help me."
Incredulous, Lucy started to slam the door in his
face but decided to give him a piece of her mind first. "Didn't you hear
me? I said Belle is missing. Now is not the time." She stepped back to
close the door.
"Wait! Maybe I can help you figure out where
she went. It probably had something to do with the Dunlap Broadside? My PhD dissertation?"
An academic. She should have recognized the signs.
Dunlap Broadside? Something about the phrase tickled Lucy's brain but she
couldn't make the final connection. She found it hard to believe Belle was
involved in some sort of research for this odd man's dissertation. "I
doubt Belle went missing in a library."
"She wasn't helping me that way. She was
trying to find a rare copy of the Dunlap Broadside. She was supposed to get in
touch with me yesterday after she checked out a lead she'd found."
"What lead? I thought you said she didn't tell
you where she was going."
"She didn't. She said she found a clue but she
wouldn't say what it was. She said she didn't want to get my hopes up if it
didn't pan out. Maybe if we put our heads together we can figure it out."
When Lucy hesitated, Perry gave her a pleading
look. "Please! If you'll just give me ten minutes I can explain."
The guy looked desperate. He also looked harmless.
Of course they say Ted Bundy looked harmless too when he faked a broken limb to
lure women to their doom. But this guy had the look of some of the people who
had stumbled in and out of her parent's sphere of influence from time to time.
People who spent so much time in the mustiest parts of the library with old
crumbling books that when they came up for air they had trouble interacting
with real live people.
Social skills were not a top priority for people
like Perry Thiel.
The question was what to do with him now that he'd
arrived on Belle's doorstep. Belle would have let him in. She never turned down
an opportunity to meet someone with a new perspective.
With a sigh, Lucy stepped back and opened the door
wider. "Maybe you should come in so we can sort this out."
He stepped inside without meeting Lucy's eyes. His
own eyes darted around as if he thought maybe what he was looking for would be
written on the walls, floors and ceiling. She'd bet money the walls of his
workspace--and maybe his bedroom for that matter--were covered with notes,
pictures and other bits of academic flotsam.
"Let's go into the kitchen. I need
coffee," she said.
Perry snapped his attention back to her as if he'd
already forgotten she was there. "Uh, sure."
Maybe he was better with the written word, Lucy
thought.
She pushed her unruly hair out of her eyes, irritated
to realize she must look a bigger mess than usual after having slept in her
clothes, and more irritated that she was worried about her appearance when
Belle could be hurt or scared or God knew what.
She detoured to the end-table, retrieved her
reading glasses and pushed them up onto her head to hold her hair back as she
led the way to the coffee pot. For Lucy, glasses were as much a hair accessory
as an aid to her vision.
"So, tell me how you knew I was coming
here," she said as she rounded up the coffee, filters and water and
started the brew.
"Belle told me when I called yesterday."
He stood shifting from foot to foot while he watched--or rather stared at--Lucy
making coffee.
That was odd. "Do you talk to Belle
often?"
"I've only known her for a couple of weeks.
Your family turned up in my research on the Dunlap Broadside."
Back to the Dunlap Broadside whatever that was. She
invited him to sit and offered him a cup of coffee. "Maybe you should
start at the beginning."
"I contacted Belle about two weeks ago--"
"Good--whoa," Jane said as she came into
the kitchen with wild hair and a silk robe. "Who are you?"
Perry blinked and stared.
"This is Perry Thiel. Belle was helping him
with something to do with his dissertation," Lucy said. She raised her eyebrows
to let Jane know she was still didn't know what
Incredulous, Lucy started to slam the door in his
face but decided to give him a piece of her mind first. "Didn't you hear
me? I said Belle is missing. Now is not the time." She stepped back to
close the door.
"Wait! Maybe I can help you figure out where
she went. It probably had something to do with the Dunlap Broadside? My PhD dissertation?"
An academic. She should have recognized the signs.
Dunlap Broadside? Something about the phrase tickled Lucy's brain but she
couldn't make the final connection. She found it hard to believe Belle was
involved in some sort of research for this odd man's dissertation. "I
doubt Belle went missing in a library."
"She wasn't helping me that way. She was
trying to find a rare copy of the Dunlap Broadside. She was supposed to get in
touch with me yesterday after she checked out a lead she'd found."
"What lead? I thought you said she didn't tell
you where she was going."
"She didn't. She said she found a clue but she
wouldn't say what it was. She said she didn't want to get my hopes up if it
didn't pan out. Maybe if we put our heads together we can figure it out."
When Lucy hesitated, Perry gave her a pleading
look. "Please! If you'll just give me ten minutes I can explain."
The guy looked desperate. He also looked harmless.
Of course they say Ted Bundy looked harmless too when he faked a broken limb to
lure women to their doom. But this guy had the look of some of the people who
had stumbled in and out of her parent's sphere of influence from time to time.
People who spent so much time in the mustiest parts of the library with old
crumbling books that when they came up for air they had trouble interacting
with real live people.
Social skills were not a top priority for people
like Perry Thiel.
The question was what to do with him now that he'd
arrived on Belle's doorstep. Belle would have let him in. She never turned down
an opportunity to meet someone with a new perspective.
With a sigh, Lucy stepped back and opened the door
wider. "Maybe you should come in so we can sort this out."
He stepped inside without meeting Lucy's eyes. His
own eyes darted around as if he thought maybe what he was looking for would be
written on the walls, floors and ceiling. She'd bet money the walls of his
workspace--and maybe his bedroom for that matter--were covered with notes,
pictures and other bits of academic flotsam.
"Let's go into the kitchen. I need
coffee," she said.
Perry snapped his attention back to her as if he'd
already forgotten she was there. "Uh, sure."
Maybe he was better with the written word, Lucy
thought.
She pushed her unruly hair out of her eyes, irritated
to realize she must look a bigger mess than usual after having slept in her
clothes, and more irritated that she was worried about her appearance when
Belle could be hurt or scared or God knew what.
She detoured to the end-table, retrieved her
reading glasses and pushed them up onto her head to hold her hair back as she
led the way to the coffee pot. For Lucy, glasses were as much a hair accessory
as an aid to her vision.
"So, tell me how you knew I was coming
here," she said as she rounded up the coffee, filters and water and
started the brew.
"Belle told me when I called yesterday."
He stood shifting from foot to foot while he watched--or rather stared at--Lucy
making coffee.
That was odd. "Do you talk to Belle
often?"
"I've only known her for a couple of weeks.
Your family turned up in my research on the Dunlap Broadside."
Back to the Dunlap Broadside whatever that was. She
invited him to sit and offered him a cup of coffee. "Maybe you should
start at the beginning."
"I contacted Belle about two weeks ago--"
"Good--whoa," Jane said as she came into
the kitchen with wild hair and a silk robe. "Who are you?"
Perry blinked and stared.
"This is Perry Thiel. Belle was helping him
with something to do with his dissertation," Lucy said. She raised her eyebrows
to let Jane know she was still didn't know what
Similar Books
It's Always Darkest Before the Fridge Door Opens: Enjoying the Fruits of Middle Age
Phil Callaway, Martha O. Bolton
