Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

"Am I supposed to know her?" Rupert took a sip of his coffee, trying to ease the discomfort in his body.

"She's... the new girl at work. She sent me here to treat you to dinner."

As Fay's name came up, Sylvia shot a glance at the heavy oak door.

Did Fay lock them in here?

Rupert caught her look and said quietly, "You two have some history, don't you?"

"Can I plead ignorance?" Sylvia still felt completely baffled by the whole thing.

Rupert spun the chunky silver ring on his finger, a frown creasing his brow. "Whoever locked that door definitely knew we were in here."

Sylvia caught on instantly.

She held out her hand to Rupert. "Your phone."

"Someone spilled a drink on me. It's fried."

"Really? That's a little too convenient," Sylvia said, suspicion clear in her voice.

"Want to frisk me?" Rupert held both hands up, palms open.

The overhead light made the garnet ring on his hand look even more striking, not

to mention the wedding band sitting snugly on his middle finger.

Sylvia tore her eyes away, pretending not to notice, and racked her brain for solutions.

Rupert followed her gaze, glancing at his own rings, then lowered his head and absently rubbed them.

cabinet in the back, behind the scotch bottles. Inside, there's a safe. Orson keeps a spare phone in

and went searching, but

"Where exactly?"

way in the

toward the velvet curtain in the

changed clothes behind that curtain once, at Rupert's last

the curtain. This was Rupert's secret tasting room, all mahogany shelves and dim lights. She pushed aside a rack of rare bourbons and found a built-in wall safe, about

"It

for a moment before finally

scowled. This was no time

in Orson's birthday.

Maybe Chris? Wrong again.

birthday. Still nothing. One more wrong guess and the alarm would go off, and then the

is it,

neck. One hand

1125.

Sylvia froze.

It was her birthday.

she hadn't celebrated her

open. Inside were some auctioned bottles of wine and a handful of

and, pretending not to notice the code, grabbed

handed the phone to Rupert. "This is your place. You handle

another word, she slipped past Rupert

down at the

really come to hate him

outside for a bit. When Rupert

composed as if he'd never lost