The Precipice Read Free Page B

succumbed to Mother Nature while trying to outrun an approaching storm. He had widowed Amelia when she was only forty-nine. The girls’ school and subsequent inn had been in his family as long as anyone could remember. It was believed to have been built by his great, great grandfather, with additions and outbuildings added over the years.
    Amelia treated the staff and guests as family. She had a soft voice and a gentle touch and a way of looking into your eyes with the experience and knowledge the years have afforded her, all the while touching your heart. Elizabeth would do anything for her grandmother, including dropping everything at work to go to her aid. But, at the moment, she was feeling a bit uncomfortable because she had just given her boss the slip. She would have to catch up later with Vera by cell in the car and try to explain.
    Elizabeth was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not notice the man who had fallen in behind her, several strides back but keeping the same pace as her. He kept her in his sights. She was walking the three blocks to the parking garage on East 45th Street to retrieve her car, a prized, silver BMW Z4. It had been a recent splurge that she justified as a reward for all the late nights and weekends that had become the norm at Loran Design. Elizabeth was heading for what she hoped would be a relaxing couple of days off but she wondered exactly what she would find when she got to Pennington Point.
    The mist turned back into a light rain, but Elizabeth didn’t bother with her compact umbrella. Only one more block to go. She quickened her pace and the man in the wind breaker and baseball cap behind her followed suit. She reached the garage and headed straight for the elevators. A set of doors opened as soon as she pressed the button. She slipped in and quickly pressed the button to close the doors. The man behind her was not quick enough to catch the elevator with her. Elizabeth reached the top floor of the garage and stepped out onto the roof. As usual, there were only a few cars parked on this level on a Friday afternoon, particularly since it was just before Labor Day Weekend. Late August/early September seemed to be a popular vacation time so traffic was slightly lighter and the parking garage was a little less crowded than usual. A smile spread across her face when she saw her car, backed neatly into a corner parking space that allowed ample room on either side. It wasn’t easy to protect that car in the city the way she wanted to, the way she should, but she did her best to care for it. She couldn’t wait to get in, start the powerful little engine, and shift into first gear. She was itching to get out of the city and onto the open road heading northeast.
    Elizabeth skillfully negotiated the downward spiral of the parking garage ramp, pressing the button to lower the driver’s side window at the precise moment on the last curve. Reaching the ticket booth, she slipped her monthly parking card into the slot and the gate retreated slowly toward the low ceiling. She pressed the button to close the car window. Slowly releasing the clutch, she pressed the gas pedal. As the car started forward, a man lunged from the left and banged his left hand onto the hood of the car, his face pressed up to the driver’s side window. Elizabeth shrieked and hit the brake and clutch simultaneously. Then she caught her breath. It was just Lenny from the mail room, standing there, towering over her car looking a bit pitiful, like something the cat dragged in after a rainstorm. He looked wetter than the past few minutes of light rain could possibly have caused. Tufts of his chestnut brown, curly hair were poking out from underneath his baseball cap, flipping up and partially obscuring the bottom edge. His bushy brown eyebrows were touching the brim. Water was dripping off his hair and cap. Raindrops glistened on his navy blue jacket. She started to feel sorry for him and a bit foolish for overreacting.