The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(68)

Skylar put her mouth right next to the slots of the circular opening. “I’m a doctor. I’m looking for my patient.”

Now the clerk glanced at her. “Why would your patient be here?”

“Because I think he ran in here.”

“Is he dangerous?”

“No, he’s not. But he’s lost. I need to find him.”

“If you don’t see him, then I haven’t seen him, either.” She turned back to her computer screen.

Skylar surveyed the others in the lobby, moving toward the entrance to the main hall. The security guard approached her. “Ma’am, you cannot go into the auditorium without an escort.”

“Will you escort me?”

“Next tour starts in an hour. You can wait over there.” He pointed to an area off to the side.

“I can’t wait.” She continued through the doors without stopping as the orchestra rehearsed. The guard quickly caught up with her as she surveyed the thousands of auditorium seats. She knew Eddie had to be here somewhere.

The guard got right in her face and whispered intensely, “Leave now, or I will call the police.”

“Good. Do it. Ask for Detective Butler McHenry.”

The security guard hadn’t expected this. “What is this about?” There was more than a hint of concern in his voice.

She answered tersely. “I’m a doctor looking for a patient who has escaped from a mental institution.” She kept scanning the empty seats, wondering where the hell Eddie could be.

The guard’s eyebrows raised. “A mental patient?”

She nodded for emphasis, allowing the guard’s fears to run rampant. “He’s about five foot ten, Caucasian, with brown hair. He’s carrying a blue nylon backpack. Have you seen him?”

“What’s in the backpack?” The guard was clearly concerned about the possibility of weapons—or worse—in the possession of a mental patient inside the building.

“Electronic equipment. Nothing that could hurt anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Why would an escaped mental patient be here?”

They were apparently talking too loudly. At the conductor’s direction, the musicians stopped playing, and the auditorium fell silent. The maestro turned to glare across the expanse of the hall at the source of the distraction. “Do you mind?”

The guard blushed. He held up his hand as if to say, Sorry, won’t happen again. He pointed toward the door. “Let’s continue this outside.”

Skylar took one last look around the auditorium before leaving. Where the hell could Eddie have gone?



At that moment, Eddie was being escorted out of the building by another guard, who had been dispatched the moment Eddie had taken a seat in the great hall. The act was strictly forbidden. Upon entering the building, his every movement had been followed through a well-concealed security system, because of the way he had been carrying his backpack. It clearly contained something of weight, and could very well be an explosive device.

The guard had approached Eddie quietly, hoping not to disturb the rehearsal, and asked if he had a guest pass, which would have allowed him to attend the rehearsal. When Eddie replied that he did not know what a guest pass was, the guard asked Eddie to follow him.

As they exited through the nearest doorway at the rear of the hall, Eddie asked if the guard was taking him to get a guest pass. The guard replied no, he was going to get him an exit pass. The statement was not technically a lie, so Eddie didn’t recognize it as such. He said that he had never heard of an exit pass before.

The guard said that exit passes were very special and that only very special people ever got them. Eddie told the man that he lived in Harmony House, which was a special place for special people. With an unsympathetic smirk, the guard said that everything must be right with the universe, and he led Eddie out of the building onto the sidewalk along Seventh Avenue.

When Eddie asked where the exit pass was, the guard said he just gave it to him. Eddie looked confused, because the statement rang true—which in the guard’s mind, it was—but Eddie was also certain that the statement was not true. The man had not given him anything, at least that Eddie was aware of.

He looked even more confused as the man quickly retreated back inside the building and locked the door. Eddie moved to the door, knocking politely. There was no answer. There was no door handle, either. He tried knocking again, but to no avail. Wondering if he might have misplaced his exit pass, he checked his pockets, as well as the ground he stood on, in case he had dropped it. He hadn’t. There was no sign of a pass anywhere.

Eddie looked up from the sidewalk at the city around him, which suddenly seemed very large. And loud. And scary. It only now dawned on him that Skylar was nowhere in sight. He was alone in New York City.

“Skylar?”





CHAPTER 60

Main Lobby, Carnegie Hall, May 27, 5:28 p.m.

Skylar and the security guard had been joined in the lobby by the guard’s superior, the director of Carnegie Hall security. Skylar wasn’t quite screaming at the top of her lungs, but she was close. The security director did his best to maintain his composure. “Ma’am, would you mind lowering your voice?”

“I want help finding my patient!”