“Okay, Lila, stay calm. I’m already moving,” Sean assured me. “You should leave the building.”
“I can’t do that. Neither can anyone else. There’s a chance we’d run into him on our way out, though I’m the only one who poses a genuine threat to him.” I made a quick mental scan of the offices, closets, and conference room. “I could hide in a locked office, but you could pop the locks with a penknife.”
“You need to stay out of sight,” Sean directed and began to talk rapidly, as if he were thinking out loud. “I had concluded that Mason attended the book festival because Melissa was there, and that his proposed serial killer novel was just a ruse. I had no idea Mason was really a writer. Is it possible he’d risk life in prison to become a published author? That he’s that invested in signing this contract?”
Sean’s questions gave me pause. People would go to great lengths to see their work on the bookstore shelf, but Mason had committed two murders. Surely he knew the police were closing in on him. Was he truly foolish enough to show up at my agency, chancing an encounter with the woman who’d been suspicious of him upon first glance?
I swallowed hard. “I don’t think his main purpose is to sign a contract, Sean. He’s coming for me. And I have no weapons except for a stapler and a really heavy dictionary.” I laughed a bit hysterically, my panic increasing as the seconds ticked by. I tried to come up with a logical solution to this new threat, but fear had robbed me of my good sense and I couldn’t think straight.
“Hold on, Lila,” Sean said and issued terse orders at his fellow officers. Then, a car engine rumbled and I knew that he was in motion. My cop was riding in on his black-and-white metal horse to rescue me, but would he be in time?
“Sean, I’ll call you back. I need to get out of my office.”
After making sure no one else was in the corridor, I dashed into the office next to mine and was met by Flora’s congenial grin. “Hello, dear.”
“Flora, this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to pretend that I’m not here.”
Her smile grew broader. “Oh, I completely understand. Sometimes, we just need to check out for a spell. Me? I like to get lost in a Harry Potter novel or recite some of Shel Silverstein’s poetry. Edgar Allan Poe once said, ‘Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.’ I completely agree,” she declared, and then the twinkle faded from her eyes and she sighed. “A little journey into fantasy is good for the soul, especially during trying times such as these.”
Her references to Poe and Tilly’s murder unnerved me even further. I was about to warn her about Kirk Mason when I heard noises in the office reception area. There was no time! I whipped open the door of the white wardrobe tucked into the corner of the room. Flora’s coat, polka-dot rain boots, and flowered umbrella were stored inside, leaving just enough room for me. “Act like you never saw me, Flora. Please!” I stepped into the narrow closet, faltering for a brief second because I hadn’t cautioned her about Kirk Mason. But then I determined that there was no reason for him to harm her. She hadn’t set the police on his trail. I’d done that.
Clutching my cell phone to my chest, I closed the door and waited.
I must have been mistaken in thinking that the sounds in the lobby had been Kirk Mason, because I didn’t hear his voice. Straining to listen for him or Jude, all I heard in the dark was the creaking of Flora’s chair as she eased her weight into it followed by the click, click of her nails against the computer’s keyboard. Suddenly, the sound of music floated from the direction of her desk. It was a soothing piano sonata, and I was grateful for Flora’s good taste. The soft notes and languid rhythm allowed me to relax the tiniest fraction, and my fingers became steady enough to send a text to Sean. I told him where I was hiding and asked how long it would take before he could reach Novel Idea.
He responded immediately, which let me know that someone else was driving, and promised that his partner was going as fast as he could over the mountain roads and they’d be in Inspiration Valley in ten to fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes! Never had such a brief stretch of time seemed so long. Fifteen minutes in the dark. Fifteen minutes of helplessness and terror. I had to do something to occupy my mind. No matter what happened, I wasn’t going to let Kirk Mason reduce me to a quivering mess for another second.