congested with cars heading for the on-ramp to the backed-up West Side Highway. The other direction was not much better, with motorists heading to Broadway or farther east to the twinkling holiday lights of Fifth Avenue. As she moved along the wide sidewalk, Annabelle’s long strides almost kept pace with the snail-like progress of the vehicles. She passed restaurants, clothing stores, and apartment buildings. People entered and exited, all had lives and problems of their own. By the end of the second long block, her mind on Jerome, Annabelle didn’t feel the cold.
She slipped her subway pass from the zippered compartment of her wallet and stuck it in the turnstile. Debris littered the jammed platform and floated in the gust of air that swooshed through the tunnel as the train pulled into the station. A crush of riders pushed forward as the car doors opened. Let ’em off first, she thought. As she moved to board the train, Annabelle felt herself being shoved forward, and her tote bag was yanked out of her hand.
She turned in the direction of the force, searching the faces in the rush-hour crowd, catching sight of a dark coat with a hood pulled up heading toward the steps as the subway doors closed, trapping Annabelle helplessly inside.
Chapter 50
With Christmas coming and budget cutbacks making overtime scarce, Edgar could use all the extra hours he could get. His sister had two young kids and a husband who was on the lam, leaving Edgar as the male figure in his nephews’ lives. He relished playing Santa Claus, determined that the boys would have as good a holiday as possible despite the fact that their father was a miserable lowlife. But that dream cost money, and when someone from the night shift called in sick, Edgar dutifully volunteered to do a double.
The cafeteria was normally fairly quiet during the evenings, night-shift staffers preferring to order take-out dinners from the pizza joints and Chinese restaurants in the area. Tonight, there was more activity than usual as the last KTA staffers straggled through on their way to get their noses swabbed. Edgar got in line himself. He’d spent a lot of time on the KTA floor and, after all, the tests were free. Why take any chances?
By nine o’clock the health workers had packed up their testing paraphernalia and gone. The grill was turned off at ten and the cook went home, leaving Edgar to empty the coffee urns, wipe the counters, and lock everything up for the night.
As he went to switch off the lights in the kitchen, he noticed an industrial-size pot soaking in the large sink. He didn’t want the guy who opened up in the morning to be greeted by that. Edgar rolled up his sleeves.
A turn of the faucet sent the hot water rushing into the stainless-steel sink. The noise of the pounding liquid and of the pot hitting the sink’s sides as Edgar scrubbed blocked out any warning sounds.
He was rinsing away the soap when he felt the piercing pain between his shoulder blades.
Chapter 51
After Annabelle had tucked the kids into their beds for the night and cleaned up the kitchen, she looked forward to a good long soak in the bathtub. She wished she had some exotic, luxurious concoction to pour beneath the spigot, but Mr. Bubble and Epsom salts would have to do.
As she slipped off her bathrobe, Annabelle winced. Her shoulder was aching. The tote bag had been pulled away from her with great force, yanking her arm along with it. Thank goodness, at least whoever it was hadn’t gotten her purse as well. Alerting all the credit card companies and getting a new driver’s license was a headache she was glad to avoid.
The thief was probably cursing his choice of target. Perhaps the bag had already been tossed in a trash can. There were only papers in it, nothing of any apparent value to someone else, only things that mattered to Annabelle and Jerome. Annabelle closed her eyes and sank down beneath the hot water as she thought of Jerome’s precious manuscript lying
She slipped her subway pass from the zippered compartment of her wallet and stuck it in the turnstile. Debris littered the jammed platform and floated in the gust of air that swooshed through the tunnel as the train pulled into the station. A crush of riders pushed forward as the car doors opened. Let ’em off first, she thought. As she moved to board the train, Annabelle felt herself being shoved forward, and her tote bag was yanked out of her hand.
She turned in the direction of the force, searching the faces in the rush-hour crowd, catching sight of a dark coat with a hood pulled up heading toward the steps as the subway doors closed, trapping Annabelle helplessly inside.
Chapter 50
With Christmas coming and budget cutbacks making overtime scarce, Edgar could use all the extra hours he could get. His sister had two young kids and a husband who was on the lam, leaving Edgar as the male figure in his nephews’ lives. He relished playing Santa Claus, determined that the boys would have as good a holiday as possible despite the fact that their father was a miserable lowlife. But that dream cost money, and when someone from the night shift called in sick, Edgar dutifully volunteered to do a double.
The cafeteria was normally fairly quiet during the evenings, night-shift staffers preferring to order take-out dinners from the pizza joints and Chinese restaurants in the area. Tonight, there was more activity than usual as the last KTA staffers straggled through on their way to get their noses swabbed. Edgar got in line himself. He’d spent a lot of time on the KTA floor and, after all, the tests were free. Why take any chances?
By nine o’clock the health workers had packed up their testing paraphernalia and gone. The grill was turned off at ten and the cook went home, leaving Edgar to empty the coffee urns, wipe the counters, and lock everything up for the night.
As he went to switch off the lights in the kitchen, he noticed an industrial-size pot soaking in the large sink. He didn’t want the guy who opened up in the morning to be greeted by that. Edgar rolled up his sleeves.
A turn of the faucet sent the hot water rushing into the stainless-steel sink. The noise of the pounding liquid and of the pot hitting the sink’s sides as Edgar scrubbed blocked out any warning sounds.
He was rinsing away the soap when he felt the piercing pain between his shoulder blades.
Chapter 51
After Annabelle had tucked the kids into their beds for the night and cleaned up the kitchen, she looked forward to a good long soak in the bathtub. She wished she had some exotic, luxurious concoction to pour beneath the spigot, but Mr. Bubble and Epsom salts would have to do.
As she slipped off her bathrobe, Annabelle winced. Her shoulder was aching. The tote bag had been pulled away from her with great force, yanking her arm along with it. Thank goodness, at least whoever it was hadn’t gotten her purse as well. Alerting all the credit card companies and getting a new driver’s license was a headache she was glad to avoid.
The thief was probably cursing his choice of target. Perhaps the bag had already been tossed in a trash can. There were only papers in it, nothing of any apparent value to someone else, only things that mattered to Annabelle and Jerome. Annabelle closed her eyes and sank down beneath the hot water as she thought of Jerome’s precious manuscript lying
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