Page 26 of The Other Lady Vanishes

She winced. “No. That doesn’t leave a lot of other logical explanations, does it?”

“There is one other thing you should probably consider.”

She eyed him warily. “What?”

“A moment ago I reminded you that there are some dangerous people in the world. There are also some very disturbed people running loose in society. Not all of the crazies are safely locked up in an asylum.”

She almost dropped the coffee mug. Her lips parted but no words came out. She just stared at him, stricken.

“Right.” He had upset her enough for one night. Reluctantly he pushed himself to his feet. “If you’re sure you don’t want me to stay—”

“Thank you, but there’s no need, really. I’ll leave all the lights on until morning. I don’t think any intruder will return to a house that is lit up like a movie set, do you?”

She had found her voice again but she was talking much too fast now.

“Probably not,” he agreed.

“If he does, I’ll be awake and I’ll have my gun. Please don’t worry about me.”

“Tell you what, use the lights as a signal. If you hear anything, anything at all, turn the lights off in whatever room you happen to be in at the time. I’ll keep an eye on this house until dawn. If I see even one of the windows go dark, I’ll come back to check on you.”

She frowned. “But you’ll be asleep.”

“No,” he said. “I won’t be asleep.”

“You’re going to sit up all night watching my windows?”

He smiled. “Not like I’ve got anything better to do. Told you I was bored.”

She studied him for a long moment. She looked torn. Finally she moved one hand in a dismissive gesture.

“If you’re going to insist on watching my house for the rest of the night, you might as well stay here. I’ve got some books and magazines you can read if you don’t want to sleep. I’ll make more coffee.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan.”

“You’re welcome to nap on the sofa.”

“I won’t be doing any napping.”

“It’s going to be a long night,” Adelaide warned.

He smiled a little. “Not my first.”

She gave him a considering look. “You’re not the partying type. If you were, you would spend your evenings at the Burning Cove Hotel or the Paradise Club while you’re here in Burning Cove. I’m assuming those other long nights you just mentioned were connected to your import-export business?”

“Good guess.”

“Sometime I’d like to hear more about your line of work. It sounds interesting.”

“I told you, I’ve retired from the import-export business.”

She nodded. “You’re looking for a new job.”

“I hadn’t given it much thought.”

“Nonsense.” She gave him a severe look. “You’re a healthy man in the prime of life. You need a profession, a career—a job.”

He sipped his coffee. “If you say so.”

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