She frowned. "We'll see." The door opened, and a pretty woman barely taller that Val looked out. She had auburn curls that went just above her shoulder, and light grey eyes that were weighed down with a terrible sadness. "Oh," she said quietly, opening the door wider. "Hello. I'm sorry, I must have lost track of time. Come on in." * * * "You're going to fall," he teased.
Landon tried to give her a gentle smile. "It's quite alright," he said. "Thank you." *** "I am not," she said stubbornly, swinging idly. "I'll be fine."
She hesitated before giving him a small smile, almost as if she had forgotten how. She beckoned them in and escorted them through the house. "Francis should be coming in a moment," she said quietly. "Will the living room work okay?" "The living room will be perfect, Pops," Val said gently. "Thank you." * * * He smirked. "Does that mean that if you fall, I have permission to laugh at you?"
Poppy led them to the living room where she sat across from them. She wrung her hands and seemed unable to look at them in their eyes. * * * He laughed teasingly. "We'll see."
Francis joined them momentarily, coming up behind Poppy to kiss the top of her head. He brushed back his black hair, and his brown eyes watched them intensely. "I hope this will be quick." *** She raised an eyebrow. "You probably wouldn't even laugh."
"As quick as we can," Val replied, unfolding her notebook. "We just need to ask you a few questions about your daughter." * * * He grinned with a shrug. "Do you want to test that theory?"
"I know," he said, his tone cold as he went to sit next to Poppy, putting an arm around her lovingly. "How many questions?" *** "I would," she said agreeably, "but you would probably feel bad."
Poppy leaned into him instinctually, her eyes downcast. "Maybe ten? A dozen?" Val replied, raising an eyebrow. * * * "You barely know me, Callie," he teased.
He took her hand, frowning slightly. "Go ahead, then." *** "I know that," she said, "but a part of you must feel bad."
A flash of emotion crossed his eyes, but was replaced by coldness again. Sadness, maybe. Desperate hopelessness. "A stroke." *** "We'll have to see once I fall."
Poppy squeezed his hand, looking up at him with mournful eyes before glancing over at Val. "It was very sudden." * * * "Oh, so that's part of the plan, now?" he asked with a grin.
She bit her bottom lip before looking up at Val. "Do you have any more questions?" "Uh... Yes. Did Diana date anyone other than her soulmate?" * * * "That's downright diabolical."
"Of course," Francis replied. "Doesn't everyone, at some point?" *** "Right? But were soul mates, so I have to be right."
Poppy glanced up at him, a small glint of humour in her eyes that seemed foreign on her melancholy face. "Not everyone," Val said, scribbling something down. "Many people just accept that they're going to end up with their soulmate." *** He squinted at her. "You're a criminal mastermind."
"And some people refuse to be with their soulmate," he commented. *** She laughed, getting off the swing. "Probably."
"That's true," Val said. "But the fact remains that a lot of people just give themselves up to fate." * * * "How could my soulmate be a criminal mastermind?! It goes against everything I believe in!"
