Page 81 of A Seer and Present Danger

The sky flashed—white-blue sizzle—and a huge boom of thunder roared.

Then the entire place fell into darkness.

“It’s okay,” I said into the dark. “I think we blew a transformer. We have a backup generator. You all stay seated and I’ll go kick it on.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight function. It was bright enough to guide me down the back hall to our storage room. I put on my coat and rushed out the back door into the deluge. I unlocked the fuse box and hit the switches to power up the generator.

The rattling rumble of the engine turning over was satisfying. So was the porch light turning on.

I hurried into the building which was only illuminated by half the normal lights to conserve energy. That was how it was intended to work. People didn’t mind eating in low light—it gave the place ambiance. And that meant we’d have enough power for the grill and refrigeration units.

The diner was empty.

Gail was gone.

Charles was gone.

But there was a man in a trench coat standing in the shadows by the door, a knife in his hand.

Detective Simon Vandre.

CHAPTER 17

My heart stuttered. I froze in the hallway, covered by shadow.

I’d turned off my flashlight. I didn’t think he could have heard me over the thunderous rain, but he was a demigod. He could have super hearing for all I knew.

I couldn’t tell if the knife had blood on it, but it was plenty big enough to kill someone.

Vandre was the killer. He wanted Pandora’s box and had stabbed Hugo looking for it, had killed Kenny looking for it, and was here now to kill me.

I could run out the back door. It was wet and cold, but I might be able to get around to the front where my car was parked before he knew I’d ducked out.

Driving in this weather was dangerous—really dangerous—but the roads to Ordinary might still be open.

I could try to sneak into the kitchen and use the land line phone to call for help. But, no, I’d have to cross the main space of the restaurant and there was no way he wouldn’t see me.

So, run to the car it was.

Except I’d forgotten one thing. No three things: Gail and Charles and Buzz. Gail might or might not be mixed up in this, but Charles and Buzz were innocent.

I couldn’t leave them behind.

But first I needed to find them.

Buzz (hopefully) was still in his office.

What could Vandre have done with Gail and Charles? Knock them out (kill them?) and drag them into the rain? Stuff them into our storage room or bathroom?

The bathroom and storage room were closest to me. I crept forward silently, sliding past the fire extinguisher attached to the wall, and slipped into the bathroom.

My eyes quickly adjusted to the deeper darkness. I checked the stalls. Empty.

I checked the sitting area. No one there.

Next, the storage room.

I paused at the bathroom door, listening before I walked out. I heard muffled movement but the rain on the roof and grumble of the generator made it hard to tell what was going on. I waited, hoping Vandre wasn’t right outside the door with a knife.