Sinister: A Paranormal Fantasy (Sinisters Book 1) by Colleen Fleshman

He could hear footsteps by now, heading directly toward him. He adjusted the chair slightly so it hid his body, then held his breath. The footsteps stopped just inside Caracalla’s door.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
     
     
    After what seemed like an eternity, the footsteps started again, but not heading away as Matt had hoped. They were walking towards the bathroom—which Oliver had left in complete disarray. All he could do was pray that whoever was walking around didn’t know what the bathroom normally looked like.
    The footsteps stopped again, and Matt imagined the person was surveying the mess. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body now that the need for action was over, and he suddenly became aware of an uncontrollable tickle in his nose. He fought the feeling, but the need to sneeze was becoming overwhelming. Pinching his nostrils together with his fingers, he hoped the person would leave soon.
    The soft pad of footfalls started again, and Matt had never been happier to hear that noise. He heard a light switch flip and was plunged into darkness. The steps continued out the door, and he let out the breath he’d been holding, which triggered the sneeze he’d been keeping in. His hand muffled it, but he still heard the footsteps falter and cursed himself. He could imagine the person, standing in the hallway, trying to figure out what he'd just heard. Was it a person, or just the creaks of a building? Should he go back?
    Matt held his breath, ears straining for any sound. The footsteps started again, and for a second he couldn't tell if they were coming back or going away. After a second, he realized the noise was fading. He didn’t move a muscle until he heard the stairwell door close, then he let out the breath he'd been holding. He could feel his arms trembling as he pushed back the chair and peered around the desk.
    The room looked empty, and Matt cautiously stood up, stretching to relieve the tension. He released Oliver and Anna, who looked cramped and shaken from the experience.
    “Thank God,” Oliver whispered.
    Matt nodded fervently. “Can you clean this up, Oliver?” He gestured to the drawers spewing their contents like mini-volcanoes of toiletries.
    "Clean that up?" Oliver pointed at the mess but made no move toward it.
    Matt rolled his eyes. Even if Oliver was the biggest slob in the world, he had to see that the place looked like a tornado had ripped through it. Caracalla was definitely going to notice.
    "It was like that when I got here."
    "Seriously?" It made no sense. The rest of the office was spotless. Whoever had taken the time to organize even the pencils on the desk into straight lines wouldn't have been able to resist putting the soap back into the drawer. What would someone be searching for in a bathroom? And for that matter, who?
    Matt walked back to the main office, his thoughts still on the mess in the bathroom as he collapsed in the desk chair. His legs shook from nerves as he pieced through the information. Someone had searched the bathroom, but apparently left the office itself intact. Was that a clue? And had the person found what they were looking for?
    Someone else is here right now , he reminded himself. The mess in the bathroom was puzzling, but it was more pressing to search for other clues and get out of the place as soon as possible. He wouldn’t be able to turn the lights on again. The guard, or whoever was walking around, would instantly know someone was here if they saw this office lit up again. There was plenty of light streaming in the glass walls from the square, though, so he could still see enough to do a search.
    Though he didn’t expect the computer to easily yield its secrets, Matt still tapped at the keyboard. He was unsurprised when faced with the Windows login screen. He had taken a few computer science classes and actually enjoyed programming, but unfortunately, his classes didn’t teach him anything illegal.
    “You don’t happen to