Illicit Artifacts Read online

  Elise nodded carefully, and Jil saw something in her face that gave her the impression Elise held something back. It scared her to think Elise might know something that could thwart her plans.

  “Elise?” she said quietly. “Is there…”

  “There’s nothing,” Elise said. “I will help you get that scholarship if that’s what you want to do. You’re a smart young lady, and I know any college is lucky to get you.”

  Jil grinned. “Thanks.”

  The light turned green, and they traveled across the street to the bank. “So, will you study at home again next year?”

  Jil stopped, holding her breath. No new school, no new teachers, no cafeteria full of students looking at the freaky new girl. Days of studying at the park, in the library, walking around the zoo to look for interesting animals to draw…

  “Yes! If that’s okay with you, I would like to finish my year at home, on my own.”

  “Right.” Elise walked toward the bank. “I’ll send a request in. I’m sure they’ll find me a suitable supervisor.”

  Jil smiled and backed away from the doors, off to search out the gelato shop. “Meet you back here in half an hour.”

  *

  At the elephant enclosure, Jil sat on a park bench, her knees tucked up to her chest as she watched the mama elephant corral the youngster away from the rocks. She took out her sketch pad and attempted to capture the elephant’s stance, the trunk, the soulful eyes that looked up from under long, dark lashes. Drawing would never be her forte, but since she needed an arts elective to graduate, and it was difficult to complete a drama or music requirement on her own, she’d chosen Sketch.

  She only needed a sixty-five percent.

  She looked down at her pad—and that’s all she would get…The idea of drawing elephants had seemed pretty romantic, but the result, unfortunately, was not.

  Across the stone quad, she spotted another girl her age climbing a tree, a satchel slung over her shoulder. She watched as the girl settled into the crook between the trunk and a large, low branch. In a moment, she opened her satchel and took out a camera.

  Jil watched her for a while longer, then went back to her drawing. She needed three different poses of the same subject, and guessed she had one reasonable attempt. The assignment was due next week. She could come back on Monday.

  On the weekend, the place bustled with shrieking children and adults with large bags and hats. Impossible to get a clear view of the animals. She liked to come during the week.

  “Aren’t you lonely?” Padraig had asked her during one of their Wednesday night dinners.

  “No.” She didn’t want him getting any ideas about putting her back in school.

  “What about a class of some sort, Jil? Cake decorating or Kung Fu…”

  Jil fixed him with a stare.

  “I mean it.”

  She rolled her eyes. Privately, she suspected he was right, but she didn’t really know what to do about it. What did he want her to do? Call up some of her old foster siblings and get together? She didn’t exactly keep friends from one placement to another. Often, she had to move clear across town when she moved homes.

  She just wanted a fresh start.

  “Hey.”

  Jil looked up and saw the girl in the tree smiling at her. She waved back.

  “Are you cutting school?” She took off her hat and ran a hand through her short, dark hair—a little damp from the heat of the day.

  “No, I’m…” Jil almost said “homeschooled” but wondered if that made her sound weird. “I study independently.”

  The girl nodded and picked up her camera again, pointing it at the elephant enclosure. “I’d love to do that. The high school here is so big that the teachers never even notice I’m gone, so I do a lot of ‘independent study,’ and by that I mean cutting school every second day. I keep my grades up, though,” she added, putting her camera down again. “I want to go to college and everything.”

  “For photography?”

  The girl grinned again. “Yeah. How’d you guess?”

  Jil laughed. “Are you taking it now? Photography, I mean?”

  “No. I’m stuck in Sketch. But I take the pictures first, then develop them and draw from there. It’s easier when the target isn’t moving.”

  Jil nodded. Of course! She held up her notebook. “Wish I’d thought of that.”

  “You take Sketch ‘independently’?”

  “Yeah. Not very well, obviously.”

  She shrugged. “Who cares? ‘Art is all in the interpretation.’” She sounded like she was imitating someone—probably her teacher. “Also, elephants are hard. Too many shadows and shading because of their skin texture. Try a leopard or something. I have pictures of those if you want to borrow them.”

  Jil nodded. “Thanks. That might help.”

  The girl climbed down. She wore a faded print T-shirt that fell off the shoulder, and even more faded jean shorts. “I’m Gigi, by the way.”

  “Seriously?” Jil bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

  Luckily, Gigi seemed to have a good sense of humor. She rolled her eyes. “Well, Georgia. But, I mean, c’mon…” She adjusted the strap around her shoulder, and Jil caught sight of a rainbow badge on the top flap.

  Jil winked. “Maybe that’s a little formal, you know, for your style.”

  Gigi followed her gaze to the badge, then met her gaze. “I’m more of an alternative girl than mainstream.”

  Jil shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “Jessie! What are you doing here?” Henri opened the top of the desk at the animal rescue shelter and bolted through to wrap Jess in a bear hug.

  She winced as his arms crushed her elbow joints, and he loosened his grip a little. “What’s wrong? You sick again?”

  Jess gasped. “Just a flare-up.”

  Henri let her go but still held her by the forearms.

  “What’s going on? Why are you here in the middle of the day? And how’s that beast?”

  “Zeus is fine. He eats a truckload, by the way. I’m off work for a bit.”

  His brow furrowed. “You’re that sick?”

  Jess blew her hair up on her forehead. Why was it so hot in here? “Just a setback.”

  Henri popped the counter open and led her into the back room. “You’ve never been off work as long as I’ve known you, Jessie. Not after Mitch’s accident. Not even when what’s-her-name left you.”

  She felt her throat tightening, and she turned away, concentrating on swallowing.

  “Is it that girl? Julia?”

  “Jil,” Jess whispered.

  “Jil? I thought her name was Julia.”

  Should she even bother trying to explain that one? What difference did it make now? “We’re…we’re over. I think.”

  Henri sank down into a broken chair. “Shit.”

  Jess snorted. “Sorry to disappoint you. You liked her?”

  “Hell yes! Anyone who’d take a rescued Great Dane has my vote.”

  “Mine too.” The words were out before she could stop them. She missed her. She loved her. Before her mind could get any further ahead of her emotions, she bit down on her lip. The clenching feeling had returned, and she felt like she was free falling through the air.

  Something must have shown in her face because Henri jumped up from his seat.

  “Let me get you something to drink.” He opened the fridge and rooted around along the bottom shelf which looked like it hadn’t seen a dishcloth in years. “Got a Coke.”

  She shook her head. With all the trouble she had sleeping, the caffeine would just make things worse. “Thanks anyway.”

  “Tea?”

  “You have tea?” She managed a smile.

  “Well, I have teabags and a kettle. Mary, the girl who comes in on the weekends, likes the stuff.” He flicked the kettle on.

  “Thanks.”

  “Are you going to tell me what happened to Julia—Jil?”r />
  She leaned against the wooden break table, debating the merits of trying to get up and down from a chair, and deciding not to bother. “We had a fight. She said she wanted space. Then she left to go and stay at her foster mother’s house.”

  “Why? Doesn’t she have her own house?”

  “Yes. But I was there.” She laughed shortly.

  “You sure that’s the reason? She could have just asked you to leave. Wouldn’t that have been easier?”

  Of course that would have been easier.

  She’d spent so much time taking Jil’s reaction personally that she hadn’t considered the reasons behind her decisions. Why was she staying at Elise’s? She’d said something about her art collection…but that couldn’t be the whole story.

  Henri reached to the top of the cupboard for a clean mug, a triumphant look on his face. “High class.” He winked.

  “You surprise me, Henri.”

  “Well, you surprise me too, Jessica.” He leveled his gaze at her, and his chocolate eyes seemed to hold a trace of something she’d never seen from him before—reproach.

  She stared back at him. “What?”

  “This wasn’t a fling, Jessie. You’re too smart for that. To get involved with her in the first place, she would have had to be something.”

  “I think you put too much faith in me. Look at Lily.”

  Henri’s eyes narrowed. “Her, I didn’t like. But she was still a quality lady. Beautiful, talented. Her problem was selfishness. But Jil doesn’t seem selfish to me. And she’s got all the pluses Lily had—looks, brains—and more. And she’s trustworthy. That’s the key, Jessie. She’s someone you can count on.”

  “You can tell all that from meeting her once?”

  “Yes, I can.”

  Jess smiled. “I believe you, actually.”

  “Of course you should believe me. I might not be the schoolbooks type, but I know people, and I know she was a good one. So it has to take more than just a little fight and some space to make a rift you can’t repair.”

  A spasm seized her. Her knees began to shake, and Henri grabbed her arm and helped her into the one wooden chair that didn’t have broken legs. She looked up at him. “Sorry. Thank you.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I think I was too hard on you. I just don’t like to see you give up on something that might finally make you happy.”

  She looked down at the table. “Thank you.” All her emotions fought for room at the surface, even as she tried to clamp them down. Talking wouldn’t help. It hurt way too much. She breathed out through the threat of tears, fighting to keep her voice steady. “I don’t know what to do.”

  He wrapped her small hand in his huge one. “Do the thing that makes you happiest. Even if it’s hard.”

  The kettle roared as it came to a boil, then switched off. Henri looked at it for a moment like it was an alien creature, but he picked it up and poured the hot water into the mug.

  “You’ll need a teabag.” Jess winked.

  He shot her a look but grabbed a bag from the tin and pushed it under with a spoon.

  “Milk?” He read her hesitation. “It’s fresh.”

  She laughed. “I didn’t say a thing.”

  “I know what you were thinking.”

  “Well, where the hell have you been then? I don’t even know what I’m thinking!”

  “Okay, well, let me tell you then. You’re thinking that you’ve finally met someone—someone who likes dogs, by the way—and she’s perfect for you in every way. And now you have to ask yourself how the hell you’re supposed to keep a girl like that and keep your job at the same time.”

  Jess felt the color draining from her face.

  Henri passed her the tea and sat beside her, then folded one of her hands into his rough fingers. “How’d I do?”

  She couldn’t even speak.

  “You don’t want to call her because you haven’t made up your mind yet about the job.”

  The realization that she might not be able to return to school hit her like two paws to the gut. “I’m off work,” she whispered. “Off work. I don’t even know how this happened. I can’t lose both her and my school, Henri. What the hell am I doing?”

  “I think you’re figuring things out.”

  “By visiting a dog kennel in the middle of the day?”

  He smiled, showing a glimmer of gold tooth on the upper side. “Well, since you’re playing hooky, you can always help me bathe the dogs. Maybe that’s why you’re really here. Some hard manual labor might be good for you.”

  She looked down at her legs. For a moment, she’d forgotten about the fire in her joints. “Why not? Seems like I could use the distraction. If you don’t think I’d be more of a hindrance in this state.”

  He helped her to her feet. “Never a hindrance, Jessie. Never have been, never could be.”

  She signed on for two days a week at the SPCA. From principal to dog groomer—who would ever have guessed? Nobody even asked how long she would be off.

  Cynthia called to ask if she could check in occasionally. Jess said yes. But she hoped she wouldn’t call.

  She hoped she wouldn’t call? She didn’t want to know the details about her own school?

  What was happening to her life?

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “She’s not home,” Jil said. Elise taught a class until four on Wednesdays, then had a staff meeting. They always ate out on Wednesday nights.

  Gigi slipped her arms around Jil’s waist and pulled her in for a kiss. “Benefit number one to skipping class,” she murmured.

  Jil pulled Gigi’s shirt over her head. “You’re still going to graduate, right, even with all your absences?”

  “I have an A-average.”

  “In what?”

  “Erogenous Discovery. Don’t worry. Making out with you won’t prevent me from moving on in life.” Gigi stood in her pink bra and short stretch shorts, her hair tousled and a faint pink flush creeping from the base of her neck to her strap line.

  Jil pulled her onto the bed and ran her hands over her soft skin, kissing her neck, her face. They both lay topless in the cool air of the room, hot fingers exploring.

  Gigi leaned her head to the side as Jil kissed her from her earlobe to her collarbone. Her nipples stood stiff and ready for tweaking. And Jil obliged. But when she went to pull down Gigi’s bike shorts, she giggled and moved away.

  Jil stopped. “No?” She saw genuine shyness in Gigi’s eyes—hesitation.

  She bit her lip. “Sorry. I’m just…I’m not ready yet.”

  Surprised, Jil took her hand away from Gigi’s waist and put it back on her shoulder. “Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry. I thought…”

  “I know.” Gigi looked away, pink tinging the tops of her cheeks. “I guess I’m all talk.”

  Jil snorted. “Well, not all talk.”

  “Can we just go back to…”

  “This?” Jil kissed her again, biting her lower lip.

  Gigi sighed. “I’m so lucky you’re homeschooled—”

  The door opened.

  Jil sat bolt upright, pulling a pillow up to cover her chest, and met Elise’s surprised stare.

  “I’m sorry,” Elise stammered. “I didn’t realize you were home. I was in search of the letter opener.” Her glance fell on Jil’s desk where the antique bronze letter opener glinted from the side of her homework. Jil had used it to make perfect paper cuts in an art project.

  “Hello, Gigi.” Elise nodded once and firmly closed the door.

  After the door closed, Gigi put her arm on Jil’s shoulder and waited. “Does she know?” she asked in a whisper.

  “If she didn’t before, she does now,” Jil muttered. “I’ve never told her, though…”

  “You think she’ll kick you out?”

  Jil bit her lip and pulled her shirt on slowly. “I don’t know. Would you mind going home now? I’ll call you later?”

  “Yeah. Okay.” Gigi grabbed her satchel and hat, pecked Jil on the cheek, and
headed for the door. “Good luck,” she whispered.

  Jil heard her light footsteps on the stairs.

  “Bye, Elise,” Gigi said.

  “Bye, dear.” The front door opened and closed.

  Bye, dear?

  “Jillienne?” Elise’s voice hailed her from below.

  She opened the door cautiously and peeked out, down over the banister to the lower level.

  Elise stood brandishing the letter opener in one hand and an envelope from the bank in the other. Her multi-colored scarf highlighted her bright blue eyes and silver hair, making her look even more like a sophisticated art professor than usual.

  “Reservations are for seven tonight.”

  Jil made her way slowly down the stairs.

  Elise watched her descend, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You can tell me all about your romantic interest.”

  Jil felt herself blushing and put her hands to her face.

  “Oh, darling.” Elise put her arm snugly around Jil’s shoulder. “You must feel free to tell me these things. Let me relive my youth.”

  “Really?” Jil mumbled. “You want to know?”

  “Of course I do. I was in love at your age. With a boy who wasn’t at all good for me…”

  *

  Dawn broke over the church steeple, and Jil squinted as the light hit her eyelids. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep up here in the library loft, but after Fraser left last night, she couldn’t bring herself to go to sleep upstairs. She needed to stand guard in a place nobody would look for her.

  Unfortunately, it had been a long time since she’d been on a stakeout, and the stress of the past few weeks had taken its toll. She’d fallen asleep as the bell tower struck midnight.

  She felt something digging in to her hip and shifted, groping beneath the throw blanket to retrieve the key ring that had fallen from her pocket. The teeth from Elise’s mysterious key had bitten into her skin, and she rubbed the sore spot.

  She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bench. Her heel struck the side of the face with a hollow thud.

  Hollow thud?

  She threw the blanket off and knelt down. With her knuckles, she rapped along the side of the three panels of the face. The far left sounded dense, as did the middle, but the far right echoed when she knocked.