Timebound(40)

“I guess you’d just disappear in the backyard without this, wouldn’t you, girl? Or is another version of your tail wagging in someone else’s kitchen?”

After several minutes of hugs (from me) and kisses (big wet ones from Daphne), the dog was calm enough for me to scavenge around the kitchen for some breakfast. I was glad to find Cheerios, a banana, some milk, and a half-full pot of coffee. Katherine must have made it, since it was far more palatable than the stuff Connor had produced the day before.

I had almost finished the cereal when Connor walked in. “Thanks for making a department store run for me yesterday, Connor. You chose well.”

Connor nodded curtly, pouring more coffee into his mug. “You scared Katherine half to death. And she doesn’t need the extra stress.”

I took the last bite of Cheerios and looked at him for a moment. “I’m sorry. I was preoccupied with the discovery that my parents no longer exist.”

He caught the sarcastic tone and turned to face me. “All the more reason to get yourself back here to safety, rather than driving all over the countryside with your boyfriend. I’m not sure of the range on that medallion, you know. If you trip over a gap in the sidewalk, and it swings away from you, you’ll like as not be just as gone as your mother. Finish your food and get up to the library. There’s work to do.”

I fought a childish urge to stick out my tongue at his retreating back.

Reluctant to give Connor the satisfaction of following him quickly, I took my time with the last bit of coffee and then stopped by my room to brush my teeth. I sat down at the desk chair and looked at the new laptop. I thought of checking my email before remembering that the account I had would no longer be active. Daphne rested her auburn head on my knee. “I guess we should go see what the grump wants us to do, right, Daphne?” The setter waved her tail back and forth and I gave her another hug.

I looked up to see Katherine in the doorway of the bedroom. Her skin had a bit more color than the evening before; like me, she had apparently managed to get some sleep. “I take it you slept okay?” she said.

I shrugged. “It took a while. But I seem to have made up for it this morning.”

“Connor was worried about you as well, Kate. If he was a bit gruff, it’s understandable.”

“He’s always a bit gruff. I think it’s just his nature.”

Katherine nodded slightly. “I suspect that wasn’t always true, but he has as much at stake as any of us here.”

“I know,” I said. “It’s not easy to lose your entire identity…”

“It’s more than just his identity, Kate. He also lost his family—and I don’t just mean that his sister is different or that he has a brother now. Those are minor details for him. His wife—she died about ten years ago, a brain aneurism totally unrelated to all of this. But his children disappeared during the time shift last May. He was already working with me, and… they were both off at college. His son and daughter—they both ceased to exist, just like your mom. For whatever reason, when we trace the records back, Connor never met his wife in this timeline.”

I was silent. I glanced down at my outfit and realized that Connor’s taste in clothes was probably attributable to experience—he knew firsthand what teenage girls needed, because he’d shopped with one as a single dad, not that long ago.

We left my room and walked around the curved hallway overlooking the living room until we reached the library on the opposite side of the second floor. Daphne, who was loyally padding along behind us, gave a whimper as she realized where we were going, and she reversed course, heading to the stairway.

“Poor Daphne,” Katherine said. “She really doesn’t like the library. We’re not sure why—she shouldn’t be able to see the lights from the CHRONOS equipment. Connor thinks maybe the medallions make a sound that bothers her when they’re active.”

Connor was at the far side of the room, engrossed in his work. Katherine sat down at one of the terminals and I grabbed a nearby chair, pulling my bare feet onto the edge and resting my chin on my knees. “So what are you doing and how can I help?”

Connor glanced in my direction, then came over and handed me three diaries. They were similar in size to the one that had been in my backpack, although the color and condition of the covers varied. “You can start going through these. We’re trying to pinpoint exactly when Katherine is killed. While we’re doing that, you need to become familiar with each of the expeditions. I assume you have a basic familiarity with the history of rights movements in America?”