Page 96 of Spencer

The little cocoon of comfort Sheila had created for herself so far on the trip had come crashing down.

Tabbi had said there was someone bad after her.

Someone like the villain they’d put in their game.

Sheila hadn’t like that. Not at all.

Without preamble, Sheila had reflexively ended the chat, disconnected her computer, and had then spent the next hour of the trip alternately cowering in her seat, and looking around to examine the men who remained in the train-car with her.

Could one of them have been the person Tabbi had warned her about?

Had the warning been real, or just an excuse?—?

No.

Sheila had shut that supposition down. Tabbi didn’t lie. She didn’t lie.

The warning had to have been true, and it had kept playing over and over again in Sheila’s head as her stomach worked itself into knots.

I’ve been so worried about you.Tabbi had written.I’m sure you’ve seen the post I put on-line. I was hoping someone would see you and let me know you are okay. And they did. Which is how I know you’re on a train headed north. But there’s a problem, Sheila. You might be in trouble. Not because of anything you’ve done, but because of me. There’s a person from my past who doesn’t like me. He’s already been in touch with me and said he’s kidnapped you. I don’t think that’s true, because you seemed okay while we were playing, (unless he’s making you interact with me normally). But Ithinkyou’re still on your own, and that’s good news. I’m very worried, though, that he’s found you, and he might be watching you right now. Please be careful Sheila. Find a policeman. Go to the nearest information booth. Call me. Please. I need you to be safe.

Sheila had panicked and typed out two words.I’m okay.Then she’d shut her computer down.

Afraid. Afraid. Afraid.

Even now, after she’d left the train, her nerves, though settled, still ran close to the surface.

Had there been a bad man on the train? And if so, which one might it have been?

Three men. There’d been three.Had they all been trying to kidnap her?

No. No.Tabbi had said one. There had been one bad guy.

Sheila had wished, at the time, that shehadn’tplayed the game with Tabitha.

She wished Tabbi hadn’t told her about the nasty man.

Then she could have lost herself in the game again.

Still… The edge of Sheila’s trepidationhadeventually worn down, and she’d proceeded to do the only thing she could. She’d made a plan.

As nonchalantly as possible, she’d casually packed up all her things; the snacks she’d laid out on the table in front of her. Her computer. She’d even remembered to pluck her ticket stub from the spot where it was tucked above her head, and fold it into her hand. It was necessary, and she knew it. It indicated that she’d paid, and denoted her destination. She certainly hadn’t been keen on leaving that behind.

She’d stuffed everything into her bag as if she were preparing to get off at the next stop, then got up and as indifferently as possible, dragged her bag behind her and headed into the next car—which had been kind of scary when she’d had to cross over the connection between the two carriages. It had taken three tries of inching forward, then moving back, until she’d finally been brave enough to walk across the rocking link.

Hah.

Once she’d made it into the next coach, she’d swiftly locked herself in the nearest bathroom.

Inside, she’d swept off her wig and glasses and stuffed them into a zippered compartment in her luggage. She’d put her long hair up into a bun on the top of her head, securing it with a clip.Then she’d swapped out her yellow hoodie for her regular black one.

Having completed that, she’d taken the opportunity to pee, then she’d washed her hands and drawn in a deep breath before leaving the small cubicle.

Luck had been with her. None of the men, at least from what she could see, had followed her into the new car.

The downside of her swap had been that she hadn’t been able to sit in one of the seats that had a big table. There were none available. But tucking in next to the window of an unoccupied duo of spaces mid-carriage, had helped her feel much more anonymous.

Sheila had also remembered to place her ticket stub back into the designated spot above her head before hunkering down.

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