After the killer left with the body, Icalled Devlin from beneath Gerrity’s desk. Never mind that he’d warned me not to contact him. Never mind that I’d found his medallion clinging to a dead man’s fingers. He was the only one I wanted to see, the only one who could calm the hysteria bubbling inside me. The idea of his strong arms around me at that moment was irresistible.
When he didn’t answer, I left a mostly incoherent voice mail and hung up. It was cowardly of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave my hiding place. The paralysis turned out to be a very good thing because the killer— or someone—returned to Gerrity’s office. Not once, but twice.
I huddled beneath the desk, quaking in fear and shuddering in horror as another beetle crept up my arm, inching ever closer to my face. Finally, I could stand it no longer and flicked it away. I heard the click as the shell hit the floor, and then, I could have sworn, the scurry of those tiny feet.
As the killer moved about the office, I tracked other sounds. The shuffle of papers. The metallic clang of file drawers being opened and closed. The occasional rasp of an impatient breath. And then the echo of retreating footsteps for the final time.
Still, I waited. I didn’t know how many minutes passed before I worked up enough courage to crawl from my hiding place. The body was gone, the beetles were gone and the candle had been snuffed. Nothing remained of the violence that had been done there, and for a moment I questioned whether I might have been dreaming. But the cramps in my legs and back felt very real.
Breathing deeply to quiet my nerves, I slipped across the room and listened at the door for footsteps or any sound at all that would alert me to danger. I wasn’t sure what terrified me the most—the idea of remaining hidden in that room or venturing out into the hallway, into the open.
I had no idea if Devlin had even gotten my message, and I flirted briefly with the notion of calling 911. But that little matter of the medallion plagued me. Devlin’s wasn’t unique. Anyone who belonged to the Order of the Coffin and the Claw would own a similar talisman. And yet…I somehow knew the one clutched in my hand belonged to Devlin. I just didn’t know—and was afraid to speculate—how it had come to be entwined around Tom Gerrity’s cold, lifeless fingers, as though he’d yanked it from Devlin’s neck before he died.
But I refused to entertain even a moment’s doubt. I knew Devlin’s character well enough by now. He had his secrets and, God knew, a dark enough past, but he was not a murderer. On that I would stake my life.
I eased into the hall and made my way to the stairs, pausing once again to listen. Was that a footfall? The soft thud of a door closing?
A floorboard creaked somewhere in the building. I couldn’t tell if the sound came from behind or in front of me, nor did I stop to find out. Adrenaline and panic drove me headlong down the stairs, and then I drew up short as a silhouette emerged from the gloom in the foyer. I wavered on the stairs, not knowing whether to go up or down or to try and make a dash for the door.
Then as the shadow came forward, I saw that it was Devlin. He stood at the bottom of the steps, dressed darkly as always, staring up at me.
I flung myself at him, and he caught me awkwardly with one arm, letting me savor his warmth for a moment before holding me gently away from him. I didn’t want to go, and so I clung shamelessly to the lapel of his jacket. I wanted to stay nestled against that hard chest forever, drinking in the essence of him, that dark blend of mystery and magnetism that belonged only to him.
With an effort I pulled myself together. “Thank God you got my message,” I said on a breath.
His gaze shot past me up the stairs, and even in the dim light that managed to penetrate the grimy windows, I saw a telling puzzlement in his eyes as he searched the shadows above us.
I turned to follow his gaze with a shiver. “We should go.”
My urgency didn’t seem to penetrate because he took his time scouring first the landing and then my face before he drew me back into the shadowy corner from which he had materialized. His grasp was firm and comforting, but I wanted to be back in his arms, encased so tightly that our heartbeats sounded as one. Never had his presence affected me so strongly. Never had I needed him more than I did at that moment, but something wasn’t right about his demeanor. Outwardly, he seemed in perfect control, as stoic and elegant as ever, but I could sense his tension and a carefully suppressed agitation that made me think of the silver medallion stuffed in my pocket. Why I didn’t haul it out and present it to him then and there, I wasn’t quite certain.
He lowered his voice, but the echo of it vibrated through the murk, giving my pulse an extra kick of adrenaline. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but…we have to get out of here.” My own voice was little more than a quivering rasp.
His hands slid up to grasp my forearms. “Tell me what happened. Quickly.”
“But he could still be up there,” I whispered frantically. “We have to
He held me firmly in place. “Calm down and tell what happened.”
“Tom Gerrity’s dead,” I blurted.
His fingers dug into my flesh, and when I winced, he eased up at once. “How do you know?”
“I found the body a little while ago in his office. At least…I think it was Tom Gerrity. His face was covered with beetles.”
“Beetles? What are you talking about?”
“Insects. I know it sounds strange but I saw them.”
His gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you weren’t dreaming or hallucinating?”
“I was wide awake and perfectly lucid. And I’m telling you his body was covered in them.” A shudder went through me. “One was trapped beneath a glass, and I think it was left as a message or a warning. And I think Darius meant for me to find that body.”
“
I said hesitantly, “I didn’t see him, but I dreamed about beetles last night and I saw one today on my shoe. And now this—” I broke off, glancing wildly around the foyer as though Darius might be lurking in the shadows. “It has to be a sign, doesn’t it?”
“A sign of what?”
“I don’t know. My own death maybe.”
Devlin gave me a little shake. “Don’t do that. You’re letting him get to you.”
“I know, but it was just so terrifying.”
Devlin still held me, but I could tell his mind had gone elsewhere. He was looking past me again as if trying to picture the scene I’d just described to him.
When he started toward the stairs, I grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”
“I need to have a look around.”
“You won’t find Gerrity. The body’s been moved. He was wrapped in plastic and dragged away.”
“How long were you up there?” Devlin’s voice held an edge of something I couldn’t quite name.
“Fifteen, twenty minutes. Maybe a little longer. I lost track of time.” It had still been daylight when I arrived, but now sunset had come and gone. We were on the cusp of twilight and any moment now, Devlin’s ghosts would come through. I searched behind him for that dreaded glimmer.
For the first time, a chink appeared in his armor. “Why did you come here in the first place?” he asked sharply.
I blinked at his tone. “Does that matter right now? I think we should just get out of here.”
“Yes, it matters. A man’s dead, according to you. The police will want to know what you were doing here.”
“But you are the police.”
“For now,” he muttered.
“What does that mean?”
“Just tell me why you’re here. The truth. It’s important.”
“I came to talk to Gerrity.”
“What about?”
I sighed. “It’s a long story. It has to do with blackmail—”
He looked down at me incredulously. “How in God’s name do you know about the blackmail?”
I drew back in shock, my gaze searching his face. “I overheard a conversation between Gerrity and Dr. Shaw. I’ll tell you everything I know about it, but…can we get out of here first?” I glanced around nervously. “If he’s not
