Luminous Read Online Free Page B

floating in air. She had to admit, it had taken her some time to get used to it. Al wasn’t doing so bad.
    He dumped a mound of eggs onto the plate she held out.
    “Forks are in that drawer near the sink.”
    She reached in, took a fork and leaned against the counter. She started eating right then and there, while the eggs were piping hot. She shoveled forkfuls into her mouth and finished them off in less than a dozen bites.
    When she set the plate on the counter, she finally noticed that Al was holding the sketchpad but he wasn’t looking at her sketch. He was staring at her.
    “That’s a hell of a thing, Noir.”
    “Yeah.” She put the empty plate into the sink.
    “I’m assuming you liked the eggs, since you certainly scarfed them up fast.”
    She froze. “I thought we were in a hurry?” She couldn’t tell if he was criticizing her or not.
    “Easy. I take it as a compliment to the chef.” He reached up a finger and brushed something off her cheek. “You have some egg right there.”
    She felt her face grow hot. It was probably bright red right now. For once, she was glad she was invisible so Al wouldn’t see her blush.
    “Sorry,” she mumbled. It was just that she wasn’t used to anyone touching her. Yeah, that must be it. It wasn’t like she could feel anything for anyone. Jill had battered that out of her. She put fingers on her face right where Al had touched her. It had made her feel human again. Al made her feel human.
    He put the pan in the sink and motioned her back to the living room. He sat down on the couch, sketchpad in hand, and pointed to the spot next to him. “Let’s go over this together. I want to understand it before we leave.”
    She sat down close enough to him that their hips were almost touching. He pulled a pair of black-rimmed glasses out of his blazer pocket. “Eyes are going on me. Let me tell you, Noir, forty is not the new thirty.”
    She snorted. “You don’t look forty.” His body sure as hell didn’t scream “forty”.
    “I’m getting too close to it for my comfort, that’s for sure.” He pointed to the main laboratory area on the sketch. “So, are these dimensions to scale?”
    She put her finger on the sketch. “I drew everything in proportion, but I’m not sure of the exact width or length.” She traced it with her fingertip. “The biggest piece of equipment, something she had for blood testing, was here.”
    “Uh…” Al cleared his throat. “I can’t see where you’re pointing.”
    “Right.” She should have put her gloves back on. She gently took Al’s finger and helped him trace the same area that she just had. She felt herself blushing again as she held his hand. His fingers were thick and warm.
    “Ah, got it. Thanks.” His voice sounded a little rough.
    He leaned back and studied it once more.
    “Shouldn’t we get going? Clock’s ticking on our missing teller.”
    “Like I said, stumbling in the dark isn’t going to do us any good.”
    Us. He’d just said us . Stupid that one word lightened her mood.
    “So?”
    “Normally, I’d go into the office to see if I can get my piece-of-junk computer to give me a list of vacant buildings that have this much square footage. And I’d look for higher-than-normal electric bills. And I’d ask the people around those buildings if they’d seen anything like Jack. I don’t suppose you have a photo of Jill?”
    “I can draw her.”
    He handed her back the pad and pencil. She went to work.
    “You said ‘normally’ you’d do that. So you want to do something different tonight?”
    “Yes.” He nodded. “If it was daytime, I’d also start calling medical supply places and see if any of them can put names to the machines and if they sold any recently.”
    She finished the sketch and handed it to him. He stared for a second. “She doesn’t look much like Jack.”
    “She’s still a monster, just like him. So what’s next if we can’t call medical supply houses?”
    He stood up and