Timepiece (Hourglass 2)

She gave me an imperceptible nod.

I put my hand on her waist and tried to look possessive. “Laugh, not too loud, but like I just told you a secret or said something inappropriate.”

She did, and for a quick second, I wished the situation were different. That I’d made her laugh like that for real.

Poe might not have noticed Lily before, but his spike of interest told me he definitely had now. “Damn.”

“What are you getting from him?” She shivered slightly. “Something about his eyes … he’s scaring me.”

“Good.” I pulled her closer and spoke just above her ear, into her hair. It was as soft as it looked, and smelled like grapefruit. “You should be scared. He’s not a nice guy.”

We rode through six stops, people climbing on and off the trolley, the muscles in my shoulders growing more knotted by the second. Poe didn’t look in Lily’s direction again.

When the driver reached the seventh stop, Lily grabbed my hand.

“Showtime.”

We followed thirty feet behind him.

“The Pyramid Arena,” I said, when I realized where he was going. “But it’s closed. Totally empty since the Grizzlies moved to the FedExForum.”

“The Pyramid might be closed, but the parking lot is hopping. Looks like some kind of festival. And can you smell that?” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Barbecue. We never had lunch.”

There were at least twenty red-and-white-striped tents set up in a semicircle. Just over a football field’s length away, workers were setting up a stage, complete with speakers and lighting.

“What do we do now?” Lily asked, staring at the closest barbecue stand.

“Watch, wait, and follow.” We still held hands. I pulled her away from the food, even though my stomach was grumbling, too. “We’ll eat later.”

Taking a slow stroll around the perimeter of the activity, we kept at least twenty-five feet between Poe and us. When he broke away and headed toward the Pyramid itself, we hung back and watched.

He completely ignored the huge statue of Ramses the Great at the entrance and took the stairs to the building two at a time. Lily and I rushed to the base of the statue, watching as he pushed through a main door and disappeared inside.

“How are we supposed to follow him?” I asked. “That’s not the kind of place you can sneak into. Every single sound will be amplified.”

Lily ignored me and walked up the stairs to the entrance, pushing open the main entry door as if she owned the place.

“All righty.” I followed.

She let the door shut softly behind me before turning to the left. “He went this way.”

“You’re following his boots again, aren’t you?”

She grinned.

“You take risky to a whole new level.” My whispered words echoed off the concrete walls. “And you’ve got some serious cojones.”

“Yes, I do.” When she pulled up short, I almost barreled over the top of her. She held a finger up to her lips and pointed. A sign on the wall said executive offices.

No one in sight. My heart beat so loudly I was certain anyone in the building could hear it. Lily remained cool and composed.

Impressive.

She took my arm and dragged me down the hall, looking into each open door, finally ducking into one. It turned out to be a well-appointed office, empty of people, with a perfect view of the Mississippi River. And Mud Island.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “Why did you stop here?”

She pointed. “Because of those.”