David would react, but I needed this girl's help.
"I want the best for him, too. Surely you know that."
Was she crying? I wasn't sure, and the sound stopped nearly as soon as it had started. Finally, she said, "Look un der one of the columns. There's a bit of detail work hiding the key. You have to push on a slight paint smear and it opens up."
"You've got to be kidding me," I said as I got out of the car in search of this secret hiding place. It was obvious the others wanted to know what I was up to, but to their credit, they followed me in relative silence. I studied each col umn's base and couldn't see a thing that looked out of the ordinary. "It's not here."
"The key's gone? David must still have it," she said.
"No, I'm talking about the paint smudge. It's simply not on any of the bases."
"Are you sure you're looking carefully enough?" Annie asked.
"I can see a smudge without my glasses," I said abruptly. "Which column is it in? Do you remember?"
She paused, then said, "I think it's on the right side. It's not the key I use, but Tamra told me about it in case I lost mine."
"I started from the left," I said, "but I'll keep looking."
"I'm sorry, I'm just not myself."
"It's all right, dear," I said. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you."
"Thanks for being so understanding, Carolyn."
"That's what I do," I said. "I'm looking, but I still don't see it." The others must have thought I'd lost my mind, but they didn't say a word as I stared intently at the column bases. I explained what I was looking for, then Butch got down on his hands and knees and started studying one him self. He frowned a second, then poked a spot I'd missed. To my surprise, a small door opened, and there, inside the base, lay a key.
"We found it," I said.
"We? You didn't bring the police with you, did you?"
"Of course not, Annie. Now I've got to go."
"You won't tell him I told you, will you?"
"I promise," I said, and then I hung up. I stared at Butch
as he handed me the key. "How on earth did you know to do that?"
"It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?" he said, trying not to sound too smug.
"Maybe to you," I said.
I took the key and approached the door.
Jenna put a hand on my arm before I could try it. "Are you sure we shouldn't ring the bell first? We might frighten him off if we just barge in."
"I'll call out his name as soon as we get inside," I said.
I slipped the key into the lock and gently turned the knob. As I slowly pushed the door inward, I saw a handgun leveled at my chest, and David's finger nearly white on the trigger.
Chapter 7
"Would you mind pointing that somewhere else?" I asked David as calmly as I could manage. This was the second weapon pointed at me today, definitely a trend I wanted to discourage.
"Sorry, I didn't know it was you," David said as he low ered the gun to his side.
Butch walked past me and took it from David's grasp. "You should never point one of these things at somebody unless you're willing to use it," he said. "And before you can do that, you've got to take the safety off, like this." He moved a small lever and handed the gun back to David. "Now it's ready to shoot."
"Give me that," Jenna snapped, and David handed it to her. She put it gingerly in Butch's hands. "Put the safety back on, unload it, and then, David, put it back where you found it."
"Fine," he said. "What are you all doing here? Annie told you where I was hiding, didn't she?"
I wasn't about to tell on her. "It wasn't that difficult to figure out," I said before the others could stop me. "You left the security code wadded up on the couch. The alarm's not set right now, is it? We wouldn't want the sheriff showing up." I added with a frown, "Nice housekeeping in the shop, by the way."
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I was in a bit of a rush to get out of there. That still doesn't explain how you knew to come here. Annie must have told you where I was, and where to find the key."
Butch grinned at him. "I
"I want the best for him, too. Surely you know that."
Was she crying? I wasn't sure, and the sound stopped nearly as soon as it had started. Finally, she said, "Look un der one of the columns. There's a bit of detail work hiding the key. You have to push on a slight paint smear and it opens up."
"You've got to be kidding me," I said as I got out of the car in search of this secret hiding place. It was obvious the others wanted to know what I was up to, but to their credit, they followed me in relative silence. I studied each col umn's base and couldn't see a thing that looked out of the ordinary. "It's not here."
"The key's gone? David must still have it," she said.
"No, I'm talking about the paint smudge. It's simply not on any of the bases."
"Are you sure you're looking carefully enough?" Annie asked.
"I can see a smudge without my glasses," I said abruptly. "Which column is it in? Do you remember?"
She paused, then said, "I think it's on the right side. It's not the key I use, but Tamra told me about it in case I lost mine."
"I started from the left," I said, "but I'll keep looking."
"I'm sorry, I'm just not myself."
"It's all right, dear," I said. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you."
"Thanks for being so understanding, Carolyn."
"That's what I do," I said. "I'm looking, but I still don't see it." The others must have thought I'd lost my mind, but they didn't say a word as I stared intently at the column bases. I explained what I was looking for, then Butch got down on his hands and knees and started studying one him self. He frowned a second, then poked a spot I'd missed. To my surprise, a small door opened, and there, inside the base, lay a key.
"We found it," I said.
"We? You didn't bring the police with you, did you?"
"Of course not, Annie. Now I've got to go."
"You won't tell him I told you, will you?"
"I promise," I said, and then I hung up. I stared at Butch
as he handed me the key. "How on earth did you know to do that?"
"It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?" he said, trying not to sound too smug.
"Maybe to you," I said.
I took the key and approached the door.
Jenna put a hand on my arm before I could try it. "Are you sure we shouldn't ring the bell first? We might frighten him off if we just barge in."
"I'll call out his name as soon as we get inside," I said.
I slipped the key into the lock and gently turned the knob. As I slowly pushed the door inward, I saw a handgun leveled at my chest, and David's finger nearly white on the trigger.
Chapter 7
"Would you mind pointing that somewhere else?" I asked David as calmly as I could manage. This was the second weapon pointed at me today, definitely a trend I wanted to discourage.
"Sorry, I didn't know it was you," David said as he low ered the gun to his side.
Butch walked past me and took it from David's grasp. "You should never point one of these things at somebody unless you're willing to use it," he said. "And before you can do that, you've got to take the safety off, like this." He moved a small lever and handed the gun back to David. "Now it's ready to shoot."
"Give me that," Jenna snapped, and David handed it to her. She put it gingerly in Butch's hands. "Put the safety back on, unload it, and then, David, put it back where you found it."
"Fine," he said. "What are you all doing here? Annie told you where I was hiding, didn't she?"
I wasn't about to tell on her. "It wasn't that difficult to figure out," I said before the others could stop me. "You left the security code wadded up on the couch. The alarm's not set right now, is it? We wouldn't want the sheriff showing up." I added with a frown, "Nice housekeeping in the shop, by the way."
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I was in a bit of a rush to get out of there. That still doesn't explain how you knew to come here. Annie must have told you where I was, and where to find the key."
Butch grinned at him. "I
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