“No problem.” He tipped his head toward the slightly opened door. “Want any company in there?”
“No,” she said briskly. “I need to do this alone.”
He nodded. “I figured.”
She thanked him again and then, pushing the door fully open, she suddenly felt a bit reluctant about going inside. Was she truly ready for this? Maybe she didn’t really want to be alone. She turned to see Garret crossing the street, waving to someone on the other side as he headed for Beulah’s Café. She glanced over to the bay, which was now dark with the sun fully down. Several boats were cruising slowly through the calm water with running lights on. Normally, this made a pretty picture, one that she used to enjoy. But tonight it just made her sad.
She took in a deep breath, knowing what she had to do. She needed to go inside the newspaper office, to walk through the building—with no one else there. Partly to say goodbye to her dad, and partly to prepare herself for what she knew must be done in the next few days. The closing of the newspaper. As painful as it would be, she just needed to get it over with.
With only the streetlight to illuminate the small entry area, she could see Barb’s tidy reception desk still sat across from the door; the three orange vinyl chairs in the waiting area stood in a row with the stodgy little coffee table and its usual neat stack of this week’s paper; the faded fake ficus tree still stood in the corner—just like a time warp. Even the smell was the same, a combination of ink, paper and dust.
Megan flicked on the fluorescent overhead lights, causing the scene to pop at her in a way that twisted her heart even more tightly. It was all still here—just like she remembered it—but Dad was gone and it would be her unpleasant job to shut the place down. She didn’t look forward to that meeting. She’d need to get her bearings to prepare the dismal announcement. Without her dad to run it, the paper would need to close. It would be the end of an era.
As she walked past the staff desks, she wished for another way. If only The Perpetual Press wasn’t so old-fashioned. But Dad hadn’t listened to her encouragement to offer an online news source for additional revenue. He had stubbornly insisted on running the paper the way his dad and grandpa had done. He hadn’t even owned a computer. She paused to remember the clickity-clack of his old typewriter—and then she froze at the sound of something else. She was not alone!
The scuffling noise came from somewhere in the back of the building. Was Arthur here? The old print operator sometimes liked to clean the press at night when no one else was around to complain about the smelly emollients he used. But the door to the printing room was closed and she spied no ribbon of light beneath the door.
“Arthur?” she called out as she reached for the doorknob. But before she could open it, she heard fast footsteps behind her.
“Arthur?” With a racing heart, she spun around. In the same instant a dark figure lunged toward her. She let out a scream as he tackled her to the floor. Swinging her fists and kicking her legs, Megan screamed at the top of her lungs as she fought her attacker. But bigger and stronger, he soon had her facedown on the old pine floor. Pressing her head down onto the boards with one hand, he used his knee to pin her tightly, pushing so hard she could barely breathe and felt her ribs were about to snap.
“Who are you?” she gasped with what little breath was left. “What are you do—”
“Shut up!” he said. Then he slapped her across the side of the head—so hard that her head smacked into the floor and she could almost see stars. The only thing she could do was pray.
Copyright © 2016 by Carlson Mgmt. Co., Inc.
ISBN-13: 9781488008641
Search and Rescue
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Valerie Hansen for her contribution to the Rookie K-9 Unit miniseries.
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