Page 111 of Love on the Line

Chapter 43

The candelabra shookin Paul’s hand as footsteps sounded from the store above. His heart pounded, and his shirt stuck to his drenched body.

He whispered answers to the nine-one-one operator and prayed the cops got there before Devon could kill him. Maybe Devon wouldn’t want to be caught committing another murder, knowing the police were on the way. That was Paul’s only hope. He had no delusions about his inability to win in a fight.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” an elderly female voice rang out from upstairs.

Paul’s shoulders sagged, and he brought a hand to his chest, letting out the breath he’d been holding. Thank God. He’d forgotten to lock the door behind him. The store hours weren’t posted because they varied based on appointments.

“Just a second, I’ll be right up.” He set down the candlestick holder and climbed the stairs.

A silver-haired woman peered down as he emerged. “Is the shop open? I’m looking for a hand-made lace tablecloth.”

He needed to shut the trap door and get her out of the place in case Devon did show up before the police. The psycho might kill them both and leave them to rot down there. Probably best if they both left. He could wait in his car for the cops, and if Devon did come back, he’d have no reason to suspect Paul had found his secret room. “I’m sorry, we’re closed, and we don’t have any of those right now. Maybe try back another time.”

She frowned. “Phooey. My sister, Mable, is having hernia surgery and she was supposed to find one, but now—”

“You really need to leave. There’s…rats in here. That’s why I was downstairs.”

“Rats?” The woman’s eyes widened and she held her purse up higher, her gaze darting around the floor.

Christ, where had that come from? Didn’t matter. She seemed freaked.

“I don’t think those sandals are the best choice in here right now.” He hurried to the door and opened it.

She gasped and glanced down at her feet, curling her toes. “Oh, my. No.”

Moving with a speed that belied her age, she whisked out the exit, casting a worried look over her shoulder as if the vermin might be hot on her trail.

Paul rushed to close the trap door and roll the armoire back on top of the carpet. If Devon saw that open, Paul’s wedding ring might end up as the next trophy in the wooden box. He shuddered and headed to the entrance as a cruiser pulled into the lot.

His rigid muscles eased. Safe from the psycho.

He opened the door and raised his hands in the air, his heart beating triple time. Two policemen got out of the car and approached, hands on their gun holsters. Paul stepped outside, gave his name, and told them he was the person who’d called nine-one-one.

The policeman with grey hair told him to stay where he was and keep his hands in sight. A much younger cop frisked Paul and waited with him outside while the other officer went into the store. Paul hadn’t expected the pat down, but he couldn’t blame them for it. They had no idea who to trust walking blind into dangerous situations.

When the “all clear” came, the young cop motioned for Paul to enter the shop and followed him inside. He tugged on his collar, picturing Lynn with her innocent love and sweet smile. He had to do this. His stomach hardened as he committed himself.

Letting out a tense breath, he faced the policeman. “I have financial records to turn over that will incriminate myself and the owner of this store, Devon Blackwood, with tax fraud.”

The cop raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Okay, but that doesn’t merit an emergency. The nine-one-one dispatcher said you called in fear for your life.”

“I was in the basement when I heard someone enter the store above. I thought Devon had come back while I was downstairs. I never knew this place had a lower level until I found it tonight.” A shiver ran up Paul’s back. “It turned out to be a customer who’d entered the store, but if it had been Devon, I know he would have killed me.”

“Why?”

Paul straightened. Devon had killed Lynn, his family, and who knew how many others? Time to put away the son of a bitch. “Because I found physical evidence down there that should link him to one, if not more, murders.”

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