The Last Straw (The Jigsaw Files #4) - Sharon Sala Page 0,51
slipped into the shed and went straight to the storage closet. The moment he walked in, an LED light came on.
He paused, listening, before pulling an old box of cleaning supplies aside, revealing the door in the floor and a set of steps leading down. A light came on as he descended, and when it did, he pulled the door shut above him. His heart was racing as he reached the floor below.
Knowing Rachel was behind the big metal door to his right was tempting. But he didn’t have time to deal with her, and so he just kept running, down the long passageway, up another set of stairs with a landing on the first floor, and another set of stairs that went up to the second.
Motion detector lights came on as he exited on the first floor passage, and headed for his apartment, anxious about what was ahead of him. He didn’t have time to prepare as he normally would have, but the consequences of ignoring this could be disastrous.
* * *
Charlie drove them to Detter House in grim-lipped silence. Wyrick knew something was bothering him, and she hated secrets.
“You know you don’t have to sulk. If you wanted my PBGJ sandwich, you could have had it.”
Charlie frowned as he took an exit off the beltway.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, we were fine when we sat down to breakfast, and then you weren’t. Once we get to Detter House, we need to be focusing on Rachel, not something else, so what’s wrong?”
Charlie sighed. “It’s not you. I just can’t get that face out of my head.”
“Face? What—you mean Jessup Wallis?”
Charlie nodded.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s just another face to me, and they’re all beginning to look alike.”
“He’s a threat,” he muttered.
“No. I’m a threat to him now. And he’s running, Charlie, I promise.”
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“Because, after you left the office I entered his cell phone into my locator and pinged his current location. Not only is he not in Texas, he’s not in Louisiana, either. He’s halfway through Arkansas and northbound.”
“Really?” Charlie said.
Wyrick rolled her eyes. “Yes, really. And as soon as we get home this evening, I will let the rest of the world see his face, then you won’t be the only one responsible for me. Savvy?”
He nodded. “Sorry.”
“No apology needed. I’m fine. We’re working a case, and that’s our focus. Not me. Deal?”
“Deal,” Charlie said.
A few minutes later they arrived at Detter House, pulled into guest parking and went inside, then straight into the manager’s office.
Wayne was at the computer when they entered.
“Hello again. Here’s the key. Just call if you need anything.”
Charlie palmed the key. “Thanks. We’ll drop it off when we’re done.”
Charlie and Wyrick rode the elevator up to the second floor again, heading to apartment 210 in the north wing. The yellow crime scene tape was still dangling from the side of the door as he unlocked it.
“Me first,” Wyrick said.
Charlie stepped aside, then followed her in.
“What’s your pleasure?” he asked.
“There can’t be hidden access in the inner walls because they exit into the hall. And, according to the blueprints, nothing has been altered in the exterior walls. But there’s something off. I can’t tell what it is, but it doesn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.
Wyrick paused. “Have you ever walked across a floor that had a slight slope?”
“Maybe, but—”
She frowned. “I’m not explaining this right. I felt it when we were here last time, but that headache distracted me. Right now we’re standing here facing the hall leading into the kitchen, and the muscles in the backs of my legs are pulling, like I’m having to keep myself from falling forward.”
“But the floor is flat. Level. I can see that,” Charlie said. “I think it’s just your Spidey senses on alert. How about I start checking out the living room, and you start in the kitchen. I’ll join you shortly.”
She nodded, but instead of going into the kitchen, something kept pulling her toward the bedroom at the end of the hall. Her footsteps were muffled by the carpeting as she passed a half bath, and the linen cabinet a few steps down. When she walked into the bedroom she paused, trying to figure out what was off about this room. She walked into the bathroom, then back out into the room and turned and stared at the bed again when it hit her. There were no windows anywhere in the master bed or bath.