“And I have my book for you to sign.”

She found the novel, and while she was looking for a pen, his phone rang.

“Yes,” he told whoever was on the other end of the line. “They’re gone . . . What do you mean . . . ? Okay. I’ll be there.”

He hung up.

“What is it?” Tessa asked.

“You can’t stay here. I need you to come with me.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s someone I have to see. I’ll bring you along, but you need to hide.”

“Hide? Hide where?”

“In the backseat of my car. I’ll cover you with a blanket. I need to get you out of here, and that’s the only thing I can think of.”

“I probably shouldn’t go anywhere with you.”

“I don’t think it would be safe for you here. He might come.”

“Who?”

Timothy was quiet.

“That woman who disappeared,” Tessa said. “Miranda Walsh. Did you hurt her?”

“No.” But he didn’t answer right away.

She slung her hands to her hips. “You’re gonna have to tell me more about what’s going on here before I get in a car with you. Seriously. And it better be good.”

“I think that Miranda is dead and that the man who killed her might be watching the house. I think you might be in danger.”

“Then we should call the cops.”

“No. He’ll know.”

“How?”

“Trust me. Listen, I trusted you the other night at the Mystorium when you helped me. Trust me now. I promise I’ll protect you.”

Timothy went upstairs and came back down with a handgun.

Tessa backed across the room. “What’s that for?”

“You,” he said, holding it out for her.

++++

When I didn’t hear from the agents who were staking out Sabian’s house, I called them back.

“Well?” I was navigating through traffic with one hand while holding the phone to my ear with the other. “What was the girl’s name?”

“It was Sabian’s niece,” the guy said.

“Did you talk with her?”

“No. We were actually called off the house.”

“Called off the house? What are you talking about? Who called you off the house?”

“Assistant Director DeYoung.”

What? Why would he do that?

“Are you sure it was him?”

Silence.

“Well?”

“The call came from his number. The guy said it was him.”

Numbers can be mimicked, piggy-backed—

“But could you tell for sure?”

“The call was grainy. No.”

“Are you still there at the house?”

“We just left.”

I smacked the steering wheel. “Get back there and see who she is.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now!”

With all that was happening, I asked Ralph if he could take over driving and we made the switch.