Page 15

“Why do you have two marshmallows shoved up your nose?”

“Out of all the questions you could ask, that’s what you chose to go with?” I stifled the urge to yell or sigh, mostly because I wasn’t sure I could do either with my packed nose. A few minutes ago, I found myself upside-down on the corridor floor, my face wet, and a trilling near my left ear. It had taken only seconds to right myself, realize my nose was bleeding profusely, and that the trilling came from my phone, which had preceded me down the chute.

“Why does one of them have a string attached?”

“My nose was bleeding. I had to stop it,” I said, my voice weirdly nasal.

“Is that a—” Maddox stopped and looked like he was going to choke “—a tampon?”

“They’re very absorbent, okay?! I didn’t have anything else I could use to stop the bleeding!”

We were standing in the doorway to the stairwell at the end of the corridor and even though I’d staggered to the door with relative ease, I thought I was in mild shock. When Maddox pulled out his phone and snapped a photo I didn’t have the will to insist he delete it.

“Someone shoved me down the laundry chute!”

“I don’t think it’s a laundry chute,” said Maddox, bypassing me and peering into the hatch that had opened in the wall. It took every ounce of me not to send him hurtling down headfirst like I had. “Look here. It’s an escape route,” he said.

I followed him, noting a smear of blood on the hatch and the slide when he pointed his phone flashlight in and up. “I think this is Temple’s fast way out.”

“It was certainly fast,” I said, shaking off the terror I’d felt at falling and banging my face while sliding into the unknown. “Where are we?”

“Second floor. I heard you scream from inside the apartment just as I figured out Temple’s escape route. You disappeared!”

“It must have been her who shoved me inside!” My jaw wobbled and I touched my nose gingerly, worried I was about to cry. My nose hurt and my cheek throbbed. But worst of all, Cass Temple had gotten away! If it was even her but who else would do such a thing to me?

“I got a glimpse of her dashing into the elevator as I was figuring how to get out. That tall mirror and console opposite the stairwell concealed a secret entrance. On the apartment side, it was hidden by the bookcase in the living area. I found a switch that opened it and there’s just enough space for a person to step inside and conceal themself. I think she stepped in there as soon as we triggered her alarm.”

“So she was already inside the bookcase as you busted the stairwell lock?”

“That’s my guess.”

“Then she waited until we were inside the apartment and the coast was clear on the corridor to make her escape. Why didn’t she take the chute?”

“It’s probably just a backup option in case the elevator and stairwell didn’t pan out. My guess is she stayed put to listen in and find out what we knew, and then when you went into the corridor, she saw an opportunity to get you out of the way and distract me and took it, making a clean escape.”

“That’s smart,” I decided.

“Don’t go getting all impressed by her!”

“I’m not!” Well, maybe just a bit, but Maddox didn’t need to know that.

Maddox peered at me. “Are you okay?” he asked, raising a gentle hand to my cheek. I winced at the brush of his fingertips against my cheekbone. “Do you need to go to the ER?”

“I’m fine. I’m… wait… why didn’t you go after her?”

“I thought about it for a split second but I was more worried about you.”

“You passed up catching Cass Temple to help me?” My chin trembled and now I really thought I was going to cry.

“Yeah.” He paused, lifting one shoulder in a casual shrug like it were nothing to let a jewel thief go. “Also, there was no way I was catching her. Let’s head back up and see if there’s anything we missed. She was sloppy in forgetting the mug. She might have left something else.”

“Fingerprints?”

“Certainly but we already have those anyway, not that she ever leaves them at a crime scene.” Maddox inclined his head, indicating I should follow him into the stairwell and up the stairs. As we stepped out onto the penthouse floor, I stopped dead. The mirror and console table were both two feet to the right, leaving a large gap in the wall through which I could see the apartment’s living room.

“This is so clever,” I said, pulling the mirror, finding it slid easily on heavy duty tracks. I stepped into the small enclosure and Maddox followed, pulling the sliding mirror door partially closed behind him, not quite enough room for both of us. In the dim light, he pointed to the latch that had held the mirror securely closed. I looked up, surprised that I could see through the mirror to the hallway.

“Two-way mirror,” he said.

“I reapplied my lipstick in that mirror!” I pulled a face at the idea of Cass Temple just inches away on the other side of the mirror. Had she held back laughter? Had she gazed quizzically at me as I adjusted my hair? Or was she too busy planning the rest of her escape?

“There’s a latch in the back of the bookcase,” he continued, “it’s covered by a sliding panel that matches the rest of the wood.” We slid through the small opening into the apartment, the bookcase opening just wide enough for us to shimmy through. Maddox closed it, then demonstrated sliding the thumb-sized panel back and depressing the latch so the bookcase opened. “See how the shelves aren’t as deep as the bookcase? Anyone would think it had been built to cover pipes, not so a person could hide inside it.”

I stared at the setup for a minute. “This is so cool! It’s like a childhood dream to have secret panels, and bookcases that lead into secret rooms and secret doors!”

“I wish I could take a shot every time you said ‘secret’,” grumbled Maddox.

“I love this!” I said, clapping my hands. “Does she have secret doors in all her lairs?”

“I wish I knew but probably, and this setup is pretty simple.”

“It’s great!” There was one secret panel in my house, concealed in a closet where Solomon kept a stash of weapons, but now I had the urge to suggest we add more. Although the lack of handles and knobs in the kitchen pretty much made all our cabinets secret doors, and it had taken me several weeks to memorize what each one held. I still occasionally lost the refrigerator.

Before Maddox told me to stop fangirling our chief suspect, I stepped into the small enclosure again, running a gloved finger in the light coating of dust. “This hasn’t been used in a long time,” I said, showing him my dusty finger. “But there’s a large dust-free patch on the floor.”

“That must be where she kept her go-bag. Makes sense to keep it out of the way in case the apartment is used or infiltrated in her absence. It’s likely she already has a new identity set up and cash and clothes to keep her going until she leaves town. Damn!”

“She’s very resourceful,” I said. Not only that, but she had access to a lot of resources. Fake identity documents that passed close inspection cost a pretty sum, leaving a stack of cash in a rarely-used apartment meant she had access to other funds and could afford to leave it until needed. Plus, there were the funds to purchase buildings like this.

It left me with one clear conclusion.

I was in the wrong business!

“How does one get into a life of crime?” I asked.

“No,” said Maddox.

“What?”

“I’m not helping you!”

“I didn’t ask!”

“We both know that’s what you meant and it’s only by sheer luck that your temp agency placed you at the insurance firm I was working undercover and brought you into fighting crime before you turned to it.”

“You say that like I was teetering between the two.”

Maddox raised his eyebrows and gave me a knowing stare. “Weren’t you?”

“No!” Well, not entirely.

“You were technically charging the temp agency for all the time you spent playing on the computer, shopping online, and sneaking off to get fancy coffees. You were one bored step from embezzling!”

I gasped and put a hand to my heart.

Maddox’s lip wobbled and then he burst out laughing. “I couldn’t keep a straight face,” he said between guffaws as he held his sides.

I smacked his shoulder. “I could never become a criminal! Not with my family!”

“I know. You’d bring everyone down with you. You’d turn them from a well-known police family into a network of dirty cops in your bid to create a crime empire.”

“Aww, you think I’d have an empire!” Take that, one-woman show, Cass Temple!

Maddox’s laughter subsided and he shook his head. “Only you would consider that a compliment.”

My phone pinged, a message appearing from Lucas.

“Lucas says the vehicle hired by Cass’s alias is on the move,” I said while touching my nose gingerly. It didn’t feel any worse but I still didn’t want to pull out my makeshift plug.

“She must have not set up access to another vehicle,” said Maddox. “Did Lucas say where she was headed.”

“No, only that the camera that picked her up is two blocks from here, heading north.”

“Can he track her while we finish up here?”

I was already tapping a message into my phone. Another one returned almost immediately. “He will,” I said. “Wanna tear this place apart?”

“I doubt the ring is here,” he said. “She won’t leave that behind.”

“I figured but maybe there’s something else.”

We pulled out the couch cushions and checked inside pillows. Maddox swung the TV on its big arm out from the wall and pulled out the unit, checking behind them both. He took pictures off walls and I opened every kitchen cabinet, checking more thoroughly this time. When he took the bedroom, I headed into the bathroom.

Seeing my reflection halted any further movement. My cheek was starting to smudge purple and green, and dried blood covered my nose and chin, also spotting at my neckline. I looked like a cannibal who didn’t like the smell. Easing the snapped tampon from my nostrils, relieved that the blood had stopped, I wrapped the evidence in my gloves then tissue. I washed my face with my hands and a glob of hand soap. Searching the wall- mirrored cabinet, I was disappointed to find Cass didn’t have the good grace to leave moisturizer. I was clean-faced but my skin was dehydrated. Running my finger carefully down the bridge of my nose, I couldn’t find any sign of a break and the pain was almost gone.

The bathroom was as devoid of secret compartments and stashes as the rest of the apartment, minus the false bookcase exit.

When Maddox and I stepped out at the same time, I knew from his face that he’d come up just as empty.

“Nothing?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he confirmed. “Not even discarded clothes. She was very careful. And you look better. You looked like a maniac.”

“Thanks for letting me walk around like that. Are you sure it was her you saw? Really sure?”

Maddox shook his head. “I only caught a glimpse of a flash of clothes as she got into the elevator. I think it was her but I’m not sure I would swear it was in court. Lucas’s camera capture of the vehicle is the clincher for me. That had to be her.”

“Where would she go from here?” I asked. “What’s her usual modus operandi?”

“Backup safe house,” he said without thinking about it. “Possibly a backup vehicle or a go-bag stashed somewhere else that she needs to get to. We can guess she already has her go-bag and since she’s using the same vehicle, I assume she already has somewhere to relocate to. She might ditch the car on the way. She’ll know it’s impractical to keep a hold of it now.”

“You tracked her this far? Did you see her go anywhere else?”

“No.” Maddox ran a hand over his hair, ruffling it in opposing directions. “Much as I hate to admit it, even finding this safe house was one in a million luck. Are you really okay? You do look a lot better. You were white as a sheet in the stairwell except for the… you know.” He waved a hand across my chin.

“It’s the lack of blood smeared across my face,” I said. “It’s done wonders for my healthy appearance.”

“And the lack of a tampon up your nose.”

“One day you’ll be glad to know that trick.”

“Unfortunately, that’ll be the same day I remember I don’t carry tampons.”

“I have no idea where to go from here,” I said.

“Don’t suggest sanitary pads. I’m not carrying them either. I’ll leave some in the bathroom for lady friends but I draw the line at carrying them.”

“No, I meant I don’t know where to go from here in finding Cass,” I said, wondering which lady friends he referred to. “We’ve scoured her apartment and found nothing. We know she’s on the move but there’s nothing we can do until Lucas calls in another sighting.”

“One thing we should do is get out of here,” said Maddox. “And maybe let your parents know their sexy night away should be postponed.”

“You can deal with that,” I decided since I never wanted to hear about it again. “You’re not wearing gloves and I had to take mine off so I hope you have an explanation for our fingerprints too. I’m going to Lily’s. I need a drink and snack to raise my blood sugar levels.”

“You didn’t lose that much blood.”

“I could have died!”

“On a slide? You’ve dealt with worse than that.” Maddox wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “It’s a miracle you’ve survived thus far. Today is just a mere blip in your chaotic life. After you.” Maddox waved towards the door. I headed out and Maddox didn’t bother pulling the door shut behind us. We rode the elevator down—Maddox pressing and knocking on every panel in the car just in case—and walked out of the building like nothing had ever happened. Yet as the door swung shut behind us, I noticed the camera panning to catch our departure.

Someone was watching us.

“Solomon can get a team to watch over this building,” I told him.

“No need. She won’t come back now. I’m going to head back to the office and work on those shell corporations,” said Maddox. “Perhaps we’ll get some new information.”

“Will you share when you find out?”

“Of course. Happy to keep collaborating.”

We said our goodbyes and I drove to Lily’s bar. I parked out front and went inside. She took one look at me and told me there was a fresh t-shirt in her office.

“What’s wrong with this one?” I asked.

“It has blood droplets on it. I hope they’re not yours!”

“They’re mine.”

“You look far too pleased about that. Is that a bruise on your cheek?”

“Let me freshen up and I’ll fill you in.”

Lily tossed me the office key and I walked into the back, letting myself in. There was a stack of new Lily’s Bar t-shirts on a shelf so I grabbed one, pulled off my t-shirt, and slipped the fresh one over my head, careful not to knock my nose or cheek. I reapplied lipstick, added a sweep of mascara, adjusted my ponytail again, and stuffed the dirty t-shirt into my purse as I returned to the bar and took a seat.

“Tell me everything,” said Lily, so I did, and by the time I reached the end, she was wide-eyed.

“She is so cool,” said Lily. “The disguises, the hideouts, the secret doors, the go-bags! Her ethics! I’m rooting for her!”

“Right?” I agreed, delighted someone shared my enthusiasm. “The only thing making me not entirely like her is I haven’t caught her…”

“Yet,” interjected Lily. She paused to take an order and once she’d placed two glasses of wine on the bar and taken payment, she waved for me to continue.

“Yet,” I agreed, “and she also stole something that didn’t belong to her. And Maddox still hasn’t come clean with what else he knows about her. I know there’s more to the story but he’s keeping silent even though we’re working together.”

Lily asked, “Which bothers you more?”

“I’m not sure. Not catching her. No. Maddox withholding something. No. Definitely not catching her.”

Lily folded her arms. “There’s only one way around that.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to catch her and get her to tell you everything. Remind her of girl code.”

“I already figured out that the ring she stole might have Nazi connections, but I won’t know for certain until she confesses, which seems unlikely now, after she shoved me down an escape chute.”

“I like her less for doing that. That was not girl code. She can consider her invitation to join our gang rescinded. But I meant she should tell you everything about her and Maddox. Do you think they’re lovers?” she asked, leaning in, her face full of conspiracy.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I let out a huff and my shoulders groaned. “I’m not sure how though when he seems so intent on arresting her. Ending the night in handcuffs is not conducive to a hot date.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Lily with a raise of her eyebrows and shake of her head. “So what now? Are you going to sit at my bar drinking soda and eating chips for the rest of the case?”

“No. I’m pondering my next steps.” I paused as Ruby walked through to the bar, tying her bar apron strings behind her.

“Hey there,” she said, beaming when she saw me, which was the kind of reception I hoped to get from everyone. Then she winced. “What happened to your face?”

Never mind.

“You should have seen her when she walked in,” said Lily. She waved a hand over my upper body. “This is an improvement.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“Did you get into a fight?” asked Ruby.

“No. I’ll let Lily fill you in later. I don’t want to talk about it.” Mostly because it was too embarrassing.

“I can’t wait. Until then, let me get you a wine,” she said, already reaching for a glass.

“Perfect. I am officially off duty,” I decided as my nose twinged once more.