Rook

selection had shown nothing suspicious. The number for her mobile phone was the one Myfanwy had been given that afternoon.
    The person in the photos they accessed was identical to the one they had spoken to.
    “Well, it all looks okay,” Shantay had said. “It could actually be her.”
    “I think it’s her,” said Myfanwy. “I really do.”
    “So, what are you going to do?”
    Myfanwy sat and bit her lip. Since she’d entered into this life, there had been very little that filled her with genuine pleasure. The balance in her bank account. The meal she’d eaten while dining with Lady Farrier. Her spontaneous friendship with Shantay. The prospect of meeting—of
having—
a sister was delightful. She was tired of being an orphan. She wanted a family. Or at least more than one friend.
    “I’m going to call her,” decided Myfanwy, and she reached for the phone.
    “Wait,” said Shantay. “Don’t call the mobile number—call her home number.”
    “She didn’t give me her home number,” objected Myfanwy. The penny dropped. “Okay, fine.”
    S he’d dialed the home number, and gotten a Bronwyn Thomas who had been expecting her call. They’d chatted a little and agreed that Myfanwy would send a car to pick up Bronwyn. Which would be happening in five minutes. Val, the housekeeper, whom she’d finally met, had been very excited about the prospect of Myfanwy’s sister coming.
    “You know that I’ve always worried about you, Ms. Thomas,” she’d said in her thick northern accent. “You keep too much to yourself. It’s not healthy for you young women to work all day, and then come in and fall asleep on the couch. I’m so glad your sister is visiting. Maybe she’ll be able to talk some sense to you.” And she’d insisted on preparing a huge tray of food. “It’s been how long since you saw each other?”
    “Years,” said Myfanwy, with perfect accuracy.
    “Years! That’s absolutely dreadful! That’s typical with you career girls. You get the job, and just forget entirely about everything else. Do you know that this is the first time I’ve heard you talk about your family?” Myfanwy had realized when she’d met Val that Thomas had employed her for two reasons. First, it was kind of comforting having someone boss you about your life, and second, she was a marvelous cook and housekeeper. Fearful of offending her, she’d just meekly agreed with everything Val suggested, including the brandy.
    “Normally, I don’t encourage drinking,” she’d said. “But I’ve never seen you this nervous.” Val poured Myfanwy a drink and told her to sit back and relax. “I’ll let your sister in, and then I’ll head home.”
    So now Myfanwy was stroking Wolfgang’s fur, although she hadn’t yet drunk any of the brandy. Instead, she was trying to simultaneously remain alert and relax her aching muscles. Those damn shoes, the onesshe felt obliged to wear when playing the role of Rook, were murder on her ankles. She was so focused on staring at the ceiling that she didn’t hear the doorbell ring, didn’t hear Val open the front door, and then didn’t realize that Bronwyn had entered the room.
    “Myfanwy?” said Bronwyn shyly. Myfanwy startled, and looked around anxiously.
    “Hey! Come in. I’d get up, but I have Wolfgang here, and he doesn’t like to be jostled,” she explained, gesturing helplessly toward the rabbit, who seemed quite comfortable. Bronwyn’s face lit up, and she came over to stroke the bunny.
    “He’s darling!” said Bronwyn. “How long have you had him?”
    “Oh, gosh, I don’t know,” said Myfanwy truthfully. “Do you want to take him?” Bronwyn sat down beside her on the couch, and Myfanwy carefully transferred Wolfgang. “So,” she said nervously.
    “So.”
    “I don’t know about you,” said Myfanwy, “but when I woke up this morning, this wasn’t at all what I expected to happen. How on earth did you manage to find me?”
    “It wasn’t easy,” said Bronwyn. “I was in a café in the city, looking at stuff on the Web, and you know how you look yourself up? I did that, and then, out of curiosity, I typed your name in to see what would happen.”
    Ah, the mystery Googler,
thought Myfanwy.
Well, I guess we can close that case file.
    “I got absolutely no results, other than some chick in New Zealand who knits and felts woolen pears and sells them on the Internet. But it made me curious about you, so I looked around. I looked for a death