“Mrs. Renee, it’s me, Bianca London. Please open up,” I said loudly as I banged and rang the doorbell again. A few seconds later the door opened slightly.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Her voice sounded panicked.

“Please, Mrs. Renee, I need to talk to you.”

“You need to leave, Bianca.” She made to close the door again and I pushed against it.

“Please, I won’t stay long. I just need to talk to you.” I pushed the door harder. “I’m not leaving until we talk.”

“Come in, then.” She opened the door a few more inches and I stepped in swiftly before she slammed it shut again. I stared at her small, worried figure and frowned. She looked as if she’d just seen a ghost. Her white hair looked unkempt and she was wearing a dirty white blouse with a pair of black sweats.

“Have you heard from Larry?” I asked her softly, looking around the dark hallway as we stood there.

She nodded, her eyes huge as she stared at me. “He’s in hiding.”

“So he wasn’t kidnapped?”

“No.” She shook her head. “What do you want?”

“I need to speak to him. I need him to explain what he meant about the papers he gave me. I need to understand the clues.”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible.” She shook her head. “He can’t help you anymore.”

“Why is he so scared? Who is he scared of?”

“They’re not good people. He’s a monster.”

“Who’s a monster?” I took a step toward her. “Who’s a monster?”

“You need to leave, Bianca. They know you’re here. They know everything. I can’t say anything. If I do, he’ll know. He’ll know and he’ll kill me and Larry.”

“What do you know that they will kill you about?” I grabbed her arms. “What is going on here?”

“It wasn’t meant to be like this.” She shook her head. “Larry didn’t know, not in the beginning. He thought they were good people, but they were all bad. They’ll ruin Larry if he says anything. That’s not right. He didn’t know, he really didn’t know.”

“What didn’t he know?”

“This isn’t your fight, Bianca. Leave this place. Leave New York. Go anywhere, anywhere else in the world. You don’t have to let them manipulate you.”

“The papers that Larry gave me, they said that my father was a rightful partner in Bradley Inc. Many of the patents were in his name. When did he give away his rights? Or did he even give them away?”

Her face was still as she contemplated my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your dad didn’t give any of his rights away.” She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. I followed her and watched as she picked up a pen and a pad of paper. “Would you like a drink? Some tea perhaps?” she asked me softly, and scribbled something down and held it up: They hear everything.

“Tea would be fine, thanks.” I frowned and watched as she scribbled something else, motioning me over to look at the notepad.

They have already threatened to kill us.

“Who?” I asked, then slapped my mouth. “Who are you going to . . .” My voice trailed off as she frowned at me and handed me the pen and paper. I scribbled quickly, Who is threatening you? The Bradleys?

She shook her head vehemently and pursed her lips before turning around and turning the kettle on. “Would you like milk and sugar?” she asked brightly.

“Sure.”

“How many?”

“A little milk and two sugars please.” I didn’t hide my impatience well.

“Okay.” She took some cups from the cupboard and then scribbled down something else. The last threat I received was from Maxwell’s wife.

“What?” My jaw dropped and my mind was racing. Maxwell’s wife. Everything seemed to go back to the mysterious Maxwells. I grabbed the pen and paper and wrote quickly, I need to talk to Larry—NOW. I showed her the paper and she shook her head, her face going white.

“We have to get to the bottom of this,” I whispered in her ear. “Or it’s never going to end.”

“I can’t,” she whispered urgently. “He can’t talk to you.”

“I was kidnapped and lied to. I need to know why. Larry owes me this. And my father. My father trusted him.”

She looked up at me and I could see the worry in the lines of her face before she covered her eyes with her leathery, trembling fingers. I touched her arm and was surprised by how cold she was.

“Please, Mrs. Renee. It’s the only option we have. If Larry doesn’t talk to me, I can’t help him. I can’t solve this mystery and you can’t go back to your previous existence. Let me speak to him.”

She remained silent for seconds that felt like days as I waited. Finally, she nodded her head, as though she’d won an internal argument with herself.

“Not here.” She took a deep breath. “It won’t be safe here.”

Chapter Seven

We sat in the diner in a corner booth and I stared at the pay phone next to the toilets.

“This is why I love Yelp.” I smiled at her. “All I did is type in pay phones and I found this place.”

“I didn’t know they even had pay phones anymore.” Mrs. Renee looked at me bleakly as she nibbled on her toast.