Free Big Three-Thriller Bundle Box Collection by Gordon Kessler

we’ve already started the bonding session.”

 
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    Michelle gaped at me wide-eyed almost as if the television explosion had been something I’d caused.
    Awesome, Superman , Harvey said, but I didn’t take the time to scold him away.
    I jumped up from the table and hurried to the counter. After snatching the TV cord from the wall outlet, I turned off the sink light.
    Michelle sat still, her back to me. Her head and shoulders trembled.
    “Mish, you okay?”
    When I placed my hand on her arm, she cleared her throat and glanced over her shoulder. She chuckled nervously and patted my hand. “I’m fine. Just startled me.”
    I looked at the microwave and saw its LED was out and then realized my eye glasses had cracked slightly. When I went to the refrigerator and opened the door, the light didn’t come on. “Power surge, I guess. Electricity’s out.”
    “I’ll call the electric company,” she said, her voice quavering.
    “I hope it didn’t ruin any of the other appliances. I can stay home, wait until they’ve checked it out, and they have the electricity back on.”
    “Don’t be silly,” Michelle said. She seemed to have recovered and found her normal voice. “I’ll be fine. Your customers are expecting the store to be open. Besides, I know how much you want to get back to work.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “I mean it. You go. I’ll take care of the electric company. Don’t you think I can handle that either?”
    “I think you can handle about anything.” I smiled at her. “But I’ll need to check with our homeowner’s insurance about claim forms for the damages, and — ”
    Michelle nodded. “I’ll call the insurance company, too. And the exterminator about taking care of your little friend with Mickey Mouse ears.”
    Then she frowned at me, and I realized she had noticed my broken glasses. I pulled them off and inspected them. “They’re not that bad. Just small cracks.” I looked at her, my memory failing. “Do I have another pair?”
    Her eyes shifted. A long moment passed before she answered, and it was as if she had a revelation. “At work. You always keep a pair at work.”
    “I can wear these until I get there,” I said and glanced at the clock above the refrigerator. It had stopped at seven thirty. I checked my watch. It showed the same time, and the second hand wasn’t moving. I held it to my ear. Old habit as it was battery powered, and I could hear nothing.
    “Odd,” I said. “Watch stopped, too. Almost like some kind of sonic thing — a sonic boom or something, but I didn’t hear anything.”
    Michelle shook her head absently. She wasn’t wearing a watch. She reacted to my gaze with a kind of shrinking look, her eyes lowering again. I didn’t know what to make of it.
    “Don’t worry,” I said. “Battery’s probably dead. I’ll get one at the store. And if it’s the watch, I have a new shipment of Seiko’s. I’ll just pick out one for myself.”
    Even with his batteries removed, Harvey popped into my head again. Pretty day. Supposed to snow. How about a walk?
    I glanced out the window of the nook. Harvey was right. The houses across the street were silhouetted by a gorgeous orange and purple sky — like a painter’s canvas, all the colors in between blended smoothly at the hand of a master. “I’ll bet it’s seven thirty-five by now,” I told Michelle. “I’m going to be late.”
    “Late? You still have ten minutes.”
    I pointed outside. “Look how beautiful a day it is. It might do me some good if I walk to work. You can pick me up from the store on the way to the hospital, say — three thirty. How’s that sound?”
    She said nothing for a moment as if considering my suggestion. She finally said, “Another good plan. But don’t forget our lunch date.”
    “Lunch?” I tried to look questioning. Maybe I’d get a genuine smile from her if I joked a little. “I’m sorry, I’ve already made a date with one of my ‘other