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Pete signaled for the women to head toward the stairs. “Call 911.”

“Already on it.” Carlita’s finger trembled as she dialed the number, bracing for an intruder to come crashing down.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

“Yes. I’m at EC Investigative Services’ office. Someone has broken into the building. We think they might be trapped in the ductwork.”

“What is the address?”

Carlita rattled off the address and thanked the operator, who promised an officer had been dispatched.

She and Dernice hovered off to the side, watching while Pete began gently tapping on the vent with the tip of his bat.

“Someone needs to go downstairs and wait for the police.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Carlita stubbornly replied.

“I’ll go.” Dernice dashed down the steps, reappearing a few minutes later with Officer Jonkers hot on her heels.

“You again. What’s going on around this place?”

Carlita explained what had happened, how after Jonkers left, they walked around the neighborhood and noticed Elvira’s vent cover was crooked.

“We keep hearing noises inside the ductwork,” Pete said.

The cop reached for her radio and called for backup.

“I’ll run back downstairs to let them in.” Dernice took off again.

While they waited, Jonkers told Carlita and Pete she’d left Colby’s Corner Store. “Based on the description and surveillance recordings, it appears the same individuals who broke your pawn shop window broke into the store.”

“Did they steal anything?”

“Food and supplements.”

“Supplements?” Carlita wrinkled her nose.

“Vitamins and protein drinks. I have to admit, it’s an odd combination.” Jonkers shrugged. “Thieves are more apt to steal food, booze, lottery tickets, you name it.”

The stairs creaked loudly. Dernice and another uniformed officer appeared. After a brief chat to fill him in, the second cop ran back downstairs to monitor the outside of the building.

“You got any lights up here?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Dernice told her about Elvira not wanting to spend money to have the wiring fixed.

Jonkers eyed her skeptically. “You can afford high-tech surveillance equipment but you don’t have enough money for a minor electrical repair?”

“You have to know my sister to understand,” Dernice said.

“It’s priorities,” Carlita added. “She has her own set of priorities.”

“I’m gonna want to look at your recordings after we’re done but first.” The officer slid the vent latches to the side and slowly removed the cover.

Carlita held her breath, watching as the cop beamed her flashlight inside. “It’s clear.”

“That’s a relief.” Dernice swiped her eyebrow. “I was totally freaked out.”

“Hang on. Something is in here.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Can I borrow your broom?”

Dernice grabbed the broom and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She turned it at an angle and eased it into the opening. “It’s stuck.”

“What is it?” Pete asked.

“It looks like a piece of fabric.” Officer Jonkers set the broom aside. Reaching in as far as she could, she began banging around. “I can’t reach it. It’s too far down.”

Dernice squeezed past her, peering into the opening. “There’s something in there, for sure.”

The cop scratched her forehead. “Before we get all excited about this being some sort of clue, let’s look at your surveillance camera recordings.”

Leading the way, Dernice escorted the group to Elvira’s office.

Jonkers radioed for her backup to join them. “We’re going to take a look at the surveillance.”

Dernice made quick work of pulling up the recordings. “Around what time did the burglars break into the pawn shop?”

Carlita and Pete exchanged a quick glance. “It was somewhere around ten or ten thirty.”

“Let’s see what we have.” Humming under her breath, Dernice accessed the front perimeter camera recordings. Sure enough, close to ten forty-five, the same pair appeared. One of them was limping.

“I noticed after they fell from the drainpipe, the climber started limping,” Carlita grew quiet, watching as they scoped the place out. The bigger of the two abruptly stopped and looked directly at the camera.

The pair huddled together and then split up, each going in opposite directions and out of camera range. They reappeared and began motioning toward the front of Elvira’s building.

Similar to what they had done at the pawn shop, the smaller of the two tossed a rope with a hook on the end up in the air. It fell back down. They threw it a second time. It fell again. Unwilling to give up, they tossed it a third time, and it caught on something.

Tugging on the end, the more athletic of the two began climbing the rope to the second level, but at a slower pace.

“The burglar appears to be favoring their left foot,” Officer Jonkers said.

“I was thinking the same.” They moved out of recording range into what Carlita believed was the vicinity of the vent cover.

“I can say with almost a hundred percent certainty these are the same two who broke into the store down the street,” Jonkers said. “Which means these individuals are more than likely responsible for all three burglaries.”

“So.” Dernice shifted her feet. “It’s safe to assume they were inside the ductwork.”

“I think so,” Carlita said. “I wonder what time they broke into Colby’s place.”

“It was after eleven.” Jonkers motioned to the other officer. “We need to grab some tools from our toolbox and try to remove the object stuck inside the vent.”

After they left, Pete, Carlita and Dernice headed back upstairs to wait.

Dernice stood on her tippy toes and beamed her flashlight inside. “This looks easy.”

“What looks easy?”

“Climbing in the vent.” She held out her flashlight. “Can you hold this?”

Carlita took it from her. “You can’t be serious.”

“About crawling in there? Sure I am.” Dernice motioned to Pete. “Can you give me a hand?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a fairly narrow opening.” Pete shifted his stance and laced his fingers together. “Against my better judgment, I’ll give you a lift.”

“No worries. Believe it or not, I’m a pretty limber gal.” Dernice placed both hands on the side of the vent and her foot in Pete’s hands, using momentum to lift herself up. “Heave-ho. Here I go.”