Page 31 of Killing Time

“Thank you very much,” Seth said, then politely moved the blueprints a few inches closer to the clerk so it would be easier for her to pick them up and return them to their usual resting place. “That gave me a good idea of Mr. Harkins’ work.”

“His office is just up Leroux Street,” the clerk said helpfully. “I’m sure he or his assistants would be more than happy to show you more blueprints and the photographs he’s taken of his various projects. I’d say you should go look at Mr. Wilcox’s property, since it is quite a showcase — probably the finest example of Prairie architecture in all of Flagstaff — but he’s a private man and doesn’t entertain visitors very often.”

That nugget of information didn’t surprise me too much. Then again, even Connor and Angela, who were far friendlier than Jasper seemed to be, would have thought once or twice about letting people inside the big Victorian on Paradise Lane to see all the remodeling she’d done some twenty-plus years back after she inherited the house.

“We’ll see if we can talk to Mr. Harkins,” I said quickly. “Thank you again for all your help.”

Seth thanked the woman as well, and the two of us headed back outside. A few clouds had begun to gather, but I didn’t think we were too much at risk for snow.

Not tonight, anyway. After that, it was probably anyone’s guess.

“I suppose that was useful,” I said as Seth and I walked away from City Hall and in the direction of our hotel. It was about the time that most people would have been thinking of lunch, but since we’d eaten breakfast so late, I was fine with waiting until the regular rush had died down before we had our noontime meal. “But I’m not sure what we’re going to do with the information the clerk gave us.”

Seth paused on the sidewalk and glanced around. While I spied several people hurrying away from the building, probably on their way to grab a quick lunch before they had to get back to work, no one was close enough that they’d be able to hear what Seth and I were saying.

“I do,” he said, and although he didn’t quite grin, I could tell he was looking mighty pleased with himself.

“Oh, really? What’s that?”

Another of those pauses to ensure we wouldn’t be overheard.

Then he said, “That studio would be the perfect place for Jasper to be hiding Ruby. It even has its own bathroom, and it’s the kind of place no one would have any reason to visit.”

I wouldn’t deny that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure Jasper would be willing to take that kind of risk. “And…?” I said. “We already talked about avoiding his property unless we had real proof that Ruby was there.”

Seth looked undeterred by my less-than-enthusiastic comment. “That’s before we saw the blueprints and I got a firm idea of the studio’s layout. Remember how I told you I could teleport myself to a place I’d never been just as long as I had some sort of drawing or sketch to go on?”

Reluctantly, I nodded.

I could already see where this was going.

Expression now one of sheer triumph, Seth concluded, “So all we have to do is blink right into the studio, grab Ruby, and go.”

8

ON ENEMY GROUND

Seth could tellfrom Devynn’s expression that she wasn’t quite as enchanted by his plan to teleport into the empty studio on Jasper Wilcox’s property as he’d hoped she would be. Although she didn’t quite frown, her face went almost too blank, as if she was trying her best not to immediately throw cold water on the idea.

“Well, that’s an interesting plan — ”she began.

“I know it will work,” he said. Normally, he wouldn’t have interrupted her like that, but he’d noticed a man and woman crossing Leroux Street and coming toward them, and that meant he didn’t have much time to offer a counter-argument before they got within earshot. “I somehow doubt Jasper has any reason to go into the studio, and besides, it’s the middle of a work day. He won’t even be home.”

Devynn crossed her arms. The flicker of her gaze toward the approaching strangers told Seth that she’d also noted their progress, and she lowered her voice as she replied, “It’s almost lunch. He might be there.”

Scoffing at the comment would have been rude, especially since Seth had to admit that he knew nothing about Jasper’sschedule or daily habits. However, he had a feeling the Wilcoxprimusprobably wasn’t the sort of person to return home for lunch every day when he had the option of going out to eat or possibly having something delivered to the office.

If he was even at the office at all. Was his position with Northern Lumber mainly as a figurehead, with other members of the family carrying out most of the day-to-day business, or was he the sort of person who wanted to be involved in every single detail so he’d know what was happening with all facets of the operation?

Again, Seth didn’t have an answer to that question…and he guessed Devynn didn’t, either. She possessed a good deal of information about her relatives, even those from previous generations, and yet this was the sort of minutiae that only the most dedicated clan historian would have kept track of.

The man and woman who’d been approaching passed them right then, so he held his tongue until they were far enough away that there was little chance of them overhearing anything he and Devynn might have to say.

“He could be at home,” Seth agreed, since he didn’t see the point in getting into an argument over such a fine point. “But my guess is that he probably isn’t. If it’ll make you feel better, though, we can have lunch and try later in the afternoon when there’s a much lower chance of him being at the house.”

She wavered, clearly thinking over the offer. “All right. Something light, though — breakfast wasn’t all that long ago.”

No, it wasn’t. But they wandered around downtown for a good fifteen minutes, looking for someplace that looked promising as a lunch venue, and they eventually selected a small café with only seven or eight tables, where Devynn was finally able to get the salad he knew she’d been craving for weeks, full of greens and perky cherry tomatoes and chunks of chicken and ham. It looked so good that Seth ordered one for himself.

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