The three of us share a look as the white, metal gates slowly open.

Charon is missing?

Cupid frowns, his blue green eyes darkened by the night. Then he turns his head to look at the house ahead.

"What do you think?" he says.

"Going inside doesn't seem sensible..." says Cal.

Cupid nods.

"Probably some kind of trap." He looks thoughtful a moment, then he raises his eyebrows and takes a step forward. "Well, shall we go then?"

He starts to walk toward the beach house.

I pause a moment, then, with the comfort that even if it is a trap Cupid doesn't seem too concerned, I head after him. Behind me Cal lingers in the gateway. I hear him exhale sharply through his nose. Then moments later he falls into step beside us as we pass the pool and reach the door.

"This really isn't a good idea..." he says as Cupid pushes the buzzer in the door frame.

There's a beeping sound, and the door swings open. A girl in jeans and a white top stands in the doorway. She's holding a duster in her hand, and her dark hair is scraped into a knot on top of her head. She looks at us suspiciously a moment, her dark eyes narrowing.

"You're Charon's friends?" she says. Cupid nods. "Cupid, Lila, and Cal, right?"

My stomach clenches at her words.

How does she know who we are?

This certainly points toward this being a trap...

Beside me Cupid frowns and Cal's muscles tense. He shoots a sideways look at Cupid before focusing back on the girl in front of us.

"He said you'd come," she says.

Cal narrows his eyes, his jawline hard.

"Who said we'd come?"

"The guy who paid to keep me cleaning the house while Charon is gone," she says.

"Who has been paying you?"

She shakes her head.

"I don't know who he is. He just told me you'd come, and when you did it was OK to let you in."

She shrugs and turns, disappearing inside the house. We pause in the open doorway.

"Valentine?" Cal whispers out of the corner of his mouth.

Cupid nods, a dark look creeping onto his face.

"He knew we'd come here. Which means we're on the right track."

"But it also means this could be a trap," hisses Cal.

I frown.

I think of the message Valentine sent me - using Cal's life thread as leverage. I have a feeling he has us all exactly where he wants us. He doesn't need to trap us any further.

"Maybe this is just his way of letting us know he's a step ahead of us," I say quietly.

Cupid looks down at me, his eyes catching mine. He nods.

"Only one way to find out for sure."

I take a breath and nod. We both turn to Cal – who, however reluctantly, nods too.

"But I want it on the record I think this is a bad idea," he says.

"Your opinion has been noted, brother. But ultimately ignored," says Cupid with a grin.

He places a reassuring hand on my arm, and I look up at him. His eyes momentarily burn into mine and his expression becomes serious.

"You OK with this?"

I nod – the intensity of his gaze causing my heart to beat faster.

Then he pulls his gaze away, and the three of us head into Charon's beach house.

We step into a stylish room that stretches over the entire ground floor of the building. There's a collection of white leather sofas round an entertainment center at one side, a kitchenette and breakfast bar at the other, and some white stairs leading up to the next floor by the left wall. The whole room is lit only by the moonlight that shines through the glass front of the house – which looks out onto the ocean.

The cleaner heads across the room and turns on a lamp, then she turns, folds her arms, and looks at us expectantly.

"How long has Charon been missing for?" says Cupid – stepping across the white linoleum to lean against the kitchenette counter. My eyes slide from him, to the block of knives right beside him, and I realize this is a strategic positioning. He's close to weapons.

I go and stand beside him – leaving Cal lingering awkwardly by the door. A worried look crosses her face.

"Since early fall," she says. "He went on a business trip and never came back."

Early fall. 

That was when Cupid, and Cal, and all of this madness came into my life.

That was around the time when the match was made.

"Are you human?" says Cal.

She wrinkles her nose.

"No. I'm an elephant," she says, she shakes her head. "Pretty weird question to ask..."

The corner of Cupid's lip tugs upward.

"Looks like she's human, brother," he says.

"So, you don't know what business trip he went on?" says Cal.

He stands stiffly, the soft light from the lamp casting a gentle glow onto his pale skin.

She shakes her head.

"I know it was a big one. Something important. A high profile passenger or something. But he didn't tell me anything more than that. He employs me to clean his house, not to get involved in his work. I hope he's OK, though. I liked him."

"Do you know where he conducts his business?" says Cupid.

"Somewhere close-by," she says. "I don't know where exactly, but I'd presume the marina. He does boat trips or something, doesn't he? So I'd imagine he has a boat there." She frowns. "Do you think he's in trouble?"

Her eyes move to mine.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," I say.

She nods.

"Will you help him?"

"If we can," says Cupid.

She looks thoughtful a moment, then crosses the room toward a cabinet by the entertainment center. She pulls out an old looking laptop, then walks back across the white linoleum – placing it in front of Cupid and me.

She opens it. 

"What's this?" says Cupid.

I peer over his shoulder. The black screen is filled with green dashes. It looks like some kind of code.

"It's one of the laptops he used for work," says the girl. "I shouldn't have looked at it, but it was out when I was cleaning, and it made a beeping sound. When I looked at the screen – this is what was on it. I thought nothing of it, I mean – it's nonsense – but the next day I heard a beeping again, and more lines were added." She shakes her head. "Maybe I'm being crazy, it's probably just a bug, but I wondered if he was sending some kind of message..."

Cal gives us a questioning look from his position across the room.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Happen to know any Morse code, brother?"

Cal shakes his head. I look up at Cupid.

Morse code? So it is a message?

He pulls out his cell and takes a picture of the screen.

"I'm sending it to Crystal – see if she can translate it," he looks at the girl. "You mind if we take the laptop?"

She shrugs.

"If you think it'll help find Charon."

His grin widens.

"Excellent."

He closes the laptop and tucks it under his arm. Then he looks at me, then Cal.

"Well, I think that'll be all. Shall we go?"

Cal nods, turns on his heel, and heads back out of the open door in a standard rude Cal way. The girl looks at him with a frown and I give her a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks for your help," I say.

Then Cupid and I follow Cal outside. We catch up with him as he strides past the pool. There's a concerned look on his face. Cupid however grins.

"Let's get back and find out what Charon has been trying to tell us, shall we?" he says.