“You’re right,” I said abruptly. “We can’t expect her to give out that kind of information. Right, Seth?”

He turned to me again, giving me a curious glance. “Right?” It was more of a question than an agreement.

Mary nearly melted in relief, her eyes all over Seth. “Oh, I knew you’d understand. I could tell right away that we think just alike. Kindred spirits and all that, you know? Just from the way you write I—”

“Hey, Mary?” I interrupted.

She looked over at me, again seeming astonished that I was still there.

“Do you have a bathroom I could use?”

“Bathroom?” she repeated, like it was a crazy concept.

“It was a long drive,” I explained sweetly. “Besides, that’ll give you and Seth a chance to get to know each other while he signs your books.”

Her face brightened again, and she turned to Seth without another glance for me. “Oh, sure! That’s a great idea, Georgia. It’s down the hall.”

I stood up. “Thanks.”

Seth and I made brief eye contact. There was a look of both panic and wariness. He didn’t want to be left alone. And he also knew I wouldn’t give up the fight so easily. He suspected that I was up to something.

He was right. I was about to go break into Mary’s records.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Mary’s excited blathering rang through the house as I hurried down the hallway. I could see the bathroom at the end and three closed doors along the way. Great. Did they have to be shut? With my luck, they’d probably squeak. I could only hope that Mary would remain too loud and too distracted to notice.

The first door opened—with no squeaking—into a bedroom. The bed was unmade, and clothes had been pushed into piles against the wall. An old dresser sat against one wall, and a nightstand with some papers stood near the other. There was also a mirror on the ceiling.

Shuddering, I considered going in to investigate the nightstand papers but decided to hold out and see if I might find an office behind one of the other two doors. Shutting this one silently, I continued down the hallway.

The second door did squeak, and I froze, waiting for Mary to come tearing down after me in an effort to bludgeon me with one of Seth’s books. I wasn’t entirely sure how far his star power would go to save me if caught snooping. She didn’t look like the violent type, but one never knew. Fortunately, she kept talking without pause, and I stuck my head inside the new room. It was just another bedroom, a guest one by the looks of the dust and lack of personal items. I closed the door, grimacing at another squeak. One more room to go.

Jackpot.