Page 57 of Shadow

“Thank you for the ride.”

I made a mental note to ask him later to swing by my apartment so I could pick up my car. He shouldn’t have to chauffeur me around everywhere.

Ever since this afternoon, Shadow had been cooped up with Whisper in the farm’s office. Occasionally, I would catch bits and pieces of what they were saying, but none of it made sense. When Whisper left right before dinner, Shadow appeared worried.

I wanted to ask what was wrong but thought better of it.

“No problem,” he said, parking the old beat-up truck. Killing the engine, he turned to face me. “You going to be okay in that place? You won’t be alone, will you?”

“No, my sound editor, Conner, will be with me.”

“Anyone else?”

“Well, there is the security guard, Glenn, but he’s more of a showpiece. Why?”

“Don’t like you not being protected.”

I smirked. “There is only the front entrance and the emergency exit out back. Both doors are only accessible by a keycard and always locked. Shadow, I will be fine.”

“Still don’t like it,” he muttered mulishly.

Shaking my head, I grabbed my bags and opened the truck door. If I didn’t get inside, I was going to be late. Stepping out of the truck, I waved to Shadow before heading for the entrance.

Inside, I headed for the recording room when I bumped into Conner, dropping one of my bags and the contents scattered everywhere.

“Damn, sorry Joan,” Conner said, dropping down to help me pick up my items. “I was just about to check the parking lot for you. Heard on my scanner what happened at your place. Are you okay?”

Grabbing my hairbrush, I nodded. “Yeah. It was just a shock, you know.”

“Did they catch the guy?”

“No. Not yet, but the police are working on it. Apparently, the person who broke into my place left a lot of evidence. They are processing it now.”

“Oh,” Conner whispered. “That’s good, I guess. I stopped by your place last night, but you weren’t there.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’m staying with some friends until the police are done with my place.”

“Where?” Conner asked. “Maybe I can stop by sometime.”

Picking up the last of the scattered contents, I stood. “I appreciate that, Conner, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. My friends are very private.”

“Oh. Okay then,” he said, handing me a few pens. “You ready for tonight’s show?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I smiled at him.

Tonight’s show went about as well as expected. Cherise called in and complained that her mother was still nagging. Another caller wanted to talk about forgiveness and, of course, I had one caller who wanted to debate the sins of my beliefs against the laws of Christianity.

Overall, it was a typical night.

“The National Weather Service just issued a tornado warning for the northern part of Comanche County,” Conner said, walking out of the sound booth. “Maybe we should hunker down here tonight?”

I laughed. “Conner, that’s nowhere near here. I’m going home.”

“They are saying it could get bad. Hail, high winds, flooding.”

“It’s just a storm, Conner. Go home,” I said, grabbing my bags. I was tired and I didn’t want to be here anymore. I loved my job. I really did, but I didn’t want to spend the night here while some storm passed close. A little rain, thunder and lightning never bothered me.

Heading outside, Conner droned on about storm safety as I looked around the parking lot for Shadow. He told me he would wait for me, but I didn’t see him or the truck.

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