Jane Bites Back

As the two of them left the room, Walter came to Jane. Kneeling, he reached behind her and cut her ropes.

“How did you get free?” she asked as she stood.

“Pocketknife,” said Walter as he took her arm and ran for the door. “It just took me a while to get it open.”

Behind them Jane could hear crashes and screams as Byron and Charlotte continued to fight. In the main room of the bookstore Kelly and Lucy waited anxiously.

“Who’s winning?” Lucy asked.

Jane shook her head. “It’s hard to say,” she replied.

“We should call the police,” Walter suggested.

“No!” Lucy and Jane said simultaneously.

Walter looked at them both. “But—” he began.

“Trust me on this,” said Jane, interrupting.

“We should at least try to help him,” said Walter.

“I say let her have him,” Kelly said. “Home wrecker.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, he saved your life,” said Lucy sharply.

“For the moment,” Jane said. “We need to get out of here.”

They ran for the front door and into the parking lot. There they huddled in a group, watching the store for signs. A moment later they saw shadowy figures moving inside the store.

“They’re still at it,” said Jane.

Loud thumps came from inside, and something fell over with a crash. “That sounds like the audiobooks display,” Lucy remarked.

“That’s it,” said Walter. “I’m going in.”

Before Jane could stop him he had run back inside. More crashes filled the air, and then a figure ran toward the large glass window that spanned the front of the shop. The shadow grew larger and larger. Then it hit the window with a sickening thud and the glass shattered. Tiny pieces of glass fell to the sidewalk, clattering like hail, and Charlotte followed them. She landed face-first on the pavement and lay still.

Walter and Byron emerged from the store, panting heavily. They looked at the prone body of Charlotte. Byron clapped Walter on the back. “Good work,” he said.

Walter shook his head. “You’re the one who clocked her with the Stephen King hardcover. That took some of the wind out of her.”

“Thank heavens he’s a wordy man,” said Byron.

The two of them came over to where the others were standing. Jane gave Walter a hug, holding him close. “I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said.

“Me too,” said Walter. “For a while there I thought that lunatic was going to slit all our throats. I still don’t get it. All of that over a book?”

“It’s a good thing you came along,” Lucy said to Byron.

Before Byron could respond, Kelly hauled off and punched him in the face. Byron reeled back, holding his nose, while Kelly shook his hand in obvious pain. “That hurt!” he yelped.

“Bloody hell!” Byron said.

“Boys!” Jane said, getting between them. “You can work it out later. Right now we need to do something with Charlotte. I mean Violet.”

“That could be a problem,” Lucy said.

Jane turned to her. “Why?”

Lucy nodded toward the store. Where Charlotte had been lying there was now nothing but broken glass.

Chapter 33

She pressed her head against Charles’s chest. His heart lay beneath her cheek, every beat a reminder of his presence. She matched her breathing with his until they became one body, sharing blood and breath.

—Jane Austen, Constance, manuscript

“Tell me again why we aren’t calling the police,” Walter said to Jane. They’d just returned to Jane’s house after straightening up the bookstore. It was two in the morning, and Jane was exhausted. She was sitting on the couch, her feet tucked up under her, drinking a cup of tea.

“It would only be a lot of bother,” Jane answered.

“Bother?” said Walter. “The woman was going to kill us.”

“I don’t think she would really have done it,” Jane said. “I think she was just upset.”

Walter gave her a disbelieving look. “You saw the inside of the store,” he reminded her. “You saw what she did to the window. That was a little more than just being upset. It was completely psychotic.”

“Trust me,” Jane said. “We know her name. We can easily track her down if need be. I think you and Byron scared her well enough.”

“That’s another thing,” said Walter. “Why did he come back? And what’s this about him and Kelly’s boyfriend? I’m so confused.”

As if he’d been called, Kelly came into the living room. He had a towel wrapped around his hand.

“Is the ice helping?” Jane asked him.

“A little,” he answered. “I can’t believe how much it hurts.”

“Yes, well, Byron—Brian—has a very hard head,” Jane told him.

Kelly leaned his head back and groaned. “I feel like such an idiot,” he said. “I behaved like a five-year-old who was mad because someone stole his milk money.”

“It sounds like he stole a little more than that,” said Walter. “I’d have decked him too.” He looked at Jane and grinned. “In fact, I believe I threatened to do exactly that.”

“Boys,” Jane said. “You’re all impossible.” Despite what she said, she reached out and took Walter’s hand.

“Who is that guy?” Kelly asked. “Some kind of bisexual writer kung-fu expert, or what? And how weird is it that right after you had a run-in with him he came on to Bryce?”

“Not as weird as you might think,” Jane said. “Speaking of which, how are you feeling about things with Bryce?”

Kelly waved a hand in the air. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I’ve been with the man for almost ten years. And I guess if I was willing to fight for him, I must still love him. He’s going to owe me big time, though. We’re talking a trip to Europe, or maybe a country house.” He bit his lip, then raised an eyebrow. “Besides, I have to admit, there really is something about Brian.”

“Don’t you even think about it,” Jane said quickly.

Kelly laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll be a good boy.” He stood up. “And now it’s off to bed for me. This has been more than enough excitement for this city boy. I had no idea you country folk were so wild.”

“Wait until tomorrow,” Walter told him. “We’re planning a barn raising.”

Kelly went upstairs, leaving Jane and Walter alone. Jane still hadn’t let go of Walter’s hand. Holding it was reassuring. He was something solid to cling to, something real and warm and safe. I could sit like this forever, she thought.

“I like him,” Walter said.

“Like who?” Jane asked.

“Kelly,” said Walter. “To tell you the truth, I was sort of hoping he’d say things are over with this Bryce guy. I was going to set him up with Hank.”

“Hank?” said Jane. “You mean your electrician Hank?” She got a mental picture of Walter’s longtime friend and sometime co-worker. He was a big man, with a thick beard and hands that reminded Jane of bear paws.

Walter nodded. “Big Hank,” he confirmed.