Dangerous Temptations

by Kelly Elliott

  “To be safe. We have no idea what we’re walking into.”

  Is there something that might harm us on the other end of that tunnel?

  Sydney

  The stairs were in decent shape—Mike tested them first, and then had me come down. At the bottom of the stairs was a narrow tunnel. It was filled with cobwebs that were illuminated by the glow of our flashlights. Mike cleared them as much as possible. Inwardly, I sighed at his chivalrous actions. It was cold and damp. The further we advanced, the more nervous I grew at what we might find. Mike was taking it slow, checking out everything thoroughly before we took our next step. There was something sexy about the way he held his gun and angled his body in front of mine. It sent a shiver through me how protective he was. Of course, he was a cop, so it was probably second nature, but I felt cherished.

  Something scurried across the floor, and I screamed, grabbing onto the back of his shirt. “What was that?”

  “A rat. I don’t think anyone has been down here in a long time.” Mike was intense and focused.

  I hoped he was right. In the narrow passageway it was slow going, which only added to the creepy feeling. I kept imagining that something creepy was lurking in the darkness. I was glad Mike had brought his gun. After what seemed about thirty feet, we came to an old wooden door. I held onto Mike’s waistband and took a breath. What are we going to find? The door creaked open when Mike pushed it.

  “Stay behind me, sweetheart.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” I assured him. There was no way I was leaving his side.

  He pushed open the door with his foot and stepped into the room with his gun drawn. The beams from our flashlights danced about the room. When the light shone to the left, I let out a scream at the sight of a skeleton laid out on the floor. It was nothing but bones, clothing, and cobwebs. Mike quickly shone the light around the room before putting his arm with the flashlight around me. He held his gun in the other. I buried my face in his chest.

  “Mike…”

  “I know, baby. There’s nothing else disturbed. We’re safe.”

  I looked at the skeleton again. The clothing wasn’t old, but modern. There was an old, wooden desk, a bed, and a couple of gas lanterns around the room. None of that was in the best of conditions due to the moisture in the air.

  I aimed my flashlight back at the skeleton. Mike put his gun back in its holster, and silently, we walked toward the body. Mike knelt to get a better look. “Appears to be a female. The coroner will have to do an age determination.”

  I took another step and nearly slipped but caught myself.

  Mike stood. “Easy there. The stone floors are slippery from the moisture. With the uneven surface, I don’t want you to fall. You good?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Mike turned back to the skeleton. “Syd, I need to call this in.”

  I knew this was true. It was hard to take my eyes off the body. The light from Mike’s flashlight landed on her hand, and I gasped. “Vickie!”

  “What?”

  I swallowed hard, feeling nauseous. “I think that’s Vickie, Doug’s daughter.”

  Mike swung the flashlight back to me. “Why?”

  “The ring on her right hand. Doug gave it to Vickie for her eighteenth birthday. I’d recognize it anywhere.” My lip quivered as I gazed at the remains of my best friend.

  Mike took out his phone. “This is a crime scene now. Don’t touch anything.” I nodded, unable to say much. “Lou? Lou? Hold on. Let me get a better signal.”

  He stepped outside the door. “There, that’s better.” Mike began to give Lou the details of what we’d found.

  A sense of urgency came over me. I needed to know what happened to my best friend. Aiming my flashlight at the ground, I carefully walked around the room. In the corner, a small piece of plastic caught my attention. I picked it up and turned it over in my hand. “A flash drive,” I whispered.

  Maybe this would tell me what Vickie had been doing. I knew I shouldn’t take it, but if the police took it, I might never know the truth. Feeling a little guilty, I slipped it into my pocket. Vickie had risked her life to find out whatever this room was and she was also asking about the Alchemists. This had become more than a scavenger hunt. I needed to know what happened to my best friend.

  I knew I should tell Mike. No. He’s in officer mode. Later. I’ll tell him later.

  I was walking back toward the door as Mike came back in. He put his hand on my shoulder. “We need to go meet the police upstairs. I know you wanted to investigate it, but the officers need to process the scene.”

  “I understand.” The guilt over the flash drive in my pocket began to grow. It felt like I was betraying Mike. Maybe I should give it to him. “Will you tell me if they find anything else?”

  “If I can.”

  I might not find out what happened to Vickie. That irritated me. We never would have found Vickie if it hadn’t been for the coin and letter my grandpa had left me. A sense of dread washed over me as Mike switched into cop mode. “And how are you going to explain why we were down here?”

  “The truth, of course. I’ll tell them this started with the letter and the coin your grandfather left you.”

  My mouth dropped open. I wanted the mystery behind Vickie’s death solved, but I wanted to be involved. She was my best friend. I stated, “They’re going to want to take them.”

  The cops had not been able to find anything all these years. Why would I have confidence they would solve it?

  “I’m sure they will. Syd, someone died here. This isn’t some silly scavenger hunt anymore.”

  Now, I was annoyed. “Of course it’s not. I’m ready to go back up to the welcome center and wait for the cops.”

  With each step back up the tunnel, I became more irritated. When we emerged back into the book room, Mike touched my shoulder. “I assure you, we’ll do everything we can to find out what happened.”

  “We” does not include me. I nodded in response. If I said anything, I might say something I would regret. I understood his position, but it still pissed me off.

  Soon the place was swarming with police. One guy kicked at a book in the back room, and I marched up to him. “Hey! This is Beatrice’s place. Treat it with some respect.”

  The young cop that I hadn’t met before stared at me and began to say something. Mike put his hand on the asshole’s shoulder. “Easy, John. Sydney was with me when we discovered the body. We’re all a little on edge, but let’s be respectful.”

  John narrowed his eyes at me, and I met his stare with my hand on my hip, challenging him to do something. “She needs to leave the scene so it’s not contaminated.”

  Contaminated? Contaminated! I opened my mouth to give this jerk a piece of my mind when Mike spoke, “I’ll take her out front.”

  At Mike’s words, I was consumed with fury. I felt like my body was vibrating I was so pissed off. I said nothing, and we walked out front because I might have contaminated something.

  When we were out of earshot from Officer McAsshole, I turned to Mike and poked his chest. I raised my brow. “I might be on edge, but that gives Officer John no excuse to kick Beatrice’s book. And don’t treat me like some stranger who is contaminating the crime scene.”

  “What’s going on here? Sydney, are you okay?”

  I took a step back at Doug’s voice and turned his way. Before Mike could say a word, I walked up to Doug with a heavy heart. “Doug… I’m—”

  John approached us. “She’s pissed I kicked a book.”

  I sneered at the asshole. Doug was dealing with the loss of a child, and this man was acting like it meant nothing.

  In a loud, booming voice, Doug said, “This goes to everyone here. Treat this place with the upmost respect and dignity. Beatrice is a long-respected member of this community.”

  There were mutters of “Yes, sir” as the police kept working.

  “Where are Gladys and Beatrice?” I asked.

  This was going to b
e hard on Beatrice to find out Vickie had been at her place all this time.

  “Peggy, Beatrice, Marie, and Patricia are with Gladys.”

  This had to be so hard on Doug and Gladys. My heart broke for them. Without a care about how unprofessional it looked, I hugged Doug. “I’m so sorry about Vickie. So sorry. I can’t believe it. I never lost hope she’d be found. I’m so sorry, Doug.”

  I knew sorry had changed nothing when I lost my family, but sometimes that was the only thing someone could say.

  “Me, too, punkin pie. Me, too.” His jaw worked hard. “If it is Vickie, I’m letting Roger lead this. I don’t want there to be anything biased on the investigation.”

  The image of her skeleton popped into my mind. Vickie had always been such a vibrant person and this was so hard. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Not right now. I know Gladys would appreciate a visit from you tomorrow if you’re able. We’ve always considered you one of ours, too.”

  Doug and Gladys were amazing people and I loved them like they were family. “I’ll be by tomorrow.”

  Roger walked over to where Doug and I were standing. “We need to question Sydney and Officer Murphy.”

  In what seemed like an endless parade of questions, I answered truthfully about everything but the flash drive. Of course, they wanted to see the coin and the letter, which were then taken. I knew it was the right thing.

  The cops would continue their investigation, but so would I—alone, if I had to. Thank goodness I’d taken pictures of the coin and the letter.

  When the police were done with their questions and I was told I could leave, which actually felt like a dismissal, Mike came to the door. “Let me have someone take you home.”

  I angled my body away from him. “I can manage on my own.” It came out harsher than I’d meant it to, but I had reached my limit.

  Mike touched my shoulder. “Syd.”

  I stopped with my hand on the door. “Yes, Officer Murphy?”

  It was a bitch move, and I saw his eyes widen infinitesimally at my switch in tone.

  “I’ll come by later so we can talk.”

  “That’s up to you.”

  Sydney

  I pushed my way out the door and welcomed the fresh air as I walked away from the welcome center. Each step made me more irritated, but I also felt hollow inside. My best friend was gone. She’d never be found alive or surprise us by coming back. I hated death—hated it so much.

  Oh my, Wesley.

  He needed to know. I sent a text to him as I hurried my pace.

  Me: They found Vickie’s body.

  There was no response. I knew I should call him, but if I tried to speak in my current state, I might have fallen apart. My fury at Mike was the only thing keeping me from becoming a sobbing mess. I held on to it—fueled it, even. That wasn’t fair to him, per se, but I was upset.

  I walked into my house and went straight to the couch where my laptop was. The jump drive was dirty. I took some alcohol on a cotton swab and carefully cleaned it, hoping it hadn’t corroded too much to be useful.

  Please don’t be ruined. Please.

  With a deep breath, I plugged in the jump drive, anxious to see if it would work. It loaded, and my heart began to beat double time.

  There was one file folder:

  Alchemist

  I stared at the folder. My fingers shook as I moved my mouse closer.

  Make a copy in case the cops need it.

  I transferred the file to a miscellaneous folder on my desktop.

  Make a hard copy in case they take your computer.

  There had been some mention in the interview that they might need my computer. I hit the print button, and the printer began to spit out the pages. There were eighteen in all.

  Maybe I should delete the file.

  I hovered my mouse on top of the folder and decided to delete it permanently. My ex-boyfriend had been a computer programmer so I understood how to permanently get rid of files.

  On autopilot, I grabbed the papers and put them in the back of a file folder with the clinic’s bills in it. Hopefully that would disguise them enough until I had a chance to look through them.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  I jumped and screamed, feeling like I had been caught.

  “Sydney, it’s Wesley.”

  “Thank goodness.” I let out a sigh as I walked to the peephole to verify it was him and then opened the door. “Hey.”

  Wesley looked haggard. He wrapped his arms around me. “I saw your text and rushed over. Are you okay?”

  I started to cry now that I had someone to lean on. Before Wesley arrived, I’d felt like I was all alone. “It feels so final now. I always held out hope we’d find her.”

  “I know. I know, Sydney. Me, too.” My sobs grew louder, and Wesley guided me to the couch. “Let’s sit down.”

  Wesley held me as I cried. For a while, he let me get it out. When I calmed some, he asked, “Have they said anything?”

  “No, but I did something, Wesley. And you can’t tell a soul. But… I might need a lawyer.”

  He looked at me with concern. “What did you do? And of course I won’t tell anyone.”

  “I took a jump drive I found on the ground that I think belonged to Vickie. Mike was acting all cop on me, and I was afraid that it would be taken and no one would ever know what Vickie was up to. It was just an impulse, and now I feel terrible about it.”

  “What’s on it?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure. It was really dirty. It needs some TLC.” I wasn’t ready to divulge that I’d already cleaned it and printed what I found. For now, I wanted to do this on my own. I felt exposed after what had happened with Mike.

  Wesley sighed. “Sydney, you know you need to turn that over.”

  “I know. I will. I just wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  For a second, he seemed to consider the situation, and I knew he was most likely wrestling with the line I’d crossed. Wesley was a very by-the-book kind of guy. “When you turn it in, I’ll be there to represent you in case they try to press charges.”

  Press charges? My heart sank. “Do you think they would?”

  “You tampered with a crime scene, Sydney. I understand that you know Doug and this town has a small-community feel to it, but what you did is against the law. If you turn it in quickly, I think I’ll be able to do damage control and you’ll be fine.”

  I nodded. “I wanted answers. What started off as a stupid scavenger hunt has turned into so much more. Do you think Grandpa knew anything about this?”

  “I don’t think so. If he thought it would lead to finding Vickie, I’m certain he would have turned it over to Doug.” That was true. Grandpa loved Vickie.

  His phone vibrated, and he sighed as he looked at the screen.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, I forgot I had dinner reservations with Leslie.”

  Oh no. I was wrecking his plans, so I stood and pulled him to his feet. “Go. Please. I don’t want anyone else’s night ruined. I’ll be fine. Promise.”

  “Sydney.”

  I waved away his concern. It would be nice to have some time to myself in order to get my thoughts together. “No, please go. I’m going to go to bed. I’ll be fine. I need some time alone to process.”

  Finally, Wesley relented. “Okay, I’ll go, but if you need anything, call me.”

  “I will. Scouts honor.” I gave a little salute.

  Wesley walked to the door and opened it partially, but before he left, he looked back at me. “If you want me to have an IT person look at the jump drive before we turn it in, I can arrange that.”

  “Thanks, Wesley. Let me have a few minutes to think. But I’ll turn it in with you as my lawyer.”

  “Good.”

  Wesley pulled the door completely and then took a step back in surprise. “Oh, Officer Murphy, I didn’t realize you were there.”

  “Yeah. That happens.” The words were stiff and further fueled my
aggravation. Why is he being a jackass to Wesley?

  Wesley looked back at me, asking silently if I was okay, and I nodded. He allowed Mike to enter the room and then he left.

  The irritation and antagonism between Mike and me were palpable. Our stances were stiff and angry. I crossed my arms over my chest and refused to say anything.

  Mike finally broke the silence. “What jump drive, Syd?”

  So, he had heard. “I’m not accountable to you, Officer Murphy.”

  I felt bad knowing my words hurt him. He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “What is your problem?”

  “My problem? My problem? You can’t be serious. Because I involved you in this, I had to turn over everything today. Things my grandfather had left me. In. His. Will. You and I both know something far deeper than we could have imagined is happening. And we just handed over evidence that we need to solve this. Who knows if these Alchemists have moles in the police department. The police haven’t been able to solve anything for years. I might have a chance to figure it out. Finally know what happened to Vickie.”

  I took a deep breath, feeling more worked up than I’d been before.

  “Fucking hell. There is a dead body. It takes precedence over your little scavenger hunt.”

  It felt like he’d slapped me. “That dead body was my best friend! Of course I know this is more than a scavenger hunt, you asshole. I would have told the police at some point.”

  “Like the jump drive?” he countered.

  I pressed my lips together. I shouldn’t have taken it, but I was too emotional and overly worked up. I was growing even more pissed, and so was Mike.

  “So, what are you saying, Syd?”

  “That I should have never involved you in any of this. Because you’re a cop, it’s complicated everything. I’ll figure it out on my own.” I regretted the words the moment I said them.

  Mike’s nostrils flared, and he threw up his hands. “Fine. Do this on your own, Syd. Have at it, Nancy Drew.” He turned and walked out without another word, slamming the front door as he left.

  I stood, frozen in shock for a moment, and then I leaned against the couch, feeling like I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.