You Heard It Here First (Seen in Silverbridge Book 1) by Emerson Black

Author:Emerson Black [Black, Emerson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormhouse
Published: 2023-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

24

FAVEN

Faven must have blacked out, because the next thing she knew she was walking through the canopied walkways of the Matomato, being led along by none other than Maia Nordenstam.

“It is black screen. Only black screen,” Maia said, sashaying through the Matomato’s gardens like some kind of sylvan nymph. Her Swedish accent was so strong that Faven had to concentrate to make out the words. “But the fragrance in the room, it is like a magic trick. It turns my mood upward. I feel good, I feel strong. Frangipani? Is that how it’s called?”

Maia didn’t wait for an answer. They arrived at a separate block of suites; she swiped her card, moved inside, and held the door open for Faven.

“The weather here is so dry, yes? My skin feels dry all day long, and all night as well. I have cold showers, which helps a little, but I must apply moisturising lotion to my body at least four times a day, and even then I feel dry. Do you feel dry?”

Confronted with the otherworldliness of Maia’s beauty, Faven had turned into a reanimated corpse—she just couldn’t speak. Maia Nordenstam, a poet! Rock star, singer, songwriter, model. She stood a couple of inches taller than Faven, but obviously weighed much less.

“You do not know English? Okay. I feel dry,” Maia continued with a laugh. “But come, see the television. You must be busy—I know there has been a lot of activity around the hotel because of everything. Lots of press people trying to sneak inside.”

Faven concentrated on keeping her smile set firmly in place. If Maia had assumed, due to her dark skin and temporary muteness, that she didn’t understand English, that was fine with her. In fact, it could work to Faven’s advantage. All she had to do was stay quiet and listen, and she’d be safely out of there within the hour.

Maia aimed the remote at the television and clicked some buttons. Nothing happened.

“See? It is broken.”

Faven held out her hand. Maia handed her the remote then collapsed onto the couch, sighing as if she’d just returned from a gigantic workday.

“We have been stuck in this country for days now. Do not get me wrong, I like it very much. And this hotel is nice, even if we did have to change rooms.”

It was odd; Maia didn’t seem upset or sad. It had only been a few days since Gustaf had been killed yet she seemed much more interested in pointing out the differences in the rooms.

“The bathroom tiling … it is better in this room, but I miss the water pressure from the previous room.”

Faven needed to at least try to fix the television in order to keep up the charade. She checked that it was plugged in—it was—so diagnosed the problem as flat remote batteries. She pulled the batteries out, stuck them between her teeth and clenched down hard. When she pulled them out, they had small dents in them.

Maia stopped talking and watched her, bemused.

“You bite the battery? Why do you bite the battery?”

Faven put the batteries back in the remote.

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