Errol had been on edge since Beauty's confrontation with Crane and their subsequent discussion. Since he was alone at work at the moment, he was more alert than usual with worry. He couldn't keep her in his sight at every moment; it wasn't practical, nor was it healthy for either of them. But he would have been more at ease.
Organizing the shelves had proved to be a good distraction ever since he'd first arrived in the City and begun working at Bookmark. It was rather meditative work, and he was free to stop and browse through anything interesting so long as there were no customers to watch. He was in the middle of leafing through a Roger Zelazny book when the bell at the door rang, grabbing his attention. He kept the book with him as he stood and walked toward the front, ready to greet the customer and offer help (and to be a silent threat against shoplifting).
"Welcome to Bookmark, how can I help--" he began before registering the appearance of someone he'd never thought to see again. It had to be a hallucination. When he'd first arrived in the City, he used to jump at shadows, convinced that he was seeing people that he'd left behind for good. He hadn't done that in years. This was likely no different.