Jenna’s phone buzzed. It was Mr. Brightway. She listened and then explained her plan. The man wasn’t happy but complied and the changeover would happen after dinner. She disconnected before turning to Kane. “Okay, I’ve organized the suspects’ rooms and Brightway has the possible location of the missing chainsaw. Would you believe it should be inside the maintenance shed where you stored the freezer?”
“You have to be joking?” Emily stood wearily and grabbed her coat. “After you catch this lunatic, I’m sleeping for a week.”
Fifty-One
It had been an amazing day, so good that Julie contemplated ditching the idea of becoming a pediatrician and trying her hand at becoming an author. The intriguing masterclasses on the different techniques used to tell a story had been compelling. During the three sessions, she’d kept her friends around her due to Jenna’s team being involved in an emergency. Meals from the main restaurant had been suspended and an announcement made of a gas leak, but Jenna had secretly informed her it was another murder. The other eateries had been inundated with people lining up for ages, and a shortage of bread had made things worse. Lunch had been staggered as usual and three choices of hot food were available. She’d heard from Uncle Dave that the kitchen was being cleaned, and dinner looked like a possibility. As her friends drifted toward the elevators, she overheard someone speaking close behind her.
“I’m sick of lining up today. I’m taking the stairs.” It was a man’s voice.
“Yeah, good idea. It’s only one flight.” A woman pushed past her and her red coat vanished in the crowd.
“I’m taking the stairs too. Wait for me.” Another woman hurried away.
Julie looked over at her two friends in deep conversation with a couple of boys and pulled out her phone. “Uncle Dave, do you still have the CCTV app on your phone? Can you see me in the foyer?”
“Hold on.” Kane covered the mouthpiece and she heard a mumbling and then he sighed. “Why didn’t you tell us you’d finished the session?”
Annoyed, Julie moved a few steps closer to the elevators, but she still had a long wait. “Because I know you’re all busy and I’m with friends. They’re going to ride up in the elevator with me. There are at least a hundred people waiting down here. I’m perfectly safe.”
“There’s no such thing right now.” Kane cleared his throat. “Jenna headed upstairs just before and I’ll call her to meet you at the elevator. In the meantime, wave so I can see you.”
Feeling stupid, Julie waved pretending she’d seen someone she knew. “Can you see me?”
“Yeah. Zac is going to watch you. I’m helping Em bag the victim.”
Shuddering, Julie nodded. “Okay, see you later.” She disconnected and looked around.
Her friends had moved forward in the line and she couldn’t make them out. Up on her toes, she searched the crowd and then glanced at the man beside her. He wasn’t wearing a hoodie and looked harmless enough, and a woman wearing strong perfume stood on her other side. Zac was watching her, she’d be safe.
A voice came from behind her. “Julie, your friends headed for the fire stairs. They just went through the door. If you hurry, you’ll catch them.”
Julie half turned but there was a sea of faces behind her. It could have been any one of them speaking to her. “Thanks.” She pushed her way through the people waiting for the elevator and headed toward the fire stairs.
As the heavy door clanged shut behind her and cool damp air surrounded her, Julie stared up the stairs, listening intently for footsteps but heard nothing but a slow drip of water. She stepped around a puddle on the floor and started up the stairs. Her friends couldn’t have got far and, after hoisting on her backpack, she took the steps two at a time to catch up. The door clanked shut below her and the sound reverberated in the confined space, followed by footsteps and then an unusual metallic whine. She looked up the stairwell but saw no one above her. Panic gripped her. Had the information about her friends been a lie? She tried to increase her pace, but under the weight of the heavy backpack, it was like climbing a mountain. Heart pounding, Julie made out the red lights above the first-floor exit beaming like a lifebuoy and hurried toward them.
Without warning, darkness surrounded her in a cloud of black. She stumbled, falling to her knees. Was the lodge suffering another blackout? As she searched for her phone, footsteps came from behind her, moving up the stairs in slow deliberation. Unhurried and steady, and getting closer by the second. Grasping the handrail, she peered over the edge and looked down. Most people would use their phone light to guide them in a power cut. Why hadn’t this person? Because he doesn’t want to be seen. Terror hit her in a wave of nausea, and she pushed her phone back inside her pocket. She could hide in the dark as well. She grasped the handrail and climbed the stairs. Ahead had to be the first-floor exit and safety. Breathing heavily as she reached the landing, she ran her hands along the door searching for the long metal release. She pressed down and pushed. Nothing happened. The door refused to open. Pushing down on the bar and franticly shouldering the door, she glanced behind her. A wall of unforgiving darkness surrounded her. From the gloom, the sound of heavy breathing had joined the footsteps and then came a low chuckle. Julie’s bottom lip trembled. He was coming for her.
Fift
y-Two
After searching the maintenance shed, Kane found the chainsaw in a closet with shovels and brooms. It didn’t take too much time to find the evidence to prove it was the murder weapon. Although the killer had tried hard to remove the gore, Emily had found numerous pieces of flesh and blood spatter. When she looked up at him and nodded, Kane slid the chainsaw into the freezer to preserve the evidence. He helped Emily collect the evidence bags. After storing them inside the freezer, he closed and locked the shed door. “Okay, it’s been a long day. Let’s get cleaned up.”
“The camera in the lobby is down.” Rio stared at him through the staff entrance door to the kitchens. “I rewound the feed. There was a flash and then nothing.”
On full alert, Kane pulled off his gloves and grabbed his phone from Rio. He rewound the footage and swore under his breath. “Laser pointer. The camera has been disabled. Something is going down.” He looked at Rio. “Call Jenna and see if Julie is upstairs. If she’s not, head for the lobby. I’ll be right behind you.” He grabbed Emily’s arm and they hurried inside the lodge. “I’ll find a safe place for you.”
“I want to come with you.” Emily pulled back.
“It’s not safe.” Kane pushed into the kitchen, startling the staff, and located the chef. “This woman’s life is in danger. Don’t let her out of your sight until I come back and get her. Understand?”
“Yes, of course.” The chef ushered Emily to a corner of the kitchen and produced a chair for her. He waved to a young man. “Peter, get the young lady a cup of coffee and some of the cake.” He turned back to Kane. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”
Just as Kane stepped out of the kitchen, a buzzer went off on his phone. His stomach tightened when he stared at the screen. Julie had triggered her personal alarm. The tracker rings were used only in an extreme emergency, as in being attacked or kidnapped. He pressed the phone to his ear, listening intently. Like Jenna, Wolfe’s girls and Sandy had a one-way tracker in their rings. They transmitted an emergency call to the team’s phones. The idea being that if the wearers were in danger, the rings could give an undetectable commentary of where they were and who was involved. Kane moved swiftly out of the kitchen and ran toward the lobby. “Come on, Julie, tell me where you are.”
As if she’d heard him, a breathless voice came through the earpiece and Kane pushed a finger in his other ear to hear her.
“I’m in the stairwell leading from the lobby. I’m just going past the first floor. Someone is following me. I can’t see who it is. The lights went out and it’s pitch black in here. I’ll keep moving up the stairs, but I’m not using my phone light. I’m hiding in the dark. Hurry. The first-floor exit is locked. I’m stuck in here.”