Chapter 16
During my lunch break, I Googled Barton Rexley.
“There you are.” I smiled as I stared at his picture.
I’d pretend I wasn’t feeling well, and Tess would send me home early. I needed to formulate a plan.
An hour later, after wrapping a painting for a customer, I clasped my hand over my mouth.
“Are you okay?” Tess looked at me.
I shook my head and ran to the bathroom. A few moments later, there was a knock on the door.
“Dahlia, are you okay?”
I splashed some water on my face and unlocked the door.
“Wow. I am not feeling well. I think it was that sandwich I got for lunch.”
“You don’t look well. Go home. Go to bed, and when you wake up, make sure you hydrate.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said.
“No, Dahlia. You’re sick, and you need to go home and rest.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. We’ll be fine here. It’s a slow day.”
“Thanks, Tess.” I grabbed my purse.
“No need to thank me. Just get some rest and feel better.”
I drove home, closed the front door behind me, and locked it. I dropped my keys into the ceramic bowl on the entry table and set my purse down. Wandering into the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
Restlessness grew inside me. I sat on the couch and thought about Bart Rexley.
Time was running out. Tomorrow was the 22nd day of the month.
It had to be tomorrow. If I didn’t take care of the situation tomorrow, I’d have to wait until the number twenty-two presented itself again.
And by the time that happened, Bart would probably have already taken Aaron away from his mother.
I glanced at the painting on the wall. Eyes Without a Face.
I’d thought about the night I paid Lawrence a visit on his boat. It didn’t satisfy my needs like the others. It should have. His wife was free of him and his cheating ways. But it didn’t.
“It’s because you couldn’t inflict the exact number of wounds you always have,” I heard her voice again. “Because if you did, Detective Walker would be back in Key West.”
“I know.”
“She’d eventually see you and start piecing everything together.”
“I know.”
“This time, walk away,” she said.
“I can’t do that.”
“You’re risking all of us.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
Suddenly, all was quiet again, and The Librarian went back to her books.