The Granite Key (Arkana Mysteries) Read Free Page B

quietly. She smoothed the folds of her housedress. “Poor lost child.”
    Erik hunched forward on the couch. “Do you think she knows anything about Sybil’s recovery? About us?”
    Faye shook her head. “No, Sybil was most emphatic. She told me that she didn’t want her sister involved. She wanted to keep her safe. She believed the less Cassie knew, the better.”
    Erik looked skeptical. “I don’t see how keeping somebody in the dark is going to keep them safe. They’re more likely to do something stupid when they don’t know what they’re up against.”
    The young man stood up and began to pace. “It just seems wrong. Somebody ought to tell her.”
    Faye fixed her gaze on her visitor. Her expression was mild, almost curious. “Exactly how could we explain ourselves in a way that she would understand?”
    Erik ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. We probably can’t. But this whole thing is making me edgy. I don’t like it. Just hanging around and listening to a girl cry.” He threw himself back down on the couch, exasperated. “Can I quit yet?”
    “I’d like you to keep watching her for a while longer.”
    Erik picked up his car keys and jingled them distractedly between his fingers. “What exactly do you expect will happen?”
    “I expect that sooner or later the person who killed Sybil will reveal himself.”
    “He probably found what he wanted in the shop. He’s probably long gone by now.”
    Faye stood and walked over to the picture window. She watched the morning breeze shake loose another batch of blossoms. “And if he didn’t obtain what he was looking for, how long do you think it will take him to find Cassie?”
    Erik stopped jingling the keys. He looked down at his hands. “I guess I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.”
    “Nor would I, dear.” Faye turned toward Erik. “Let’s watch her a little while longer just to be sure.”

Chapter 6 – Compound Interest
    Despite her best intentions, it was after sunset the following evening before Cassie found her way back to Sybil’s apartment. Time to put all this in the past, she told herself decisively as she got out of her car and crossed the street toward the Gold Coast high rise. Yeah right. She was so eager to put things behind her that she’d procrastinated until nightfall to avoid confronting the residue of her sister’s life again. And she didn’t even have the excuse of going to classes anymore. School was on hold indefinitely. There was still the tricky matter of deciding where to live. She would probably move out of the dorm and into Sybil’s place. Right now that thought made her shudder. Not quite ready to deal with that idea yet.
    She got off the elevator on the fourth floor and headed toward Sybil’s flat at the end of the hall. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the bottom of the door. There was light coming from inside. Had she forgotten to switch off the power the day before? Who knew? She shrugged and sorted through the keys on her ring. When she turned the lock, she thought she heard a click coming from inside. Cassie swung the door open wide. She stood on the threshold listening for a moment. The place was dark, completely still.
    She walked across the room toward an end table to turn on the lamp. Something or someone slammed into her, shoving her sideways. She hit the wall, the breath knocked out of her lungs. Scrambling to her feet, she caught a glimpse of a man fleeing through the open door. Cassie gasped. He was wearing a Stetson hat and in his hand was an object she remembered seeing the day before.
    He was down the hall, through the fire exit door and halfway to the ground floor before she could move.
    “Hey, hey you! Stop!” She started to run toward the lighted hallway when she collided with another man. He shoved her back into the apartment. She didn’t think she recognized this one but the place was still dark so she couldn’t be sure.
    “What happened?” he demanded.
    “Who are