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“All that stamp collecting,” I said, shaking my head. “That explains the perfectly done and magnificently symmetrical death threats.”
“But it doesn’t explain much else,” Snatch said.
“You can go back to the show now,” I said. “I’m going to go down to the main office and see what else I can dig up. Don’t worry Beau now, but can you tell him during the intermission?”
“Be careful,” Snatch said warningly, and I nodded my head.
She left, and I was still looking at the laptop screen when a saw a gun enter the room, followed by an unpleasantly large and thuggish man and then my boss, Rupert Bartholomew-Buxton.
32
JE SWEET
Iwas in the middle of a set when I saw Snatch waving anxiously for me. I gave her an odd look but ignored her. She kept doing it, and I finally jabbed the Corn Queen in the side, told her to cover for me, and met Snatch in the hall.
“What the fuck is wrong?” I asked testily.
“It’s Elowyn,” Snatch said. “I think she’s done something stupid.”
I felt the remainder of my reckless and jackass ways leave my body at these words, to disappear forever into the ether and be replaced with the kind of determined risk avoidance that would have made any insurance specialist proud.
“Where is she?” I bit out.
Snatch only had to hiss a few anxious words to me before I was hurtling down the hallway and into the dressing room.
I felt horror crawl over my skin as I realized I didn’t know where Elowyn was. I forced myself to stop and think. Where would that bastard Rupert have taken her?
He sent histrionic death threats, he cut the power lines, he shot himself, so what else would a melodramatic jackass like him do?
The leaky, creepybasement.He had to have taken her down there.
I hurried down to the elevator and there was a big out of order sign on it. I opened the doors and saw the elevator suspended above my head. Rupert must have jammed it so no one could get down.
Shit.
I hurried to the stairs and tried the door. It was blocked too.
Fuck.
Fear was crawling on my skin. I had to get down to El.
I went back to the elevator and pried open the door the rest of the way, then I started climbing down the elevator shaft in my heels. I didn’t look up. I just had to hope that they wouldn’t unblock the elevator in the next 5 minutes.
I went as fast as I could down to the basement, and slowly eased the door open. The halls were dark down here, and for one terrible moment I was afraid I had guessed wrongly and she wasn’t here at all.
But then I heard Rupert’s voice and I walked closer, stepping on the balls of my feet so my heels wouldn’t be too loud.
I crept closer, sticking close to the wall. It was like a jagged tear across my skin when I heard her voice.
“And all for the insurance money? You’re nasty. What about your poor old grandma who would be sad if this club went under? Did you shoot her too?”
“This place is so expensive,” Rupert whined.
“Oh shut up,” El says angrily, and I realize that’s the goddamnmother of my childrenstanding there with her finger in the face of some grunt with a gun.
I am going to have to watch her like a fuckinghawkfor her entire pregnancy.
But right now there’s no time to lose, and I step into the room, heading for the grunt.
