Glorious paintings lined the hallway, with glowing spotlights to emphasize their detailed splendor. William peered at one he thought he recognized. He knew enough of art to know a Salvador Dali, but when he looked closer at the signature, he saw it had been merely painted in his style. Still it was breathtaking.

As he walked along the corridor, he noted the paintings were of the same quality. He wondered how somebody seeming to have only simple taste a few years ago had transformed into a collector of such fine art pieces. Orelia was certainly an enigma.

William looked at his watch again. Fourteen minutes left until his absolute must-leave time. With a safety margin, even less. He had wasted too many precious seconds admiring the paintings and surroundings. So no more stopping to admire. He got the message anyway, loud and clear. She’d done well for herself.

Her bedroom lay behind two light honey-colored timber doors at the end of the corridor. He pushed them open and, despite his resolution to ignore the grandeur, paused to take in the scale and magnificence.

Wow! This was nice!

Intricately detailed French-oak floor-to-ceiling cabinetry framed an enormous king-size bed. Gold curtains, matching coverings, and pillows just as exquisite as the art. A chaise lounge positioned by extensive windows said no-expense spared. Even the fern-patterned taupe-cream carpet appeared custom designed to match the surroundings. The glorious crystal chandelier hanging above must have cost more than William’s car.

While the level below spoke of a somewhat wealthy person, upstairs was straight out of an E! Channel documentary on lifestyles of the rich and famous. How could Orelia have accrued this in a few short years since her first novel? Unless she had amassed it before this started. Then why had she been working in a humble store?

Yet another mystery which required solving. Or not, he reminded himself. The only mystery needing to be uncovered was how she had cursed him and how to stop her. The book and unraveling its secret was his goal. The rest were just questions of curiosity.

He entered the room and roamed, scanning left-to-right. His fear of failing evaporated in an instant and his heart lifted. This was too easy. On the bedside table was the prize.

He rushed toward the bed, thanking luck for smiling on him. The innocent-looking volume lay open, and the pages he could see contained only a few hand-written sentences.

He wanted to read them right then, but a glance at his watch told him his time had disappeared. By his calculations, five to ten minutes remained before Orelia’s return. He’d need every moment of them to escape and climb over the fence.

William scooped up the book, and as he did, an odd flow of air surrounded and coddled him in a physical embrace as if someone was there beside him. He swung to face the door, thinking the slight breeze was somebody entering the room. Excuses as to why he’d be here in her bedroom ran through his mind. Nothing sounded reasonable of course. He was in trouble. Big trouble. All he could do was run but—