Page 31 of All He Takes
"Oh, yes," he said. "I've been coming here for years. Before me, the owners were a husband and wife team from Canada. They had a string of failed antique stores before this one, and as soon as they moved in, they changed the name to 'Harriet Antiques.' I always liked that."
"Why?" Ken asked.
"I don't know," Mr. Dumond said. "I think it just has a nice ring to it. It's a bit more personalized than the other stores."
Nicky's ears perked up. "Can I ask why they moved here?" she said.
"Oh, I think they just needed a change," Mr. Dumond said. "Or maybe they just wanted a fresh start."
"Sometimes we all need a fresh start," Nicky said, her eyes flashing on Mr. Dumond's. "But if you've lived here your whole life, I suppose you wouldn't know about that."
Sweat pooled on Mr. Dumond's brow. "I suppose not..." He laughed uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, dears, I have to go to the washroom. When you get to my age, it gets harder to hold it in."
Nicky and Ken exchanged a look as Mr. Dumond got up and hobbled toward the back of the store. Once alone, Nicky whispered to Ken, "What do you think?"
"I think he's a practiced liar," he muttered.
That was true. And right now, everything was pointing at him. His shop was ground zero for the photographs...
Moments ticked on, and Mr. Dumond still did not return from the bathroom. Nicky felt her gut tighten with anticipation. She had to do something.
"Ken, I'm going to check on him," she said.
They got up from the table and went to the bathroom door. Ken knocked.
"Mr. Dumond?" he asked.
No reply.
He knocked on the door again. "Mr. Dumond?" he repeated.
Nicky turned the knob and slowly opened the door.
Mr. Dumond was nowhere to be seen.
The bathroom was a tiny little space. It didn't take long to search, but when they were done, they were still unable to find him. He had disappeared. He had left them all alone in the shop.
"Where the fuck is he?" Ken whispered. "There's no back door here."
"I don't know," Nicky said. "But we need to find him."
Ken was right--the shop had no back door, only a front, and they would have seen the old man sneak out. He had to be in here somewhere.
"Mr. Dumond?" Nicky called out. Carefully, they made their way through the store. "Are you in here? We're worried about you..."
"Come on out, Mr. Dumond," Ken echoed. "You don't need to hide from us. We're not gonna hurt you."
"Mr. Dumond?" Nicky said. "Please, we don't have time for this."
They searched the store from top to bottom. They found nothing, and they were only ones there.
She and Ken looked at each other. They had one last place to search.
The room behind the counter, where the computer had been. As they walked up to it, they realized the door was closed.
"Mr. Dumond?" Nicky called out. She knocked on the door. "Are you in there?"
No answer. But they couldn't waste time here. Nicky put her hand on her gun--just in case--and slowly opened the door.
