The far wall was full of backlit shelves, every single one featuring hourglasses.
A few were made of glass and sand, simple, exactly like the kind you could buy in a department store. Others were more detailed. Etched glass, bases carved out of wood or formed from metal. The sand inside several had a different reflective quality from anything I’d ever seen. It shone like crushed diamonds.
One hourglass, carved from ivory, completely drew me in. I had a strong desire to touch it, but some instinct made me recoil from it at the same time. I stepped as close as I dared.
Discovered the spindles that connected the top and bottom of the base weren’t ivory but bones. What looked like human bones.
The base was formed from carvings of tiny skulls, each one with black, gaping eye sockets and a wide-open mouth. The mouths seemed to be moving. Seductive whispers in my head grew louder and louder. I raised my hand to touch. So close.
“He’s coming.” When Lily took my arm, real voices overtook the imaginary ones. She opened a narrow slatted door, pulled me inside, and shut it behind us.
Five seconds later, Poe and a dark-haired woman walked into the office.
Lily leaned against the wall in a half-sitting position. A stack of boxes ended at the back of her knees. She couldn’t stand up straight. I didn’t know how long we’d be stuck in the closet, but she couldn’t hold that position forever, especially if we needed to run once we got out.
The woman’s voice was unnaturally soft, yet there was no mistaking her disdainful tone. “I thought this was your specialty.”
Through the slats in the door, I saw Poe pull his mouth to the side, making his nose curve more prominently than it had the night he’d paid his visit to the Phone Company. “It’s been in my possession a week. Stop making me your errand boy and I’ll work on it.”
Her laugh was as soft as her voice. “Your skills and those errands are the only reason you’re still alive.”
“I suppose I’m to be grateful to you, then?” Poe looked much younger in the light of day than he had the night of the masquerade. “Since it’s thanks to you I still draw breath?”
“Yes.”
Poe set his jaw. His anger spilled across the thick carpet and seeped between the slats of the closet door.
“Have you made any progress?” the woman asked. “At all?”
“It shorts out everything I use. So, no.” He held up a slim silver device that looked like a laptop computer but was half the size. “Did you call him?”
“Only because you said ‘please.’”
Lily tried to stand up straight, and the boxes behind her shifted when her weight was no longer on them. She wobbled and almost fell when they hit her calves. I put one arm around her to keep her upright, and the other against the wall to brace us. It made a slight thudding sound.
The woman frowned and looked in the direction of the closet.
She tossed her dark hair over her shoulders and started walking toward us. Lily squeezed her eyes shut. I tensed in preparation, planning to get us out alive, no matter who I had to hurt. I didn’t know if I could get us both past Poe, but Lily would go free.
Teague walked past the closet and went to the office door. I heard a new voice.
“Hello, Teague.”
The woman was Teague. And the man addressing her was Dr. Turner.
Chapter 23
“Hello, Gerald.” Teague arranged her expression into a smile. “So glad you could come on such short notice.”
When Lily exhaled, I realized how tightly I must have been holding her. The fact that I hadn’t noticed spoke volumes about my anxiety level.
“I cancelled my afternoon classes. I hope the matter is as urgent as you made it sound in your message.” He’d taken one of the fedoras from the moose antlers in his office and clamped it down over his head of white hair. He removed the hat now, holding it in one hand and tapping it against his other palm. I noticed his suspenders for the first time. They perfectly matched his orange bow tie.
“You’ll have to ask Edgar how urgent the matter is,” Teague answered, nodding her head toward Poe, who’d taken a seat in the corner.
Edgar? I’d have gone with the nickname, too. I wondered briefly if his middle name was Allen.
“Hello, Poe,” Dr. Turner said kindly. “Teague didn’t tell me I was visiting for your benefit. I would’ve made it here much more quickly.”