Part 34 (2/2)
”I think we need to do a little late-night exploring.”
”You mean a little late-night breaking and entering.” She glared at him. ”Are you serious?”
Cameron smiled. ”But it's only a little exploration in a good friend's building. You think he'll mind?”
”h.e.l.lo?” Ann knocked on her head. ”Yes, I think he'll mind.”
”I agree, but I can't worry about that. Tonight we're going to find an amazing book. I can feel it.”
CHAPTER 37.
A strong wind whipped down Main Street, powerful enough to give a slight bend to the lampposts s.p.a.ced at twenty yard intervals. Cameron's parked MINI Cooper lurched back and forth as the wind buffeted the car. His window was open a crack and the wind whistled through the opening, as if it was trying to speak a warning.
Ann scrunched down in the pa.s.senger seat-matching Cameron's own posture-giving little shakes of her head. She looked at him. Her eyes asked if they were really going to do something as ludicrous as break into Taylor's building. He imagined his own eyes said, ”I'm not sure” in return.
It was one in the morning; most of the town had been shut down for three hours. The only building still open was Take a Peak Tavern a quarter-mile down the road at the end of town, and there had been only three cars in the lot when they drove by ten minutes earlier.
”I can't believe we're doing this,” Ann said.
”Why?”
”Why?” She coughed out a laugh. ”Other than the fact I could get fired for doing this and we could both wind up in jail, no reason at all. I'm sure the police would be sympathetic and Taylor would certainly understand why we ended up inside his building at this hour.”
”Early breakfast?”
”We're going to be careful, right?”
”Like little elves on Christmas Eve.”
”Elves make the presents, they don't deliver them.” Ann s.h.i.+fted in her seat and pulled her knees up to her chest. ”Sorry to repeat myself, but I don't want to end up in jail.”
”Then why are you doing this with me?”
”I'm doing it for Jessie.”
”What?”
”I can't believe I'm going to confess this.” Ann rubbed her face with both hands. ”I don't want the book to be real.”
”What are you talking about?”
Ann turned and looked out the pa.s.senger-side window. ”A few months after Jessie and I met in that foster home, she said she knew when she would die. Said she'd seen it when she was a kid. She didn't know the day, or method, but she knew the month and the year. I told her she was crazy.”
Ann hugged herself. ”Over the years she'd bring the subject up, trying to tell me it was part of G.o.d's plan, and I mocked her for it till she gave up.”
”Wow.” Everyone had their secrets.
”If the book turns out to be real, how do I tell Jessie I'm sorry? Even if it's not real, how do I tell her?”
”She forgave you a long time ago.” Cameron flicked his fingers. ”It's gone.”
”I know it. I need to believe it.” Ann patted her knees once. ”Shall we go?”
”I'll go in alone. You should stay on lookout-”
”We already decided to do this together; don't go back on me now.”
”Ann, there's something I need to tell you first. We might be into something more dangerous than I thought. There's a guy who's been watching me.”
”Sungla.s.ses, baseball hat, looks Native American?”
”He's stalked you too?”
”Well, I wouldn't say stalked exactly, but yes.”
”We need to be more careful than the elves.”
”Agreed.”
Cameron slowly squeezed his door handle, opened his door, and slid out. He pulled out his pack from the backseat, looked at Ann, and raised his eyebrows, as if to say one more time, ”Are you sure?”
Ann nodded, got out-her pack in hand-and darted across the rough asphalt street, Cameron close behind. They sliced through the alley between The Sail & Compa.s.s and the Three Peaks Hotel around to the back of the building.
”I'm an idiot,” Cameron said as they knelt next to the back door.
”Why?”
”I didn't remember to bring a gla.s.s cutter. We're going to have to break a window.”
Ann scrunched up her face. ”Are you teasing me?”
”What do you mean?”
”We talked about not having to worry about bringing tools to break in.”
”We did?” Great. Another missing song from his brain's CD.
”We did. Watch.” Ann pulled out an eight-piece lock-pick set from her pack and grinned at Cameron. After a quick study of the lock in the doork.n.o.b, she chose two picks and leaned in, her ear millimeters away from the lock.
She closed her eyes and seemed to be talking to herself. In less than thirty seconds the door was open. Ann bowed her head and extended her palm in invitation for Cameron to enter the building first.
”Another unknown skill of the resourceful Ann Banister.”
”From when I was a teenager. Before I met Jessie and Jesus. Don't ask.”
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