True Blue

CHAPTER 68

THIS WAY.” Roy grabbed Mace’s hand and they raced down the hall away from the front doors. They reached the end of the corridor and turned left and the short hallway ended at a door. Roy threw it open and they were staring into a darkened room.

“What is this place?”

“The mail room.”

“Great, Roy, now we can check out some cool travel magazines while we count down the last minutes of our freaking lives.”

“I actually had another idea. Come on.”

He led her to the back of the room where there was a small metal door flush with the wall and about four feet off the floor.

“The firm has some offices on the fifth floor and we also keep an archival space there.” He smacked a red button next to the metal and the door slid up, revealing a three-by-three-foot space that barely looked big enough to hold one person.

“A dumbwaiter?” said Mace.

“This shaft feeds right into the storage space on the fifth.”

They both turned when they heard the footsteps running down the hall.

“Get in, Mace.”

“What about you?”

“There’s not enough room for both of us.”

She looked inside the space. “If you don’t get in this box with me, the next box you will get in will be a coffin.”

He boosted her in and then crawled in behind her. As the door to the mail room was kicked open, Roy reached out with a long arm and slapped the green send button. The metal door closed and a moment later the dumbwaiter lurched into action. The space was so tight that Mace’s knees were touching her nose and the much taller Roy was curved around her body like a moat around a castle.

Mace squirmed. “Is that a flashlight in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

“It is a flashlight. I snagged it off a shelf before I jumped in.”

The dumbwaiter stopped and the metal door slid open. Roy fell out and pulled Mace along with him. He clicked on the flashlight and a few moments later they were running down the hall.

“The elevators are no good. And they’ve probably got the stairs covered.”

She said, “The stairs at the bottom, but not the others. Come on!”

As they raced along, Mace stopped for a moment, covered her hand with her shirtsleeve to eliminate the possibility of prints, reached out and pulled the fire alarm. As the loud clanging and swirling red lights chased them down the corridor she said, “There’s a fire engine company not too far from here, but we still have a few minutes to survive on our own.”

“So where do we go?”

“Fourth floor.”

She led him to the fire stairs and they skipped down one flight. A moment later they were back in the place where Mace had subdued the Captain.

“Now we hide.”

“Shouldn’t we call the cops? I’ve got my cell.”

She hesitated for an instant. “Yeah, do it.”

Roy hit 911. “I’ve got no bars. What the hell!”

They sprinted to the back of the space.

“Quick, look around for a weapon,” she said.

“They’ve probably got guns and you want to hold them off with what, a screwdriver?”

Mace scanned the floor and spotted it. A long length of chain. She snagged it and wrapped it around her arm. “We can use this.”

“Wait a minute. When the fire truck gets here they’ll find us and your sister will know you were here.”

“I don’t plan to be here when the fire trucks get here.”

“But I thought-”

“If the bad guys don’t come through that door in the next minute, then that means they were scared off by the alarm. Then you and I are going to get the hell out of here before the fire guys show.”

“Not exactly the way I would’ve done it.”

“Roy, I’m holding a ten-pound chain. Do not piss me off!”

Sixty seconds later they heard the sirens coming. Mace dropped the chain and they raced to the door and bolted down the stairs. They cleared the lobby and stepped into the elevator to the garage right as the firemen were coming in the front doors. They didn’t bother with the Marquis parked in the garage, but fled out the exit and turned away from the building.

“Now what?” said a breathless Roy as they slowed to a fast walk.

She checked her watch. “You up for some coffee?”

“What? Some people were just trying to kill us and you want a stimulant?”

“Yeah, at Simpsons in Georgetown, where Tolliver ate on Friday.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Then after that we can break into Tolliver’s house.”

“Oh for the love of God.”