was once known as an antimacassar. The chair itself might have dated from the time when men still used macassar oil to dress their hair, and the doily kept them from soiling the furniture. Faye probably expected that patent leather hair would come back into vogue someday and was prepared for it.

“Well then, what can you tell me?”

Erik shrugged. “Not much. She lives in a dorm at school. Keeps to herself a lot. I’ve been following her around ever since…” He trailed off.

Faye sighed. “Yes, we all miss Sybil, dear. It was a terrible shock. A terrible loss.”

Erik cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Anyway, ever since it happened, I’ve been following her. Went to the funeral, but I kept out of sight. I didn’t see anybody odd. She drove to Sybil’s apartment yesterday. I guess she was sorting through stuff. I stayed out in the hall for a while listening.” He hesitated. “I heard a lot of crying.”

“Poor child,” Faye said quietly. She smoothed the folds of her housedress. “Poor lost child.”

Erik hunched forward on the couch. “Do you think she knows anything about Sybil’s recovery? About us?”

Faye shook her head. “No, Sybil was most emphatic. She told me that she didn’t want her sister involved. She wanted to keep her safe. She believed the less Cassie knew, the better.”

Erik looked skeptical. “I don’t see how keeping somebody in the dark is going to keep them safe. They’re more likely to do something stupid when they don’t know what they’re up against.”

The young man stood up and began to pace. “It just seems wrong. Somebody ought to tell her.”

Faye fixed her gaze on her visitor. Her expression was mild, almost curious. “Exactly how could we explain ourselves in a way that she would understand?”

Erik ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. We probably can’t. But this whole thing is making me edgy. I don’t like it. Just hanging around and listening to a kid cry.” He threw himself back down on the couch, exasperated. “Can I quit yet?”

“I’d like you to keep watching her for a while longer.”

Erik picked up his car keys and jingled them distractedly between his fingers. “What exactly do you think is gonna happen?”

“I expect that sooner or later the person who killed Sybil will reveal himself.”

“He probably found what he wanted in the shop. He’s probably long gone by now.”

Faye stood and walked over to the picture window. She watched the morning breeze shake loose another batch of blossoms. “And if he didn’t obtain what he was looking for, how long do you think it will take him to find Cassie?”

Erik stopped jingling the keys. He looked down at his hands. “I guess I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.”

“Nor would I, dear.” Faye turned toward Erik. “Let’s watch her a little while longer just to be sure.”

Chapter 6 – Compound Interest

 

Despite her best intentions, it was after sunset the following evening before Cassie found her way back to Sybil’s apartment. Time to put all this in the past, she told herself decisively as she got out of her car and crossed the street toward the Gold Coast high rise. Yeah right. She was so eager to put things behind her that she’d procrastinated until nightfall to avoid confronting the residue of her sister’s life again. And she didn’t even have the excuse of going to classes anymore. School was on hold indefinitely. There was still the tricky matter of deciding where to live. She would probably move out of the dorm and into Sybil’s place. Right now, that thought made her shudder. Not quite ready to deal with it yet.

She got off the elevator on the fourth floor and headed toward Sybil’s flat at the end of the hall. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the bottom of the door. There was light coming from inside. Had she forgotten to switch off the power the day before? Who knew? She shrugged and sorted through the keys on her ring. When she turned the lock, she thought she heard a click coming from inside. Cassie swung the door open wide. She stood on the threshold listening for a moment. The place was dark, completely still.

She walked across the room toward an end table to turn on the lamp. Something or someone slammed into her, shoving her sideways. She hit the wall, knocking the breath out of her lungs. As she scrambled to her feet, she caught a glimpse of a man fleeing through the open door. Cassie gasped. He was wearing a Stetson hat, and he was holding an object she remembered seeing the day before.

Before she could react, he was down the hall, through the fire exit door, and halfway to the ground floor.

“Hey, hey you! Stop!” She started to run toward the lighted hallway when she collided with another man. He shoved her back into the apartment. She didn’t think she recognized this one, but the place was still dark, so she couldn’t be sure.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“Who are you?” she countered. “Where did you come from? What are you doing here?”

“No time for that now!” His voice was urgent. “What happened?”

“A... a man. He must have broken in. He... he was wearing a cowboy hat,” she stammered.

The stranger grabbed her by the arms and shook her to get her attention. “Now listen! This is important! Did he take anything?”

Cassie was having a hard time thinking clearly. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears. “Yeah, I think…”

“What?” the man shook her again. “What was it?”

“It was a stone ruler. Five-sided. About a foot long with weird markings all over it.” She twisted away from his grasp. “That’s all I could see. Now, who—” Before she could get the rest of the question out, the man vanished.

She heard him shout back at her from down the hallway, “Call the police!” Then she heard the fire exit door slam and the sound of feet clattering down the emergency stairs.

Cassie

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