Page 124
That escalated fast. But two can play that game.
“I’ll go away, but tell Ms. Lawton I know her real name is Lisa Thivierge.”
There’s a long pause this time, like maybe the voice is conferring with someone.
The intercom crackles again.
“Ms. Lawton isn’t interested in talking to you. Now, you need to go away.”
“I have a feeling I got Ms. Thivierge’s attention and that she’s listening right now. Isn’t that right, Ms. Thivierge?”
There’s another pause before the voice says, “I’m calling the police.”
With nothing to lose I say, “Forever yours, forever mine.”
A second later, the front door opens.
The assistant is young and blond. At first glance I think she’s heavyset, but I’m wrong. She’s wearing an insulated bodysuit. An arctic breeze drifts out of Thivierge’s front door into the sunny California sky.
The assistant looks me over.
“Are you with TV or the papers?”
“You think I’m a reporter? Is that what this is about?”
“It’s about maintaining Ms. Lawton’s privacy.”
“First, stop with the ‘Ms. Lawton’ stuff. If she really was Lawton, you wouldn’t have opened the door and LAPD would be taking me away in cuffs.”
“If you’re not a reporter, what do you want?”
“I already told you. Forever yours, forever mine. I want to talk to Ms. Thivierge about it.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to anybody, but I have a job to do.”
A phone to the left of the door rings. The assistant has to take off a glove to pick it up.
“Yes. I see. All right then.”
She hangs up and steps away from the door.
“Come in,” she says. “Ms. Lawton will see you after all.”
I was right about the air conditioner, at least. The moment I set a foot inside Thivierge’s Halloween castle, I’m freezing.
“I’m Maggie, Ms. Lawton’s personal assistant.”
The look she gives me isn’t quite a sneer. It’s more like she opened a garbage can and found a dead skunk inside. She holds up a hooded parka.
“Put this on.”
I button up my coat against the chill.
“I’m fine.”
Maggie puts the parka back on a wall peg and offers me a heavy scarf. I shake my head. Until I know exactly what’s going on here, I don’t want anything that might be charmed or get in my way in a fight.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124 (Reading here)
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169