The Sinister Touch by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online Page B

the street. Out on the sidewalk she dashed toward the entrance to Mason’s building. The security door was propped open with a copy of the Seattle Yellow Pages that belonged on the shelf beneath the pay phone in the small lobby. Zac’s work, Guinevere assumed. Perhaps to make access quicker for the cops. She wondered how he’d gotten inside the security entrance so quickly. But Zac had a way of doing things like that.
    She flew up the stairs to the second floor and glanced down the old, linoleum-lined hall. Mason’s building hadn’t been as expensively renovated as hers. In fact, it looked to be in what was probably a sadly original condition. The dim halls and shaky banister on the staircase made the place look a little like a cheap hotel. At the opposite end of the hallway there was a faded exit sign, indicating a fire escape. If Zac hadn’t met the escaping attacker on the staircase, it was probably because the man had used the other exit.
    The door standing open at the end of the hall had to be the one to Mason’s apartment. Guinevere rounded the corner just as the sirens whined into silence outside the building.
    “Zac! Is he all right?”
    Zac was crouching beside Mason. He didn’t look up. “He’ll live. Whoever it was got him on the side of the head, but the blow must have been deflected. He’s groggy but not unconscious. Did you see any sign of whoever it was who did this, Gwen? I didn’t pass him on the stairs.”
    “I think he must have used the fire escape. I got a brief glimpse of him through my window while I was dialing 911.”
    Zac did glance up at that, pinning her with grim eyes. “Did he see you?”
    “I . . . I think so, but he must have heard you about that time and dashed out of the room. He was wearing a weird hood, Zac. It was very strange.” Guinevere broke off as footsteps echoed on the old stairs.
    “I’ll handle this,” Zac said, getting to his feet.
    Guinevere nodded obediently. Zac was good at this sort of thing, too.
    On the floor Mason groaned and opened his eyes. “Hell of a way to celebrate my first show.”
    ***
    It was a long time later before Guinevere found herself alone with Zac back in her apartment. She was tense and troubled. Zac sprawled on the sofa, eyeing her as she stalked back and forth in front of him.
    “I don’t understand it, Zac. Why didn’t Mason tell the police about that incident with his painting last night? Damn it, he told me he’d filed a complaint. Or at least he implied he was going to file one. But tonight he didn’t mention it. Instead he acted as if he’d just been unlucky enough to walk in on a routine burglary this evening. He didn’t try to relate the two incidents.”
    “I didn’t hear you rushing to fill in the missing pieces,” Zac observed quietly. “You didn’t say a word about that pentagram or the canvas slashing, either.”
    Guinevere threw up her hands in frustration. “Because I could see Mason looking at me, practically begging me to keep my mouth shut.” She turned to glance at Zac accusingly. “And you went right along with Mason’s limited version of the story, too. Why?”
    Zac shrugged. “The same reason you did, I suppose. It was pretty damn obvious Adair didn’t want to link last night’s incident with tonight’s, and even more obvious that he’d never mentioned the slashed canvas to the authorities. I could see him watching me as I talked to the cops, and I knew he wanted me to say as little as possible.”
    “So you did.”
    “I told them what I’d seen through your window tonight, which wasn’t much. Hell, I didn’t even get a look at the guy. He was long gone by the time I reached Adair’s apartment.”
    “But you knew about the pentagram and the slashing,” Guinevere reminded him.
    “All right, so I decided to respect Adair’s wishes and keep quiet about it. I’m used to dealing with clients who prefer not to involve the cops. I guess it’s getting to be second nature to abide by