Let the Devil Sleep (59 page)

“So he was all alone, then.”

“Yes. Completely alone.”

“How dreadful.”

Gurney almost said,
There but for the grace of God go I
. He knew how isolated he could become and hardly notice that it was happening. How relationships could slip away like smoke in the breeze. How easily he could sink into himself. How natural and benign his isolating obsessions could seem.

He wanted to explain this to her, explain this peculiarity of his being. But then he got that feeling he sometimes got when he was near her—the feeling that she already knew what he was thinking without his having to say the words.

She looked into his eyes, squeezing his hand and holding it that way.

Then, for the first time ever, he got that same peculiar feeling, but in the opposite direction. He got the feeling that
he
already knew what
she
was thinking, without her having to say the words.

He could feel the words in her hand, see the words in her eyes.

She was telling him not to be afraid.

She was telling him to trust her, to believe in her love for him.

She was telling him that the grace on which he depended would always be with him.

In the profound peace that followed her silent words, he felt relieved of every care in the world. All was well. All was quiet. And then, somewhere in the far distance, there was a sound. It was so faint, so delicate, he wasn’t sure whether he was hearing it or feeling it or imagining it. But he knew exactly what it was.

It was the distinctive lilting rhythm of Vivaldi’s “Spring.”

Continuity itself is usually a good thing in business and professional relationships. And when that continuity involves truly talented, dedicated people it can be a delightful thing.

From the publication of my first novel,
Think of a Number
, through the second,
Shut Your Eyes Tight
, to the third,
Let the Devil Sleep
, I have had the privilege of working with the same extraordinary people—a superb agent, Molly Friedrich, her wonderful associate, Lucy Carson, and an unfailingly insightful editor, Rick Horgan.

Thank you, Rick. Thank you, Molly. Thank you, Lucy.