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Carlita said the first thing that popped into her head. “Isn’t this a little overkill? I mean, can’t we just use a regular single blade saw to cut through the metal? It looks pretty flimsy.”

“We don’t have the right tools.” Jonkers told her they could wait for the fire department, who would have what was needed.

“I have a pair of wire snippers in my glovebox.” Officer Thryce took off, returning moments later holding a small pair of red snippers.

Carlita wrinkled her nose. “It’s gonna take hours to cut through the metal using those.”

“I’m feeling kind of lightheaded in here,” Dernice said. “Just cut the thing open and get me out.”

“We won’t be responsible for the damage,” Jonkers warned.

“I don’t care.” Dernice’s voice grew faint. “I need fresh air. Can you cut a hole near my face first so I can breathe?”

“Do you need us to call an ambulance?”

“Not yet, but if we keep talking, you might.”

“Let’s find out exactly where her head is.” The cop grabbed the broom and began lightly tapping the bottom of the vent. “Tell me when I’m getting close to your head.”

Tap, tap, tap.

“You hit my chin. Keep going.”

She tapped a little higher.

“You’ve reached my forehead.”

Pete and Officer Thryce had a brief discussion about where to cut, finally deciding to start a little above her head and carefully work their way down.

Because of the weight of the equipment, it took both men to lift the tool.

“Brace yourself,” Thryce said.

“I’m braced.”

The cop placed the ends of the giant pliers against the rivets and turned the tool on. It made a loud buzzing sound and shook every inch of the metal structure.

Carlita slid the earplugs in, certain Dernice was going to have a whopper of a headache by the time it was all over.

Working at a slow but steady pace, the men carved out a hole roughly six inches wide. Within seconds, they’d doubled the size. “I think we’re close.”

Thryce and Pete set Heidi on the floor. Using the red snippers, the cop began cutting his way toward the trapped woman. “I’m almost there. Lift your head if you can.”

“Already done.” Dernice’s voice grew louder. A few more snips and her face, now swollen and red, appeared. “Thank you. You’re an angel.”

While the cop continued cutting, Pete pulled the section of metal back. As soon as her face was free, they switched ends and began working their way up from her lower legs.

Carlita consulted her watch. Dernice had been trapped inside the vent for well over half an hour.

She began wiggling her feet.

Thryce stopped cutting. “You’re gonna have to hold still. I don’t want to cut you.”

“Sorry.” She stopped moving.

Snip. Peel. Snip. Peel. Working together, the men made a straight line along the left-hand side of the ductwork.

Dernice started to slide. Thryce dropped the snippers on the floor and shouldered her weight to keep her from falling. “We need to keep her up until we get both sides cut.”

Pete grabbed the tool. Picking up the pace, he worked quickly, cutting away at the other side of the metal. With each snip, Dernice drooped lower and lower.

“We can slide her out now.” With Pete on one side and Officer Thryce on the other, they wrapped their arms around her legs and slowly slid her the rest of the way out.

She hit the floor and landed with a dull thud.

Dernice, her face puffy and red, placed her hand on her forehead. “Remind me to never crawl inside an air vent again. Thank you for getting me out.” She started to sway.

Carlita put an arm around her. “You look a little red. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am now. It was a tight fit and I think I was running out of oxygen.” Dernice lifted her elbow, revealing a small scratch running along the back of her arm. “I guess this little scrape isn’t too bad, considering I was packed in there like a big fluffy sardine.”

“I’m glad you didn’t come crashing down and land on the floor.”

“The good news is I managed to grab this.” Dernice unclenched her fist. In it was a purple scrap of fabric. “While I was up there hanging around, I noticed it doesn’t have any dust on it.”

“Can I see it?”

Dernice handed it to Officer Jonkers.

She examined the silky scrap. “It looks as if this got caught on something and ripped.”

“It was wrapped around a rivet. My guess is the burglar, obviously someone smaller than me, crawled through the vent. The material got caught and ripped.”

Jonkers folded it in half and dropped it in her pocket. “I’ll hang onto this for the investigation.”

Pete nudged a chunk of cut metal with the tip of his shoe. “Something tells me Elvira won’t be happy about the damage.”

“Maybe you can get it repaired before she comes home,” Carlita said.

While the others discussed the mangled metal, Officer Thryce unclipped his flashlight and began examining what was left of the ductwork. “The burglars went to a lot of trouble to get inside this place.”

“And the pawn shop,” Jonkers said. “If this is the work of the same two, their entry point differed slightly from the grocery store burglary. They entered on the ground level.”

“I can’t be certain, but I believe Ken and his daughter Faith live upstairs,” Carlita said.

“They do,” Jonkers said. “They also confirmed they were attending the local fundraiser.”

“Going back to the theory the burglars knew no one was around.”

Jonkers shifted her feet. “From the surveillance videos, we can see where the burglar climbed the side of the building and entered through the vent. I want to take a quick look at the footage again.”

“I’ll go pull it up.” Dernice, Officer Jonkers, and Officer Thryce went downstairs.

Carlita waited until they were gone. She meandered over to the window and peered out. “I see something under a shingle.”

Pete craned his neck. “Do you mean the yellow spot on the other side of the vent?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Carlita glanced over her shoulder and reached for the window latch.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to find out what it is.”

“I’ll go.” Pete opened the window. Balancing on the sill, he swung his right leg over the side and climbed out.

“Be careful.” Carlita clasped her hands, warily eyeing the overhang that sloped at a sharp angle.

“I will.” Taking small steps, he inched closer to the yellow object. “Almost there.”

Pete reached down to grab it. His right foot slipped. He started sliding.

Carlita lunged forward, desperately trying to grab hold of him.

“Whoa.” With arms flailing, Pete managed to regain his balance. “The roof pitch is steeper than it looks.” Moving cautiously and keeping his right hand on the wall for balance, he leaned down and picked up the small object.

“What is it?”

“A ticket.”

Carlita’s breath caught in her throat when she got a closer look, easily recognizing the slip of paper in his hand. “Will you look at that?”