Left to Lapse (An Adele Sharp Mystery—Book Seven) by Blake Pierce (book club suggestions txt) 📗

“It’s going to go dark like that again?”

Johnson, though, seemed bored with answering all thesequestions, and was now plucking at the handcuff around his wrist.

Adele could feel the train slowing nearly completely now.If they passed through another one of these makeshift weather-protectiontunnels, time would be up. Already, the killer, if he was bold, could try toescape by hopping off the slowly moving train and disappearing into the city.

Now was the time for boldness in return.

With John at her side, she shoved into the first-classcompartment, shaking off the sudden shock of the darkened train car.

The whistle of scraping wheels against the track was soonreplaced by the quiet mutter of voices in the first-class compartment. Peoplesat in the chairs facing the windows, while others sat in the cushioned seats,sipping from wineglasses or poking at snacks brought to them on the trolley.

“What are we looking for?” John pressed, his voice low.

Adele answered honestly. “I don’t know yet. Just keep youreyes peeled.”

They stood at the front of the first-class car, and Adelecould feel the eyes of the passengers fixed on her. She glanced around,surveying the passengers. For a moment, her gaze landed on the old man by thewindow. The one who had often smiled when she’d come through. He had a strangeway about him. His eyes would always track her, when he didn’t think she waswatching. She began to move toward him, but then heard a sudden spark oflaughter. Her eyes darted toward where Richard and Bella, the two friends ofthe third victim, were chuckling to each other and muttering beneath theirvoices as they pointed toward some other woman sitting in the back of the car.For two friends who had lost a loved one, they sure didn’t seem too broken upabout it. Adele now took a step toward them.

And just then, she heard a grumble from the back of thecompartment. The woman who’d been the subject of Richard and Bella’s derisionwas arguing with the valet, trying to exchange a pack of opened peanuts, itseemed, for pretzels.

The valet looked flustered, and was shaking his head.

The woman with the peanuts flung them at the valet, and afew of the nuts bounced off his red uniform.

For a moment, the valet’s countenance darkened. Gone wasthe bumbling, stuttering young man. Gone was the timid, frightful staff member,wanting nothing more than to be left alone. For a moment, Adele glimpsed asnarl twist the valet’s lips. The young man didn’t look so young anymore. Maybeshe’d been wrong about twenty. Maybe mid-twenties. He had a boyish face, butthere was nothing innocent about the look of sheer loathing twisting hisfeatures now as he regarded the woman who’d thrown the peanuts. One hand wastrembling as it reached toward the pretzels the woman had demanded. But it wasn’ttrembling from fear or embarrassment. His knuckles were pale, with the whitefury of sheer rage. Adele stared, rooted to the floor, feeling John brush pasther as he moved slowly along the first-class cabin, glancing at the passengerson either side. But Adele only had eyes for the valet.

He’d said he’d heard a noise. He’d said it had been acrash. The old man had corrected him.

At the time, Adele had wondered if perhaps she’d missed aclue. But now, what if he’d been simply trying to throw her off? To confuse theinvestigation? But why would he want to do that?

She stared at him, watching as he shoved the pretzels intothe hand of the peanut-flinging woman.

Then, slowly, as if sensing the attention, the valet’s eyesshifted away from the woman in the back of the first-class car. He lookedslowly up, his head rotating, tilting, and his eyes suddenly settled on Adele’s.For a moment, they stared across the cabin. None of the other first-classresidents seemed to notice. Not even John seemed to spot the interchange. Adelecould feel her breath coming slow. She was staring into the eyes of someone shedidn’t recognize. She’d had a conversation with the valet. Had interviewed him.But something else was now staring back at her. Something she didn’t fullyrecognize. The sheer hatred, the loathing that had flashed across his face forthat brief glimpse, wasn’t so brief after all. She could see it now, etcheddeep, carved into the core of his eyes. Not a light, not a glow, but a stony,frigid fixture. A hatred so bone deep that it cut through anything else thatmight have been displayed in the windows to the soul.

And she was staring right at it. The valet didn’t look awayat first. And then, as if suddenly breaking from a reverie, he seemed torealize who was looking back at him. He glanced down and rearranged some of thepeanuts, shifting his head a bit and glancing sheepishly side to side. But theeffect of the mirage was failing now. He was trying to play dumb. Trying toplay timid. But the church mouse had already revealed itself to be a wolf. Shewouldn’t fall for it again.

And so she didn’t look away. She knew.

And as she stared at him and began to pick up her pace,marching across the first-class compartment, he knew too. She could see therecognition dawning in his eyes. Could see the realization of the futility ofpretense. He stopped rearranging the glistening packets of peanuts, and insteadstared right back at her. One of his hands crept into his pocket, and Adele’sown went to her hip.

“Sharp?” John said, suddenly, as if noting something in herposture.

“It’s him,” Adele said, breathlessly.

And then they entered another tunnel. The train wasscraping along in the station. And suddenly, everything went dark. Mr. Johnson,the reserve conductor, had warned there would be another one of these weathertunnels. But now, in the pitch-black, Adele lost sight of the valet. Shecursed, feeling the cold of her weapon in her hand as she pulled it out. Butthere was nothing to aim at. It had been daytime, with sunlight through thewindows, which meant no other sources of light were illuminating the inside ofthe now darkened train.

“Adele?” said the disembodied voice of John in her ear.

“The valet,” she hissed. “It’s the valet.”

And then, she heard movement. The sound of a rolling