Read Online Grand Theft Retro (Style & Error Mystery Series Book 5) by Diane Vallere - Free Book Online

me,” said a voice from behind my desk.
    I jumped and turned to face my desk. Pritchard sat behind it, holding Logan in his arms.
     

Chapter 8
    THURSDAYAFTERNOON
    A dark shadow was cast across Pritchard’s face, making it difficult for me to see him. I stepped forward and he turned on a light and shined it directly into my eyes. I shielded them, too late. Spots of red filled my vision. “What are you doing in my office?” I asked.
    He moved Logan from his lap to the desk. Logan let out a low, throaty growl. I closed the distance between us, scooped him up, and retreated to the doorway.
    “Don’t be alarmed,” Pritchard said. “I can assure you that I didn’t hurt your cat.” He leaned back in my chair and smiled. Despite his reassurances to the contrary, his presence felt threatening. “You silly girl. If you had done your job, you would have been left out of everything. If you had only minded your business. But you didn’t. People warned me about you. I should have expected this.”
    “What do you want?” I asked.
    “How much do you think Jennie Mae’s vintage wardrobe is worth?” he asked.
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know the extent of her collection. I’ve never seen it.”
    “Oh, but you do know, Ess Kay. You saw it the day you went looking for me in her attic. Too bad that shutter didn’t give under your weight. This whole problem would have solved itself.”
    He’d known that I’d been there. He knew about my attempt to hide and the escape out the window.
    “In a wa-a-ay,” he said, dragging the word “way” out into three syllables, “you set this whole thing into motion. And now there’s a ticking clock.” He tapped his index finger on the top of the desk as if keeping time. “How does that make you feel, Ess Kay? That there is a timer running in the background, a specific length of time in which certain acts will unfold?”
    He stopped tapping. “You already know more about what is going on than you should, Ess Kay.” He kept saying my initials phonetically. Ess Kay . He dragged the S sound out like a hiss. Esssssssss. It reminded me of the cobra in Riki Tiki Tavi . “Yes, you know quite a bit more than I like. But I know a lot too. For example, I know you live on West 47 th Street in a house that you purchased from your parents. How charming.”
    He leaned back in the chair. I held Logan tighter.
    “I know you have a cat,” he continued. He waved his index finger at Logan’s face. “Hello, Logan,” he said. “I know you’ve had troubled employment since leaving Bentley’s New York. Your family lives in California, except for your sister, who lives in Maryland. Bethesda, if I’m not mistaken.”
    I tightened my embrace of Logan to protect him. I already knew Pritchard was hiding something, but how did he know so much about me? Worse, what would he do to the people I loved? And then an image of Nick flashed into my brain. Nick, I thought . He doesn’t know about Nick.
    “You’re going to help me, Ess Kay. And if you help me like I ask, nobody has to get hurt. There is something at the Tome house that I need and you’re going to get it for me. I can’t go back there, but you can. Your boss will insist on it. This might work out yet. Perfection,” he said, and chuckled to himself.
    I started to tell him he was wrong, that someone had stolen the contents of Jennie Mae’s attic, but I bit back my words. He claimed to still need something that was there. If Pritchard hadn’t stolen the collection of samples, then who had?
    He stood up. I backed away from him. He laughed again. “I’ll be watching you, Ess Kay. And I’ll be in touch.” He reached out to pet Logan. I twisted around so his hand fell short. “No matter. We had plenty of time together before you arrived.” He laughed again, picked up the brown leather briefcase with the gold PS monogram, and left.
    As soon as the front doors closed behind him, I raced forward and locked them from the