His grin was hard to read. Without warning, his mouth sought hers, and he kissed passionately with moderate aggression. Jacey suddenly tensed, her heart pounding roughly in her chest as his kiss sent shockwaves of desire through her entire body. It was far from the quick, playful kisses they’d shared in the past. Her hands tensed on his shoulders, but she made no effort to push him away. A thousand thoughts exploded in her mind to the wildly erotic kiss. As she felt herself giving into the passion, Asher suddenly broke off the kiss, took a quick step back, and stared at her with a shattered expression. His mouth fell open as if unable to speak. It was almost as if he suddenly realized she wasn’t his beloved Katie.
“Oh, Jacey. I’m so sorry,” he suddenly gasped. Asher ran his fingers through his hair with such vigor he nearly tore some out. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” His actions obviously startled him more than they had her.
An explosion of thoughts raced through Jacey’s mind as she stared back at him, uncertain how to respond. She was certain it was true. He didn’t know what he was thinking. Something was definitely going on with him, and it frightened her. Once, when he had a concussion, he had mistaken her for Katie, but this was different. She feared he was losing his mind or at least his sense of reality, which was concerning at best. Jacey fidgeted while attempting to recover from the quick but wildly passionate kiss. She felt slightly disorientated from his actions and couldn’t shake the sensation of his mouth on hers. The dull ache shooting through her body was even more disturbing than his actions. With the way he stared at her, she realized she had to say something to ease his guilty conscience before he slipped into a dark place.
“It’s okay, Asher,” she insisted gently, although she couldn’t convince herself of that. She took a step closer to him and offered a warm smile. “We were just joking around. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. It’s no big deal.”
Asher pulled her into his arms and held her against him, obviously distraught by his own actions. She returned the embrace, needing her own reassurances. She suddenly drifted back to three months earlier on that fateful night at the museum gala.
Jacey applied pressure to Asher’s shoulder wound where he lie motionless on the ground. He gasped loudly and jerked awake from his unconscious state. He looked at her with some disorientation. His eyes rolled shut.
“Katie,” he gasped softly while smiling and touched her face. “I thought I’d lost you.”
Jacey moved closer to him and clung to his neck. “Oh, Asher,” she gasped softly. “You’re going to be fine. An ambulance will be here soon.” She pulled away just far enough to look into his eyes and forced a smile as tears rolled down her cheeks.
His eyes once more opened. His hand stroked her hair. “I won’t ever leave you, Katie.”
His mouth covered hers, and he kissed her passionately. Jacey tensed with surprise then returned the warm, passionate kiss. Asher’s arm slipped from her shoulder, and he fell motionless. Jacey’s mouth opened with horror as the tears flowed.
“Asher?” she gasped.
Jacey drifted back to reality within Asher’s kitchen. She clung to him and again inhaled his wonderful aftershave. If he had once again mistaken her for Katie, could it be he was under too much stress? She loved Asher too much to want to believe he was hurting emotionally. Perhaps there was something more she could be doing to make his life less complicated. Or was she the reason his life was complicated to begin with? She had to convince herself that his life was better with her in it. He needed her as much as she needed him. Whatever he was going through, she’d find a way to help him through it. He slowly pulled away and sheepishly met her gaze, a distraught look in his eyes.
“You’re not mad, are you?” he gently asked.
She smiled warmly and gently touched his face. “No, of course not.” Jacey playfully patted his chest, despite her concerns and stared into his eyes. “We’ve both been under a lot of stress the last few days.” As her eyes searched his, she realized that the kiss itself didn’t actually bother her in the least. It was only what caused his confliction that concerned her. “You’re my best friend,” she insisted with conviction and again touched his face. “If you need to blow off some steam and that’s how you choose to do it, I certainly wouldn’t deny you that.”
He attempted a smile but still didn’t appear convinced. Asher pulled her into his arms and held her for a long embrace then spoke softly in her ear.
“At least you have a sense of humor about it,” he replied gently.
Jacey felt her entire body tingle to the sensation of his breath in her ear. It alarmed her slightly, having never felt that before. She was reluctant to let him go. He slowly pulled away and mocked her with his grin.
“But perhaps my time would be better spent blowing off steam in the club gym,” he remarked teasingly.
Chapter Twenty
Professor’s sedan pulled up to the west wing living quarters a little after eight o’clock that evening and parked near the door. The west wing remained well-lit outside as well as several lights on inside. Timon and Professor got out of the car and approached the entrance. Neither man had spoken on the short drive home, although both clearly had something on their minds. As they neared the door, Timon felt compelled to speak.
“Asher was acting strange tonight,” Timon informed his friend.
“Don’t start that again,” Professor groaned softly while flipping through his keys for the door key. “Comments like that only cause problems in this town.”
“No, I mean it,” Timon insisted then appeared concerned as he fidgeted while eyeing Professor alongside him. “I think he knows I want to ask Jacey out.”
Professor stopped by the door, nearly dropped his keys, and stared at Timon with surprise. His look then turned stern and almost demanding.
“You’re not asking Jacey out,” Professor insisted with a tone of conviction then hesitated. “I’m asking her out.”
“Bullshit!” Timon suddenly proclaimed with annoyance. “You’re too serious for her. She needs someone fun and lighthearted.”
“I’m fun. I’m lighthearted.”
“In what world?” Timon demanded while opening the door before Professor had a chance to unlock it.
Professor appeared surprised while looking at his keys then watched Timon enter the building. He groaned softly and shook his head.
“Doesn’t anyone lock the door anymore?” he muttered his annoyance.
Professor followed Timon into the building then shut and locked the door behind him. Both men walked across the lounge and headed toward the back hallway.
“Besides, Asher would never allow you to date Jacey,” Professor insisted.
Timon glared at him and appeared offended. “Asher likes me more than he likes you.”
“Not when it comes to dating Jacey, he doesn’t.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Timon muttered.
“Keep dreaming,” Professor scoffed.
Timon turned toward the nearby museum doorway. “I need something to eat.”
“You finished that entire spread Asher put out,” Professor remarked while staring at him. “How can you possibly still be hungry?”
“Don’t know,” Timon remarked. “I just am.”
“When you have nightmares tonight, don’t wake me,” Professor announced then headed into the back hallway of the west wing toward the stairs.
Timon entered the lobby and walked across the large area toward the kitchen near the back of the museum. The lobby was over two stories of open exhibit space. Beyond the front desk, there was a large t-rex skeleton towering up to the cathedral ceiling. With the few lights always on for security purposes, shadows were cast from the t-rex skeleton, creating eerie shadows along the floor and wall. As Timon headed for the kitchen, he heard a faint clunk. He hesitated and looked around the dimly lit lobby exhibit. The lobby appeared to be empty except for him and the t-rex skeleton.
“Brian? That you?”
There was no response. Timon uncertainly walked back past the front desk to locate the sound. He then saw something move in the shadows. Timon appeared confused then grinned.
“Okay, who’s the joker tonight?” Timon teased. “You guys aren’t good enough to get me at my own game.”
Timon took a few steps toward the large t-rex skeleton then stopped and studied it. He attempted a smile but the concern on his face was evident.
“Come on, guys,” he whined. “This isn’t funny. Come on out.”
Nothing moved. Timon looked across the lobby then smirked and headed toward the front desk and the light control panel on the console. He bent over the desk and reached behind for the lights.
†
Brian sat at the large bar in the empty, quiet game room with a drink before him and the cordless phone to his ear. He appeared annoyed with his caller.
“Will you stop worrying? I can handle Konrad Asher. He’s like the family pet around here,” Brian remarked and leaned back in his chair while playing with his drink. “I’m telling you, I have everything under control. Asher is not going to be a problem.” Brian hesitated while listening to the person on the other end. He groaned softly. “I’m not going to ruin our plans by pursuing Jacey, so just relax.” He hesitated and frowned. “Besides, she already turned me down flat--again.” He snorted a soft laugh then took a swallow of his drink. “Turns out even Maxwell couldn’t get her into bed.” He then muttered, “I swear the girl has a gold-plated chastity belt and Asher guards the key.” He suddenly laughed at the comment from the other end. “You’ve got that right.” Brian then listened to sounds coming from the west wing. “Hey, I have to go. Timon must be home. He owes me money, and I have to get him to pay up before he crawls into his cave for his nightly bad movie marathon.”
Brian disconnected the cordless phone, set it on the bar, and hurried from the game room. He entered the lounge and looked around, but there was no one there. He considered his next move, grinned, and then headed for the museum lobby. Timon was a genius, but he was a predictable genius. He’d be in the kitchen preparing his nightly movie snack. Brian crossed the massive, dimly lit lobby for the kitchen. Someone moved in the shadows not far from him. Brian saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He then paused and looked around. There was no one there.
“Timon?” Brian turned stern and again eyed the dimly lit lobby. “You better not be screwing around. You scare me again, and I’m going to kick the crap out of you. Seriously! I mean it this time.”
There was no response and nothing moved. Brian frowned and continued toward the kitchen. He heard a clunk, which possibly came from the t-rex exhibit. He turned toward the nearby exhibit and studied the towering replica. In the dim lighting, it was a frightening image. He frowned with disapproval.
“Nothing worse than a scientist with a sense of humor,” he muttered then called out, “Give it up, Timon. I’m not in the mood.” Brian took two steps toward the large exhibit. “I’m going to do a lot more than kick your ass.” He looked around the dark exhibit, hid his fear, and turned angry. “And where’s the fifty bucks you owe me?”
An intruder dressed completely in black stepped out from the darkness of the exhibit before Brian. Brian jumped with surprise then groaned.
“Damn it, don’t--”
An antique dagger stabbed Brian in the throat. He gasped, jumped back while clutching his bleeding neck, and stumbled backwards. The intruder remained cloaked in the shadows and watched as Brian collapsed to the floor. His attacker disappeared back into the display as Brian’s blood rapidly spilled onto the floor around him. Brian gasped several times before finally taking his last breath, becoming motionless.
Only a few moments had passed before Professor entered the lobby from the west wing and headed toward the kitchen. He suddenly stopped when he saw Brian lying just beneath the dinosaur exhibit with a large amount of blood surrounding him. Professor gasped with alarm and instinctively took two steps closer, almost as if not believing what he saw. When he realized Brian was dead and it clearly wasn’t an accident, he ran for the lobby desk and grabbed the phone. He saw someone move in the darkness behind the desk. Professor cried out and leaped backward to avoid the man in the darkness. Timon slowly pulled himself to his feet with the use of the desk. He held the back of his head and was barely able to stand on his own.
“What the hell was that?” Timon suddenly demanded.
Professor hurried to him and turned on the interior lights by the main console. The entire lobby flooded with light.
“Timon, what happened?”
He groaned softly while clutching the back of his head. “Someone hit me from behind.” He then looked at Professor with concern. “Were we robed?”
“I don’t think so,” Professor announced gently then hesitated. “I think they were looking for Brian.”
Timon appeared confused then looked across the museum to where Brian lie near the t-rex skeleton. Timon stared at his dead co-worker with horror.
Chapter Twenty-one
Timon sat at the bar in the game room. He held a drink in one hand and a bag of ice to his head in the other. Professor and Jacey sat on either side of him and watched him with shared looks of concern.
“I don’t think you should be drinking, Timon,” Professor announced gently. “Let’s take you to the hospital and get your head examined.”
“I’m not going to the hospital,” he grumbled, hostility in his voice. “I’m not the one in a body bag.”
“Please, Timon,” Jacey announced and pleaded with him. “Listen to Professor.”
“Leave me alone!”
There wasn’t much else they could do. Jacey knew how Timon must have been feeling. She’d lived a similar nightmare. It was possible he was feeling guilty that he couldn’t prevent Brian’s murder. Sheriff Monroe entered the game room with a defeated look on his face and approached them at the bar.
“Are you guys okay?” Sheriff Monroe asked gently.
“What’s with you people?” Timon suddenly demanded with hostility while spinning on his bar chair. The look in his eyes no longer resembled the jovial man they all knew and loved. He was hurting and he was drunk. “A man’s dead! Of course, we’re okay! The world’s just fucking fantastic!”
Timon snatched his drink from the bar, nearly fell to the floor as he abruptly stood, and staggered from the room.
Professor groaned softly and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve never seen this side of him,” he remarked. “I wish Doc were here. He’d know what to do.”
“He’s lost a friend,” Monroe remarked. “Everyone deals with traumatic events differently. Considering it’s only been three months since the museum incident, he has every right to react this way.”
“It seems like yesterday,” Jacey muttered and leaned on the bar. “It’s the never-ending horror story.”
There was a brief moment while all three seemed to sink into that night three months ago. Professor and Sheriff Monroe had arrived late on the scene, but Jacey and Timon had front row seats to the killer’s murderous rampage. Sheriff Monroe was the first to return to reality. He inhaled deeply and concentrated on his duties regarding the latest murder in their sleepy town.
“The popular opinion poll seems to indicate a connection between the two murders,” Monroe informed them. “Two people from the same office murdered within days of each other is a little too coincidental. I already know what the homicide detective is going to say about this one.” He sighed deeply and joined them at the bar. “Between the coroner and the homicide detective, they believe Jeannette knew her killer, which leads me to believe this was the same guy.”
“But what’s the connection between Jeannette and Brian?” Professor questioned as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. “Jeanette wasn’t Brian’s secretary. They never even dated. If he’d slept with her, he would have bragged about it at some point. He didn’t exactly keep his sexual conquests a secret.”
“Jeanette and Brian
didn’t interact that much,” Jacey added simply. “They certainly weren’t friends. She didn’t really care for him, and they only spoke in passing.”
“But they have other common links between them,” Monroe informed them. “The board members, for example. Jeannette’s husband was an investor and a board member since the country club was founded.”
“Except her husband died around the time Brian moved to town. They never even met,” Jacey informed him. “They didn’t even have that in common.”
“What about the bosses?” Sheriff Monroe asked and appeared curious. “Brian was a board member, so he was chummy with her two bosses, Davis and Nathan. Jeannette obviously had a working relationship with both of them. They link her to Brian.”
“There had been a rumor going around that Jeanette and Nathan had a thing,” Jacey replied, feeling awkward for sharing that with the sheriff. “Some speculate they were having an affair even before her husband’s death, back when she was one of the elite country club wives.” She then considered. “Some believe she got the secretarial job to be close to Nathan. Lord knows she didn’t need to work. She was well provided for after her husband’s death. She certainly had no formal secretarial training either. She was an awful secretary, so someone was keeping her employed.”
“We’ll be checking into the board members and other club employees who might possibly connect the two.” Monroe fell silent and studied Jacey a moment. He appeared slightly tense. “I hate to even ask--”
Jacey sharply glared at him. “Oh, no. You’re not going to question Asher,” she suddenly launched with hostility. “He didn’t even know Jeanette, and he was probably the only person in the entire town who didn’t harbor bad feelings toward Brian. Even you had reason to hate Brian over that bad investment.”
“You’re getting as bad as Asher,” Monroe remarked under his breath. “I actually just wanted to ask you to get me a list of some people at the club who connect Brian to Jeannette.”
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