Page 87 of The Other Lady Vanishes

Florence gave Conrad a steely smile. “You’ve got to the count of ten before I call the cops and have you locked up for trespassing. One... two...”

Adelaide gestured toward the door with the knife. “Get out of here.”

Jake folded his arms and lounged against the doorjamb. “You heard the ladies.”

Conrad looked as if he wanted to commit murder but he did not say another word. He swung around and stalked back across the tearoom and outside onto the sidewalk. He slammed the door so hard the glass rattled.

An eerie silence descended on Refresh. No one moved for a few beats. And then Adelaide realized that she suddenly felt very light—excited and thrilled.

“Thank you,” she said softly. She did not take her eyes off the front door. “Thank you both.”

“You don’t have to worry about the likes of him,” Florence said. “You’ve got friends here in Burning Cove.”

“For the past two months I’ve been terrified that Conrad would find a way to make me vanish again, just as he did the first time,” Adelaide said.

“That trick may have worked in San Francisco,” Jake said. “But this is Burning Cove. The rules are different here.”

Florence peered at Adelaide. “Did that man really have you committed to an asylum so that he could get his hands on your inheritance?”

“Yes,” Adelaide said.

Florence shuddered. “It’s like something right out of the movies. Thank goodness you escaped.”

Adelaide gave her a shaky smile. “You mean, thank heavens I’ve got friends like you.”

Jake looked thoughtful. “That brings up a question I’ve been meaning to ask you. You do have friends here in Burning Cove. You must have had friends in San Francisco, too.”

“I did,” Adelaide said. “Most of them were my colleagues at the botanical library.”

“Why didn’t they ask questions when you suddenly vanished?” Jake said.

“I wondered the same thing,” Adelaide said. “A few weeks ago I finally worked up my nerve to place an anonymous phone call to the library. I asked for Adelaide Blake. I was told that she had moved back east to live with relatives.”

“Huh,” Jake said.

Adelaide looked at him. “What?”

“I’m wondering exactly when Gill located you.”

“I can tell you one thing for sure,” Adelaide said. “You can’t believe anything Conrad Massey says.”

Chapter 41

Conrad lit another cigarette and contemplated the martini on the table in front of him. The glass did not look clean.

It was Gill who had insisted that they meet at the Carousel. It was a dark, grimy, smoke-filled dive. He figured it had probably been a speakeasy during Prohibition. Not his kind of place, he thought. He would have much preferred the swanky bar at the Burning Cove Hotel or the Paradise Club. But Gill wanted to stay out of sight.

It was early evening. The Carousel was still empty except for the handful of customers hunkered down on the bar stools. The bored cocktail waitress was making idle conversation with the bartender.

A shadow fell across the table. Conrad looked up.

“I take it your plan did not go well,” Gill said. He lowered himself into the booth on the opposite side of the table. “I warned you that it wouldn’t be so easy this time. She’s on guard now and Truett is keeping an eye on her.”

“He wants to control her inheritance.”

“Certainly. His motive is the same as your own. The problem isthat possession is nine-tenths of the law and, for the moment, at any rate, he’s got possession of her.”

“All I need is ten minutes alone with Adelaide,” Conrad said. “Just long enough to slip the drug into her drink. Ten lousy minutes. Once she’s under the influence, I can make her trust me, at least long enough to get her back to Rushbrook.”