She returned his smile and handshake, and he left.

Did she? Maybe it was time to follow her dream, those dreams she'd left here, painted over like her mural.

Running her own design business? The idea thudded her heart, but not with

fear. She had found herself already working through the details in her mind over

the weekend after last weeks' session with her design department. Just for fun, right?

Start with a home office, maybe use a virtual assistant for the paperwork.

The first few months might be thin, but with her experience and some jobs from

Nitrovex? It might work.

The idea of it all exhilarated her. And surprised her.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She fished it out of her purse.

“Hello, Katie? Are still you in town?” It was Carol, calling from her cell phone.

“Not for long. My meeting is over.”

“Oh, dear.”

Kate's brow furrowed. “Why, what's wrong?”

“Oh, nothing serious, really. Nothing too serious, anyway.”

Kate heard a clanging noise in the background and some shouting. “Are you

okay? What's going on?”

“Well, it's nothing really. I was just hoping you could stop by the

Community Center before you leave. There's a—”

Another loud noise that sounded like a cymbal drowning in a tuba cut her off. Then more clanging and shouting.

Kate popped up out of her chair and grabbed her coat and keys. This

sounded serious. “Carol, should you call nine-one-one?”

“Oh, no, dear. I'm sure we'll be able to put it out before it spreads. At the

Community Center.”

“Spreads? Is there a fire?” Something sounded fishy.

“And Lucius says there's always a little swelling with a broken bone. But don't worry about me here down at the Community Center. I'm sure you have a

lot of important things to do.”

“Carol, are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance?”

“Oh, no need for that dear,” Carol said quickly. “Lucius is a qualified, um,

medical helper…person. Are you on your way to the Community Center?”

Qualified medical-helper person? Okay, either Carol had double-dosed on

her pills or maybe this was a repeat of her first day in town. Kate's heart thumped. “If you need help—”

“It's just we're not sure if the raccoons have rabies or not, and they look awfully hungry.”

Kate's eyes narrowed, but she felt a smile tug at her mouth. “Did you say raccoons?”

“Raccoons or possums. Or bears, it's hard to tell. The lights are pretty dim here in the Community Center.”

Carol was a terrible liar. But it was possible there was something really wrong with her. She needed to check it out, right? “Okay, Carol, I'm on my way.”

Her smile kept getting wider, but her heart was racing too. Something deeper

was going on, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to find out what it was.

* * *

Who was she kidding? Not ready? She'd been ready since grade school. The Community Center was about two blocks from the middle of town. Miles from

the Nitrovex parking lot. She got there in ten minutes flat, grinding the Bug to a stop in front of the main doors.

The building looked quiet as she jogged up the steps. No fire trucks or police

cars. No flames licking out the second-floor windows, no rabid raccoons or possums or bears bellowing as they fled out the front door. No noises, really.

She pushed through one of the thick wooden front doors.

The main hallway was quiet as well, and dark. She walked forward slowly,

listening for any signs of distress.

The place was empty. She hadn't been in this section the night of the carnival

when it had been lit with people and activity. She'd stayed in the gym, where there had been fewer memories.

This was like stepping back in time. She remembered it all. Old oak trophy case to the right, now filled with local art projects. Round clocks on the walls, most of them with the wrong time. Off-white ceiling tiles. The smell of must, dust, and floor cleaner. Slick, worn black-and-white-streaked linoleum floors echoed her footsteps.

“Carol? Hello?”