Heavy footsteps traipsed back and forth between the living and dining areas. I could hear papers being shuffled, drawers being opened and slammed shut. Someone was looking for something. The same thing I was looking for? Whatever that was.
Glass shattered in the living room area and I jolted, then tried to breathe again.
I didn’t think Enrico would be stomping around breaking things, rifling carelessly through his own stuff. So who was out there? I hoped they would hurry. It was dark as hell in the pantry and my imagination was going crazy. I could smell peanut butter and I’d swear there were mice in here. I shivered, uneasy about sharing space with rodents.
Footsteps moved into the kitchen and I started to panic. They were too close. I was going to be discovered. And the mice. I could hear them breathing. A scream built in my throat.
A wisp of breath on the skin beneath my ear was my only warning before someone slapped a hand over my mouth and grabbed me from behind.
I was trapped in the viselike grip of my assailant. He’d wrapped one strong arm around my torso to prevent me from hitting him, but if I was about to die in a pantry closet, I refused to go meekly. I didn’t dare make any noise, but I squirmed and tried to bite the palm of his hand. I only managed to gnaw some skin, which almost made me gag. I twisted to get free, but there was no room to maneuver in the confines of the pantry closet.
“Shhhhh,” he whispered, as though he were trying to calm a colicky baby. I could smell his spicy scent and wondered how I hadn’t realized he was hiding here from the moment I stepped inside this space. It wasn’t mice I’d sensed, just one big rat.
“Damn it, Derek,” I hissed, but with his hand clamping my mouth, it sounded like “Mrkmr, rruk.”
“Shut up,” he whispered roughly.
I was truly going to kill him. For now, though, I nodded slowly to let him know I was on board with the plan to keep quiet.
He eased the pressure of his hand on my mouth but kept his other arm tight around me. As the footsteps grew closer to the pantry, I stopped breathing altogether. I was jammed up against Derek’s hard chest and stomach, not to mention his thighs. Oh my. Now that I knew it was him, part of me, okay,
all
of me wanted to rub up even closer and purr like a satisfied kitty cat. This probably wasn’t the best time to be thinking along those lines, especially in light of my recent decision to kill him.
I sucked in a breath as Derek reached between me and the door to grasp the handle, seconds before the intruder tried to open the pantry door. I could feel Derek’s muscles vibrate with tension as he held the door handle so tightly, the intruder had to think it was either stuck or locked.
Either way, the guy on the other side of the door finally uttered an oath and gave up.
As his footsteps moved away from the pantry, I let out a slow breath. The intruder crossed the kitchen and retreated down the hall, his footsteps growing fainter as he moved toward the back of the house.
Just as I thought I might collapse in relief, a door slammed somewhere down the long hall. I tensed again as footsteps pounded down the hardwood floor of the hall and raced out the front door.
There was nothing but silence for a moment; then a car engine started up and tires squealed as the intruder took off.
After ten more seconds, Derek shoved the door open and we escaped the pantry.
After first sucking in the air of freedom, I turned and smacked his arm. “What the hell were you doing in there?”
He dusted off his jacket. “Waiting for you.”
“Very funny. Did you follow me here? I mean, not
follow
me, exactly, since you were here first. But, you know, did you? Follow me?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”
I stomped my foot, then felt like an idiot. But I was irate. “How did you know I was coming here?”
He grabbed my arm and headed for the front door. “We can talk later. Right now we’re trespassing.”
I whipped my arm away. “I have an appointment with Enrico.”
“Call to reschedule.” He pointed to the door. “Let’s go.”
I skirted him and headed the opposite way, down the hall. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m looking for something. I’ll be quick.”
“God, you’re a pain in the ass.”
I glowered at him. “You should talk.”
I heard him sigh as he followed me, coming up close behind me as I surveyed the first room. Twin beds, nightstand, dresser. No frills. It appeared to be a guest bedroom. There were no books, no boxes, nothing that indicated a bookselling business was being operated in there. And nothing that indicated it might be the missing “GW1941.”
“Did you see Enrico leaving?” I asked.
“No.”
“He must’ve forgotten I was coming.”
“Yet he left the door unlocked.”
“Maybe he just ran out for a minute.”
“Which means he’ll be home any second to find us trespassing.”
“I was invited. What’s your excuse?”
“I told you, I was waiting for you.”
“I didn’t tell anyone where I was going,” I insisted.
“You’re not exactly subtle,” he said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The room across the hall was empty except for an ironing board and a television set. I couldn’t see Enrico standing here ironing his shirts while watching
Oprah
. Maybe he had a housekeeper.
“I overheard your conversation with him at the memorial service. You said you’d meet him at two.”
I put my hand on my hip. “You were supposed to be talking to Mary Ellen Prescott.”
He thought for a moment. “Ah yes. Lovely woman. Completely insane.”
I chuckled. “I was hoping she’d convert you.”
“She worships someone’s blood. I envisioned goats on an altar.”
I smiled. “You’re close. Chickens.”
“Good Lord.”
“It’s okay, nothing’s wasted. They eat the chickens after they’re sacrificed.”
He put up his hand to stop me. “More than I wish to know about dear Mary Ellen.”
The next door on the left was closed. I opened it and found Enrico’s library.
There were shelves of leather-bound books from floor to ceiling on all four walls with cutouts around the two windows and the closet. Two brown leather chairs sat in the middle of the room with a mahogany table in between. More finely bound books were stacked on the table. The chairs looked lived in, comfortable and cozy. The rug beneath was an elaborate Persian style with swirls and curlicues in multiple shades of blue and black and beige.
I focused again on that stack of books on the table.
“Ah.” I stepped into the room and picked up the beautifully bound book lying on top. It was Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, bound in burgundy calfskin, heavily gilded, nearly five centuries old, in perfect condition. Nearly priceless.
“What is he doing with this?” I turned to show it to Derek, and that was when I saw Enrico lying in the corner, curled up on that fabulous rug. A dark halo of blood puddled around his head.
“Oh no. Oh God.” My vision wavered; then Enrico’s head telescoped out, in, then out again.
I tried to scream but it sounded like a whimper.
Derek grabbed me, shook me, then pulled me close. “No fainting.”
“He’s dead,” I mumbled into Derek’s shirt.
“Yes,” he said crisply. “Pull yourself together. We’ve got to get out of here.”
“But…” I looked at him. “We should call the police.”
“We will.”
How long had he been lying here, dying? The whole time I’d been poking through his desk and his papers? All that time I’d been hiding in the pantry with Derek while another intruder ransacked the house? Had Enrico still been alive when I walked through the front door? If I’d found him earlier, could I have kept him alive? Called for an ambulance? Would I feel guilty about it for the rest of my life? Right now I thought I might.
“I should’ve-”
“No.”
“But I might’ve-”
“No.” He drew me back into his arms.
“He was here all along,” I whispered.
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“No.”
I was relieved to hear him say it whether he was telling the truth or not. He moved his hands up and down along my spine.
“Come on, let’s go,” he said quietly.
“Shouldn’t we-”
“No, we’ll call from elsewhere.”
“We might’ve helped him.”
“I’m certain he was already dead.”
“You don’t know.”
“Yes, I do.” He placed his hand on the back of my head and eased me closer to him. It shouldn’t have felt so good, but it did. I felt completely enveloped, secure. Loved. An illusion to be sure, but nice for the moment.
Finally, I leaned back to look at him. “You honestly didn’t know he was back here?”
“Honestly.”
“Then how do you know he was dead when we-”
He looked me straight in the eye. “The fact that he’s got a bullet hole in his head makes me think he died rather quickly. And since we heard nothing…”
He let it go at that.
I tried to swallow past the sudden lump in my throat. “Right. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
He hung his head, in defeat or contemplation, I couldn’t say. But when he looked at me again, it was with determination. “Come here.”
Call me weak, but I went willingly back into his arms.
“I’m tired of finding dead bodies,” I whispered after a moment.
“It does get tiresome.”
I must’ve been going into shock because I giggled at that. Taking a deep breath, I vowed to keep it together. Enrico was dead, murdered, and I was standing three feet away from his body. “We’d better get out of here.”
“What a good idea.”
I realized I was still holding the Plutarch and slipped it into my purse. “I’m taking this with me.”
“Fine. Steal another book.” He grabbed my hand and I allowed him to pull me down the hall toward the front door. “We’ll call the police from the nearest restaurant.”
“The Left Hand.”
“Beg your pardon?”
“The Left Hand. It’s a vegetarian restaurant about two blocks away, on California Street.”
He stared at me. “Why am I not surprised you know every eating establishment in this city?”
I shrugged. “I like to eat.”
“I’ve noticed.”
I reached for the front door handle, but Derek pulled me away. “Wait.” He went into the front room and stared out through a crack in the curtains. From over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of a funky old black sports car pulling up to park.
There was a small explosion as the car backfired and trembled to a halt. A woman climbed out from the driver’s seat and headed for the front door.
“It’s Minka,” I said, feeling a chill that had little to do with the dead body down the hall.
“This place is worse than Heathrow for crowds,” he muttered. “And let’s not touch anything else.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe the front doorknob and throw the bolt into place, then grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. “We’ll go out through the back and around the side.”
“Back door’s got a dead bolt. I already checked.”
“Bloody hell.” We looked at each other. I would panic in just a minute.
“We could break the window,” I said.
“If we must. Let’s look for a key first.”
I gulped again. “Maybe they were in his pocket.”
His eyes narrowed as he thought about it. “Or maybe he empties his pockets when he arrives home.” He jogged into the living room and I followed. He scanned the room, finally spying a small bowl on the short bookshelf near the foyer. Sure enough, there was a bowl holding a set of keys and a pile of coins, a cell phone and a wadded tissue, as though he’d stood right there and emptied his pockets.
“Brilliant,” I said.
“We men are a predictable lot.”
He grabbed my hand again and we raced through the kitchen to the back door, just as the front doorbell rang. I could hear Minka shouting Enrico’s name from the front step. She sounded like a fishwife-not that I’d ever heard a true fishwife yelling. It didn’t matter. I had no doubt Minka’s annoying bellows would qualify.
Derek tried the first key and in seconds we were out of the house.
“Enrico, I’ve got my key,” Minka hollered. “I’m coming in.”
“She’s got a mouth,” Derek said. “The entire neighborhood’s going to be alerted.”
We tiptoed around the side of the house just as Minka went through the front door. I could still hear her shouting out his name a few more times.
“Don’t run,” Derek warned as we reached the front sidewalk. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone. Walk as though you belong here. Then drive to the restaurant and park at least a block away. I’ll follow you.”
I didn’t argue. I wanted to be miles away when Minka found Enrico’s body. I walked briskly to my car, started the engine and took off. A few blocks later, I turned right on California Street, found a space and parked.
I could barely catch my breath.
What had I been thinking, walking into Enrico’s house? I had been trespassing on private property. It didn’t matter that I’d had an appointment with Enrico. I didn’t belong there. And all along, he’d been dead in the back room.
I rubbed my arms to fight the chills. Someone had been angry enough to kill him in cold blood. With a gun. Just like Abraham. Why? What had Enrico done? And more importantly,
who
had he so totally enraged that they’d taken a gun and shot him in the head?
It had to be the same person who had killed Abraham. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
The killer hadn’t ransacked Enrico’s home, so maybe they hadn’t been looking for anything but him. That could mean the Winslows were involved. Once again, I pictured little Meredith in that pretty orange jumpsuit.
But maybe Derek’s arrival had scared the killer off and he planned to return to search the place. Which meant that the person searching the house while Derek and I were hiding in the pantry could be the killer.
What was the real connection between Abraham, Enrico and the murderer? Books, to be sure. But which books? One of the Winslows’ collection? Something from the Covington? Or something to do with the old grudge between the two men?
I had no doubt there was a connection between the two deaths. Find that connection and I would find the murderer.
I would find the murderer? I shuddered. No, thank you. I was going back to my loft and hiding under my bed.
Derek’s black Bentley pulled up half a block in front of me. As I watched him approach my car, his gait purposeful, his eyes studying me as a wild cat might scrutinize his quarry, three things occurred to me.
Number one, Derek Stone was really hot.
Number two, Minka didn’t kill Enrico.
Number three, I knew who the intruder was.