Page 17

“What was that?” she breathed.

She leaned toward the door, straining to listen for another sound. With a lick of her lips, she scrambled to her feet and approached the door, then she pressed her ear against it.

Her keys still swung from the lock. Paige turned them again and raised her keycard when a shout stopped her.

“Hey!” a new voice called from behind her.

Paige spun on her heel and stared up the steps. A blinding light shined in her eyes, and she raised her hand to shield her face.

“What do you think you’re doing down there?” the deep voice shouted.

“Uh, hi. Hello,” Paige said, waving with her raised hand. The light still shone directly on her, and she raised her arm even more. “Can you move the light, please? I can’t see a thing.”

“Not until you tell me who you are and what you’re doing slinking around the private level of the library!”

“Ah, okay. I’m Paige. Paige Turner. I’m the newest archivist. I was hired this morning.”

“And they told you to come back here now?” the man questioned.

“No. Not exactly,” Paige admitted. “Really, could you lower the light? I’ve got an ID badge here I can show you. And a keycard and keys.”

A moment of silence passed before the man’s voice boomed down the stairway. “Toss the keycard up here.”

“Oh, uh, okay. Sure.” She dropped to her knees and dug through her bag. “Just a second. It’s in here somewhere.”

She grinned at the man nervously as her fingers searched blindly for the piece of plastic. Finally, her fingernail snagged against the fabric lanyard. She frantically fought with her fingers to wrap around the cord, and she tugged it out of the bag.

“Here we go!” she called. “Got it!”

The ID badge dangled from her hand as she waved it triumphantly with a broad grin.

“Toss it up.”

The smile faded from her face. “Right, okay.”

She palmed the badge and freed the lanyard from around her finger. With a swing, she launched it upward. It smacked into the ceiling and flopped onto the second stair from the bottom.

“Sorry,” she called, grabbing it and flinging it up again.

It clattered to a stop a few steps from the man. The light bobbled as the man stepped down toward it and swiped the card from the step. The light beam finally left her face as he flicked it to the card, then back to her face.

Paige squinted against the bright light, wincing.

“Paige Turner?” he said in a questioning tone.

“That’s me,” Paige answered.

The man clamored down the remaining stairs, holding the ID badge out toward her. His dark-brown eyes studied her closer. Graying hair stuck out at all angles from his dark-brown skin.

“Thanks,” she breathed, accepting it and sticking her hand out toward him. “Nice to meet you. And you are?”

“Otis Kirkland,” the man said, accepting her hand. “Shadow Library Security.”

“Security?” Paige inquired. “Oh, I didn’t realize the library had security.”

“Oh, yeah,” Otis answered. “Been patrolling the library for thirty years.”

“Thirty years? Wow! That’s a long time. Have you seen many break-ins?”