Ultimate Nyssa Glass by H. Burke (ebook reader browser txt) 📗

She tilted her head. “You look tired. Can I get you some tea or anything?”

He rubbed his forehead, trying to relax his tense muscles. “No. I … I think I’ll look around her room. Maybe we missed something, some clue.”

“Theo and I both searched it top to bottom.” She stepped towards him. “Wherever Miss Nyssa is, she wouldn’t want you to be tearing yourself up like this. Just stop and drink some tea—”

“I’m not stopping until she’s home!” Ellis pushed himself away from the table. His collar constricted his neck, exacerbating his headache. He pulled at it, undoing the top button. “A man doesn’t give up on the ones he loves.”

Mrs. H held up her hand. “Calm down. I didn’t say you should give up. I said you should have a cup of tea. Clear your head. You have a good mind. If you let it do what it does best, it will find a way to bring her home. I just know it.” She crossed the room and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. Her touch cooled his skin, and he remembered his mother, putting her hand on his father’s shoulder and talking him down when he became convinced his business partners were cheating him again. “Settle down, Ephraim. You lose perspective when you’re angry. Just think this through.”

In spite of my best efforts, I’m still my father’s son.

He sighed. “You’re right. However, I think looking around her room … it might help.”

She nodded and started for the door, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll have your tea waiting for you when you’re done.”

Ellis hooked his chair’s wheels up to the rail system at the bottom of the stairs and pulled the lever. With a jerk, it drew him up the steps to the second story, where he unhooked himself and rolled through the sitting room to Nyssa’s bedroom.

Her bed was made, the white linen coverlet a pristine, even field, the pillows straight and plump. A scent of lavender and old books permeated the space, perhaps from the bookshelf filled with the mystery novels she’d collected since they’d moved in, though he sometimes thought the perfume rose from her very being.

He swallowed. Dad, I know I haven’t thought well of you since your death, but I get it now, how you crumbled when Mom died. If something happens to Nyss … I don’t want to handle it. I think I’ll just want to shut down.

Ellis poked about the room. Opening one drawer, he found himself staring at her undergarments. Heat rose to his face, and he slammed it shut. No, if Nyss wanted me to find something she wouldn’t put it there. He cracked open the second door. Still clothing, but less personal in nature, her spare shirts.

The jewelry box Theo had gotten her for Christmas sat on top of the dresser. The necklace Ellis had given her turned out to be the only item inside. He touched it, then sighed.

Come on, Nyss. Work with me here.

Light, quick footsteps pounded on the stairs. Ellis turned away from the dresser as Theo burst in.

“Ellis, I found something! Come on. Hurry!” Theo’s cheeks glowed red and sweat plastered his hair to his forehead.

“What?” Ellis asked, his heart leaping.

“A clue! Come on. I’ve got a steam car waiting.”

Ellis frowned. “A steam car?” But Theo was already gone. Ellis hurried after him, down the stairs, wishing the rail system was faster, past a wide-eyed Mrs. H, and through the shop.

A cabbie in a bowler leaned against the side of a scratched and dented steam car. He examined Ellis and rubbed his hands together. “The boy said you could pay? You can pay, right?”

“Yes.” Ellis dug in his pocket and found a coin. “How far did you take him?”

“Just from the airfield. He said you’d need to go back. Normally I don’t pick up kids, but this one’s convincing. Promised me twice my fare.”

“Twice, huh?” Ellis narrowed his eyes at Theo. The boy shifted from one foot to another. Ellis fished out another coin and flipped it forward.

The man caught it midair. “All right, then. Get in the back. I charge extra to help with luggage … even chairs.”

“I’ve got it.” Ellis pulled open the door and swung himself from his seat. “A winner of a cabby you picked out,” he muttered to Theo as the boy converted the chair into its briefcase form and passed it to him. “Great customer service.”

Theo shrugged. “He was the only one who would take me, and I was in a hurry.” He slipped onto the seat beside Ellis.

The car jerked forward. They hurtled through the street, ignoring several signals, and sending pedestrians scrambling for safety. Ellis gripped the edge of the seat. The worn leather smelt of mildew and tobacco smoke. Theo rocked against him as they careened around a corner.

“Are you going to tell me what you found?” Ellis asked.

“I did. A clue … oh gosh, don’t hit that …!” The boy covered his face. The driver swerved around a smaller steam car. A horn blared at them, but their driver just stuck his arm out the window and made an obscene gesture. He then wrenched the wheel around and skidded to a halt, half on the sidewalk. His hand shot into the back seat as if spring-loaded, his sweaty palm open and waiting. Ellis dropped a coin into it, biting his tongue to stop himself from assessing the man’s skill.

No sooner were they on the sidewalk, than the steam car barreled away.

Theo whistled. “At least it was fast.”

“Yeah. Fast.” They stood in front of a weathered box-like building with high windows. A warehouse or factory. Behind it rose the mooring towers of the airfield. “So what are we looking for?”

“This way, but quiet.” Theo drew him around the corner of the building. Laughter of young boys rose from the alleyway there. Theo motioned for Ellis to follow, and they both slipped behind a stack of crates. Something whirred,