steel door installed over the existing one.”
She got two beers and opened them. She set trays in front of him then offered the other to Owen when he came in with Cleo.
“You were hurt, and it could’ve been a lot worse.”
“But it wasn’t.”
Cleo patted Sonya’s arm. “I’ll get us some wine. The windows in that room started slamming. Hard enough I don’t see how the glass didn’t break. The dogs went crazy.”
She pulled the stopper from an uncorked bottle, poured two glasses.
“The dogs went crazy, and we all ran to the house. They’re barking and snarling and racing upstairs. We heard banging and crashing. You were shouting.”
Owen took another long pull of beer. “Was I?”
She nodded. “Your turn.”
“It was mostly my fault. I’ve gotten everything about that room and Dobbs secondhand. So, you know, let’s have a look.”
“Nice try. Commendable.” Steadier now, Sonya sipped her wine. “But Trey’s a big boy, and—obviously—he can take his lumps.”
“Just saying. So, the light’s off in that wing—got a dingy look to it—and the air’s cold. Did you notice?”
“No.” At her look at Cleo, Sonya got a headshake. “But we were a little distracted seeing Trey crumpled on the floor.”
“I wouldn’t say crumpled.” He added.
He picked up the story, careful not to leave out any details. Not fair to her, and he had to admit, he hadn’t been fair to her.
“A lot like before then.” The anger faded, leaving just a shade of resentment.
“A lot like,” Trey said. “But not altogether. This time I saw her.”
“You saw her.” Instantly Cleo dropped down into the chair beside him. “And you didn’t lead with that?”
“Just for a second, but I saw a woman, black dress, black hair, and one who looked a lot more pissed off than either of you.” He looked at Owen. “You didn’t?”
“I was pretty busy watching you go airborne. And the door slammed shut.”
“Sonya did some drawings of her. Like I said, I only caught a glimpse—while airborne—but I didn’t have any trouble recognizing her. Or recognizing that most of what we saw in there was bullshit.”