From his car, the mansion looked eerier than it ever had before. The street lights illuminated the bricks and made each blade of long grass in the front lawn glimmer. As his eyes passed over the mansion, something made his focus stop on a bush by the front steps.
He froze in place for a moment, staring at the movement in the bushes, and when all was still, he let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Quickly, he wrapped his fingers around Adelyn's arm before she had a chance to get out of the car.
"Did you see that?" he inquired in a hushed voice as she curled her fingers around the door handle, and then looked back him.
"See what?" she wanted to know.
"Right there, by the doorstep," he pointed. "Something moved."
"Justin," she sighed. "We've got this place under tight surveillance. What you saw in the bushes isn't some stranger, it's only Pertel."
For some reason, that didn't make Justin feel any better. He gulped.
"Let's get going so we don't look suspicious," Adelyn continued as she opened the door and stepped out of the passenger side.
Justin reluctantly got out and followed her. Halfway up the front walk, he stopped. "Adelyn, wait."
She slowed down and looked back at him over her shoulder. "What?"
"I'm nervous," he admitted as she turned around to face him completely. "What if he doesn't buy it? What if something happens to you?"
Adelyn gave a heavy sigh and slumped her shoulders. "Nothing will happen to me. I'm a professional."
Justin pretended not to hear that last comment. "This is all my fault!" he continued on.
"Damn straight," came a low voice from the bushes.
"You'll do fine," she told Justin, ignoring her partner's protest. "I promise. Now, come on! We've got to get inside."
Justin gave a final sigh of reluctance before finally making the rest of the way down the walk and stepping up the five concrete steps that led to the enormous mahogany doors. Without hesitation, he pressed his finger to the doorbell. Muffled by the mansions insulation, the heard the bells chime faintly... and that was all. There were no footsteps on the wooden staircase, no creaking door hinges... nothing.
They waited a moment.
"Isn't he home?" Adelyn whispered.
Justin shrugged. "Even if he's not home, his butler is always there to open the door," he explained as he leaned forward to ring the doorbell again.
Once more, they waited.
After a few moments, Justin spoke up, "I was afraid of this," he mumbled. "The lights are all off, the butler's missing... he's onto us, Adelyn."
"Oh, gee, I wonder why?" Pertel's voice muttered from below them.
Justin angrily turned to face the bushes. "Would you shut the hell up?" he hissed. "From my understanding you're supposed to be silent!"
"Why should I be quiet when you're the one who can't keep his damn mouth shut?"
"Excuse me?" Justin demanded as the top of Pertel's head came rising up from the bushes.
"Why do you think Wyman isn't here? Someone, I won't name names," he said as he gave Justin a mean glare, "was trying to sabotage this operation."
"I wouldn't have to tell Colby for him to figure it out," Justin shot back. "And it's not my fault that you underestimated him."
"You were right about one thing earlier..." Pertel mused, obviously not hearing a word Justin was saying.
"What's that?" Justin wanted to know.
"This is all your fault."
"Would you two shut up?" a desperate Adelyn spoke up. "And Pertel, get back under cover. What are you trying to do?"
The bushes rustled once again as Pertel disappeared within them.
Justin looked back at Adelyn. "I'm sick of this shit," he announced. "We're going in." He plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled out a sliver of metal. Before Adelyn could stop him, he bent down and began picking the lock.
"Are you nuts?" she asked. "We don't have a search warrant!"
"I don't need one," he replied as the door popped open. He put the pick back in his pocket, stepped over the threshold and looked back at her. "Are you coming?"
The look on her face was one of pure shock.
"What?" he asked, a small smile of amusement playing on the corner of his mouth.
She shook her head in amazement. "I can't believe you," she said. "How did you get in so quickly?"
"You act like you didn't know that I've had practice," he said. "I've picked better locks that that one, believe me."
She threw her hands up, giving in. "I don't want to know."
"Good," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the doorway. "Because I don't have time to tell you about it." He shut the door behind her and the second it clicked shut, the stuffy air hit their faces like a wall of bricks. All the windows were obviously closed.
Justin led Adelyn down the mail hallway and to a small wooden door around the corner. Dust lined the hardwood floors and the tops of the picture frames that lined the walls, and it was apparent that no one had been cleaning for a few days.
"Where are we going?" she wanted to know as he once again pulled the metal pick from his pocket.
All he did was stick the piece of metal into the keyhole, not even turning to look at her. "If Colby is anywhere, he's downstairs," he explained as if it were a known fact. "And even if he's not, there might be some evidence to prove that he's the one you're after."
She moved near him and leaned down so that her face was close to his. "I should call for backup before we go down there," she whispered.
Justin turned his head slightly in her direction and gave her an odd smile. "No," he said plainly.
"Justin," she said, her voice rising. "Colby was supposed to be here. This isn't part of the plan."
"Correction," Justin's voice cut in where hers ended. "This isn't part of YOUR plan. I had a feeling he wouldn't come running to the door, so I made up my own plan."
"Your own plan?" she echoed. "Are you forgetting that you're supposed to be cooperating with the police here?"
"I haven't forgotten," he said, moving the pick a tad to the right. The door snapped open and moved it the rest of the way. "You're cooperating, aren't you?"
She hit him hard in the shoulder with her fist. "I wish you weren't so damned smart," she said, a hint of anger lacing her voice.
"And I wish you weren't so damned strong," he replied as he rubbed his shoulder. "Would you quit doing that?"
"That lawyer... he found a loophole in that agreement you signed, didn't he?"
Justin put the pick back in his pocket, went down the first several steps and then turned his head back. "No, I took this class in college..." he explained as he held his hand out to her.
She just she just stared at him.
"Come on, Adelyn..." he pleaded. "I didn't mean to pull the wool over your eyes. I'm only trying to send this jerk to prison. We have the same goal in mind, don't we? Are you that opposed to trying something new that you want Colby to get away with all that money he stole?"
He smiled up at her as she placed his hand in his.
"No, I'm not opposed to trying new things," she said. "Though I am opposed to putting my job in jeopardy."
Chapter 27
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email me: irishgirl982@yahoo.com
