Chapter 1: “Use the Other Entrance”
“No. You’re not getting in this elevator. Take your scooter somewhere else and use the other entrance!”
Karen Whitmore planted herself across the elevator doorway as though she owned the building.
The stainless-steel doors stood open behind her, revealing a spacious, accessible interior and a row of polished buttons glowing beneath the fluorescent ceiling lights. Karen’s cream cardigan was perfectly arranged over her pale-blue blouse, her blonde hair falling neatly to her shoulders. One hand held her oversized smartphone. The other stretched across the entrance.
A few inches away, the front wheel of Marcus Reed’s dark-blue mobility scooter waited at the threshold.
Marcus was sixty-two, a retired school administrator, and accustomed to navigating the world on wheels without asking anyone’s permission to occupy space in it. He had approached the elevator normally. Karen had stepped into his path.
He stopped.
He locked the scooter’s brakes.
Then he looked directly at her.
“You don’t get to decide who can use this elevator. Move out of the doorway.”
Karen’s forced smile vanished.
For a moment, neither moved.
The elevator gave a warning chime.
Karen glanced at the control panel.
Then she reached inside and pressed the button to close the doors.
The doors began sliding together.
Marcus calmly pressed the open-door button.
The doors reversed.
Karen stared at him.
“I said you’re not using it!” she snapped. “People like you can’t just hold everyone up because you think you’re entitled to special treatment!”
Marcus didn’t raise his voice.
“I need the elevator. You’re blocking it. Step aside.”
He released the brakes.
The scooter moved forward.
Karen shifted sideways, trying to reclaim the center of the doorway. Marcus adjusted his angle and continued into the elevator. He never touched her.
Karen had no choice but to move.
By the time she stepped back, the scooter was completely inside.
The elevator doors began closing.
Karen stood outside, gripping her phone.
Her eyes followed the closing doors before shifting toward the second elevator at the opposite end of the lobby.
Something changed in her expression.
She turned sharply and headed toward it.
Marcus watched her disappear.
He had no idea yet that the elevator incident was only the beginning.
