The Confidence Woman (26 page)

“It's not for sale, Harrison,” she said again, somewhat more gently than she had the last time, but still holding firm.

“You're certain?”

“Yes.”

“Your choice, of course.” He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. She walked back to her office, wondering if he was contemplating any retaliatory action, knowing she held the trump card if he did.

******

She wanted to tell John Harlan about her Los Angeles adventure, expecting he would share her joy in the recovery of the book, her ambivalence about the capture of Evelyn Martin and her small but significant triumph over Harrison. She intended to ask him if he'd have dinner with her, but she had a day full of meetings and appointments and didn't have time to call. On her way home from work, she stopped at Page One, Too. John always worked late and she expected him to be at the store. The parking lot in this mall was a complicated maze, full of signs saying “
ONE WAY
—
DON
'
T ENTER
” in all the places she wanted to enter. She negotiated her way through the lot, dodging vehicles backing out of parking spaces as well as vehicles that hadn't followed the
DON
'
T ENTER
signs. Usually she had to park at the far end of the mall and walk, but this evening she found a space near the door to Page One, Too. She pulled into it and turned off the ignition.

As she put her hand on the door handle to let herself out of the truck, she glanced toward the store and saw John coining out the front door. He wasn't alone. In fact, he was with the auburn-haired woman she had seen before in his office. John laughed and the woman laughed back. Claire looked down quickly, pretending to be searching for something in her purse, hoping they wouldn't walk by the truck and notice her. She waited for a knock on the window or a “Hey, Claire,” but none came. When she looked up again John and the woman were getting into his car.

She waited until they had left the parking lot, then started her truck and drove home wondering exactly how involved John was with this woman. She would miss his conversation and companionship if he became involved with someone else. She should be happy for him if he had found someone who would offer him the warmth that she hadn't. It wasn't happiness she felt as she drove home but it wasn't deep regret either.

When
she got to her house, she went to her bedroom and stood before the shelf where
The Confidence-Man
belonged, pleased that the book would be returned and order would be restored. It had had an adventure and gained a backstory. Claire often thought that when she wasn't watching, the characters in her books stepped out of their bindings and wandered. Sometimes she imagined she heard them gossiping, flattering or arguing as they communicated with each other. Every character in these books was another person's mind creature that had become her own. She thought about the power of imagination and how creativity required going into the depths to reach the heights. The trick was to go far enough to have an authentic experience, but not so far that it was impossible to find one's way back. The phrase “into the darkness looking for light” came to mind.

Wondering if there was light in the darkness she had just experienced, she took the Oxford World's Classics edition from her office to her spare bedroom. She opened the drawer containing the black nightgown and laid the book beside it. She would consider this her dark drawer, her Pandora's box, the place where the symbols of human weakness, maliciousness, avariciousness and destructiveness would be kept in the dark, shut off, but accessible to her when she felt the need to be reminded. She thought about putting on the black nightgown, then decided it wasn't necessary. Wearing the nightgown and seeing herself as she looked now might divert her from her purpose. Claire closed the drawer with the sense of finality that comes from finishing a chapter in a book. All she had learned from the chapter would stay with her, but it was time to begin another.

Wrapped in a layer of anticipation over a layer of trepidation, she went to her office, sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. She clicked on the search engine and typed in the name of Pietro Antonelli.

THE END

You can find more of Judith Van Gieson's mysteries as ebooks:

The Stolen Blue: A Claire Reynier Mystery (#1)

Vanishing Point: A Claire Reynier Mystery (#2)

Confidence Woman: A Claire Reynier Mystery (#3)

Land of Burning Heat: A Claire Reynier Mystery (#4)

The Shadow of Venus: A Claire Reynier Mystery (#5)

North of the Border: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#1)

Raptor: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#2)

The Other Side of Death: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#3)

The Wolf Path: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#4)

Lies that Bind: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#5)

Parrot Blues: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#6)

Hotshots: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#7)

Ditch Rider: A Neil Hamel Mystery (#8)