“And if you’re not there?”
“Then they may leave a message.”
“Perfect. I’m stuck in a building with a killer on the loose and my only backup is a computer geek that doesn’t even have a cell phone on her.”
Carson ignored the slightly sarcastic comment. “What about computers? Doesn’t the security contingent use them to monitor the building?”
“Yes, but I already checked. They’ve been damaged somehow and there’s no power anyway. Plus...the guards are...he was already there.”
Carson swallowed and tried to remain on track. It was disturbing how methodical the killer had been, taking out everyone that could possibly call for help. Thoughts like that wouldn’t help them now, so she concentrated on the things that could.
“True, but if I can get the power restored to at least the first floor I may be able to get the computers working again. Also, phones and computers aren’t on the same lines. Chances are that he disabled the phones at the main box. Otherwise, he would have had to cut each one manually. If he merely disconnected or yanked the wires loose from the phone box, I may be able to repair them.”
Erin reached out and took Carson’s hand in a strong grip. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”
The eyes were more amber than light brown now, with a soft, gentle expression. Carson swallowed thickly. “Yes, well. Let’s get going, shall we?”
“We’ll have to be quiet. I saw the killer earlier and it looked like he was checking all the floors for other people.”
“You saw him? What does he look like?”
“He’s a big guy, taller than you and very stocky. I couldn’t really see his face because he has dark, bushy hair and a huge beard. He looked like Andre, the Giant.”
“Did he see you,” Carson asked worriedly.
Erin shook her head. “I saw him on the stairs. He was going onto the third floor and then later he was entering the parking garage.”
“Is that why you’re running around in your winter boots?”
Erin looked up sharply. She gave Carson a lopsided grin. “My pumps made too much noise on the stairs and the tile floors. I took them off and left them downstairs. I only put these on a few minutes ago.”
“Good thinking. Let’s get going. I don’t want to spend any more time in here with a killer than I have to.”
Erin nodded, but still held Carson’s hand. Though Carson knew she hadn’t even liked her just a few hours ago, now it was as though she couldn’t bear the idea of letting Carson out of her sight. It was just a normal reaction to a harrowing experience, she decided.
They entered the stairwell together with Carson leading the way. She held on to Erin’s hand and tried to reassure her with the warmth of the contact. Erin didn’t seem to mind following behind her.
Carson was impressed that Erin had managed to hold it together so well after what she had been through. She thought of what Erin had said concerning Ed, and the security guards, and being close enough to see the guilty party up close. Carson didn’t know if she could handle things that well if she had been in Erin’s shoes, but she did know that there was no way she was going to allow her to go first.
For all her mental discipline, Erin was an executive, and not skilled in hand-to-hand combat. She proved that when she almost shot Carson in the kitchenette.
On the other hand, Carson had grown up with an absentee father, in an impoverished area where all that kept someone from being a victim was cunning or the power behind one’s fists. Carson had never sought out physical altercations, but had needed to defend herself on more than one occasion. It hadn’t taken long for her to learn the fine arts of deception and deflection. Of the two of them, she was the one better suited for this kind of thing.
Quietly she led the way down the stairs. They reached the fifth floor landing when the exit door suddenly flew open and a great bear of a man stalked into view. Carson and Erin froze. The killer looked up, saw the two women, and jerked in surprise. Then his eyes hardened and he raised a mammoth axe above his head and let out a roar of pure hatred.
Carson let go of Erin’s hand and reached for the gun in her pocket. It snagged on the leather seam and she knew there was no time.
“Run, Erin,” she screamed and spun on her heel.
Erin was way ahead of her and had already turned to run back up the stairs. Her longer strides allowed Carson to catch up quickly and she grasped Erin under the arm to pull her along a little faster.
As big as he was, the man wasn’t able to move as quickly. He lumbered clumsily up the stairs, but with great determination. It was only by the thinnest of margins that the women beat him back to the sixth floor and slammed the fire door in his face. They leaned back against the door just in time to prevent him from being able to push it open and Carson reached into her pocket again. This time she was able to pull out the weapon. She pointed the muzzle at the ceiling and a quick glance told her that the safety was off.
The door was inching open every time the killer banged into it and they wouldn’t be able to hold it for very long. His rage, even through the door, was deafening as he screamed and cursed their existence.
“All of you, I’ll kill all of you,” he screamed.
They saw his twisted face through the small inset security window as he shouted. Spittle coated the inside of the glass, and he continued to push and pound on the inside of the door. When he finally realized he wasn’t going to be able to push them away, he raised the axe and struck the window. It held under the first two blows, but on the third, the glass cracked. A look of glee crossed the crazed man’s face and he drew back to strike again.
Between two narrow panes of glass, there was a thin inlay of mesh. The next blow with the axe cut through both panes and easily shredded the interior wire. The tip of it protruded through the glass only a few inches from Carson’s face. The next one would shatter the glass completely and then he would be able to reach in with the weapon and cut them unless they moved away from the door. The latter option meant that he would get in anyway and likely overpower them in an instant.
Carson turned around, grasped the butt of the gun with both hands and pointed it at the maniac. The end of it trembled and she tried to still her shaking hands.
“Stop or I’ll shoot.”
The line sounded like something out of a cheesy cop show, but it seemed to get his attention. The killer paused and looked at her briefly in confusion. Then he took advantage of her being away from the door and shoved it open. Erin was unable to hold it by herself and stumbled away from the door. Then she turned toward him with her knees bent and her hands curled into claws.
Carson fired the pistol without thinking. The round tore through the window and missed the killer by a very thin margin, but it was enough. He flinched back and spun away before barreling back down the stairs.
Primal satisfaction shot through her veins as she watched him run. In that instant, she forgot Erin and stood panting in the aftermath of the adrenaline surge. It took the touch of a soft hand on her arm to draw Carson back to her companion.
“Are you okay?”
Erin nodded. Her eyes were haunted, and Carson wasn’t convinced. It would take time to recover from such an ordeal. She held an arm out and was pleased when Erin stepped against her side.
“At least he’s gone...for now.”
“Yes, and we still need to get to the phone box. Are you up for another trip down the fire escape?”
Erin’s expression wasn’t optimistic, but she replied in a steady voice. “Yes, as long as you’re in the lead with the gun.”
Carson smiled and turned toward the stairs. She was still very afraid, but finding a way to communicate with the outside world was their only chance to get out of this building alive. “Stay close to me.” Thinking ahead, she decided that going to the security office was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I think we should go to the main phone box and repair the line first. We can call the police from any phone
and I would rather you didn’t have to see that again,” she said softly, hoping her voice wouldn’t carry far.
“I would appreciate that,” Erin whispered, “but we’ll still have to go back to the security office for the keys to the front door. We’ll have to be there to let the police in.”
Carson nodded in understanding and led Erin to the lower level where the maintenance offices and the exit to the car park were located. They saw nothing of the killer and tried to move slowly and carefully. Once they reached the maintenance level, it didn’t take long to find the main junction box and to see that the killer had merely ripped the wires loose.
Carson noticed the raised eyebrow when she casually pulled a pocketknife out of her coat pocket and stripped the wires on the damaged line. She suppressed a smile and repaired the damage in record time.
“There, that should do it.”
Erin nodded once. “You’re handy to have around,” she said dryly.
“I’ll remind you that you said that some time.”
Now hardly seemed the time to flirt, but the line just slipped out of her mouth. Carson covered her embarrassment by turning to walk back upstairs. “I suggest that we use the phone in the main lobby.”
“Right, main lobby,” Erin mumbled, still distracted by Carson’s teasing remarks and the handy way she wielded the small foldout blade. Straight women didn’t typically carry such things. Perhaps she needed to rethink her image of Carson Tierney.
“Trust me, I don’t want to. If he’s around, we’ll be making an easier target for him, but there’s no handset down here.”
As soon as they were in the main lobby Carson picked up the telephone, listened for a second and then smiled softly at Erin. She quickly dialed 911 and explained the situation to the dispatcher while she impressed on the man at the other end that the killer was still in the building.
“No, I don’t know where he is. I know only that I shot at him and he took off back down the stairs. It would be great if someone got here as fast as possible.”
Carson reassured the dispatcher that they would unlock the doors in a few moments, and that she would leave the gun on the desk once uniformed officers arrived.
“Time to get the keys?” Erin sounded scared when she asked the question, and she clearly did not want to go back to the security office.
“You can wait here if you like,” Carson said gently. “I can retrieve the keys alone.”
“That’s all right. I really don’t want to be alone right now. Let’s just hurry.”
CARSON’S SMILE SHOWED more in her eyes when she held her hand out for Erin again. With the killer no longer an immediate threat, her composure returned and she was tempted not to accept it. However, when she looked into Carson’s eyes, she decided that holding her hand during this ordeal had gotten her through so far, and it really wasn’t done yet. It wouldn’t be until the police arrived and took the killer into custody.
The hall outside the security office was still dark but didn’t seem quite so ominous. Erin heard Carson gasp when she saw the guard on the floor, but she knew it was just the shock of seeing a dead man. She recalled all too clearly how she herself had reacted to seeing Ed Cupper, and was impressed by Carson’s composure. She certainly held things together better than Erin had the first time she saw a dead man.
“We don’t need to go into the office. He should have a set of keys on his belt.”
Carson nodded and stepped over the man. She knelt down and reached for the guard’s waist. Erin noticed she was very gentle as she tried to move the jacket out of the way to look for the keys. Suddenly the guard’s hand shot out and grabbed Carson around the wrist.
Erin muffled a scream and leapt a foot away in surprise. Carson flinched and leaned away with wide-rimmed eyes, but she couldn’t extract herself from the man’s grip. When she realized that he wasn’t dead, she leaned forward with her free hand and brushed the hair back from his forehead.
“It’s all right, you’re all right,” Carson assured him softly.
The guard groaned and rolled onto his back. Erin noticed a deep gash on his forehead and thought he was terribly lucky to be alive. She knelt down beside him on the other side and pressed him back down when he tried to sit.
She saw his nametag. “Please lie still, Manny, you’ve been injured. The police are on the way, but we need the keys to unlock the front door.”
He nodded gingerly and let go of Carson’s wrist before he reached for the keys that hung by a belt loop.
“Caught me by surprise,” Manny muttered. “Came up from behind and hit me. The others? Suzanne and Jerry...are they okay?”
Carson took the keys while Erin answered. “Shh, don’t worry about that right now. The police will be here soon.”
She just couldn’t answer his question directly, but it wasn’t necessary. He had already lost consciousness again.
Erin decided to stay with the injured man while Carson went to unlock the doors. Even in the driving snow, the police had responded very quickly and a few minutes later, uniformed officers swarmed the place. Carson returned with two beefy officers while others moved throughout the building in a search for survivors.
One of the policemen knelt down to check Manny’s pulse while the other stormed through the security door to check on the others. He came out a moment later and shook his head at his partner.
“Twenty-six Paul nine,” the first officer said into his radio, “I need an ambulance and the coroner’s van to the Holcomb Building. Notify homicide.”
Then he looked up at Erin. “Are you injured, ma’am?”
“No, just scared out of my wits. But I must admit I feel a lot better now.”
Northwestern Hospital was only a few minutes away and Erin prayed they would be in time to save the injured security guard.
Carson’s hand reached out from behind and squeezed her shoulder gently. The officer nodded in understanding and informed them that they would need to wait until police finished searching the building. Then they’d be required to give preliminary statements to the homicide detectives before they could leave. He suggested they wait in the main lobby until things settled down.
Both women were happy to follow that particular request, and settled into chairs along the side of the wall. As soon as they sat down Carson handed Erin her shoes.
“I found them against the wall when I went to open the doors.”
Erin sighed. “Thank you, again. I seem to be saying that a lot tonight.”
Emergency personnel rushed back and forth through the lobby. The ambulance arrived to take the injured guard to the hospital. There was no hurry to get to the others. They weren’t going anywhere , Erin thought sadly.
More and more police officers arrived and they began to search the building in teams. Erin realized they were being very thorough as they looked for survivors and for the murderer. To take her mind off what was happening, Erin turned back to Carson.
“So, how did you come to be on the sixth floor just in the nick of time to save my hide?”
To her surprise, Carson blushed. She didn’t expect such a reaction from the normally cool and contained young woman.
Carson cleared her throat. She seemed to be wrestling with her response. “I was in the office on the tenth floor when the lights went out. I...heard that you tend to work late on most nights and I wanted to check on you.”
She wanted to check on me? Why? Erin pondered.
Sudden clarity hit her like a train wreck and she intuitively understood what Carson hadn’t said. There was still the possibility that
Erin was completely off the mark, but Carson had communicated a wealth of information with only two sentences. The first thing was that she was gay, and the second was that she was interested enough in Erin to pay attention to her habits.
Erin thought of all those times she ran into Carson in the corridors outside her office. Was that just happenstance? Or had she accidentally encountered Erin on purpose?
Careful in ca
se she was wrong, Erin decided on a casual approach. “I’m delighted that you chose tonight to get settled into your office. I can’t think of anyone who would have made a better body guard.”
Carson smiled. “I’m just lucky my brain didn’t shut down once I found out what was happening. I’ve never considered being in a situation like this.”
Erin’s face turned serious for a moment as a gurney with one of the dead security guards trundled past. “It certainly didn’t shut down tonight. You saved my life.”
She looked down when strong fingers reached for her hand. Their fingers intertwined and Erin strengthened the grasp. “How can I ever repay you?”
Carson caught her eye. “There is nothing to repay. Still, it would be nice if we could get something to eat. I’m starving. Would you care to join me for dinner?”
Erin laughed at the hopeful expression in the blue eyes. She remembered thinking how the cleft in that proud chin would feel under her thumb earlier and had to resist that urge again now. “How about breakfast instead, after we finish with the detectives? I’m sure it’ll take that long to get all of this mess straightened out.”
Something passed between them and it took a moment for them to realize that Officer Burleson, the man who called for the ambulance, was walking toward them. Another man in a dark suit accompanied him and it was the stranger that spoke.
“Ladies,” he said politely. “I’m Detective Matt Hutchins with the Chicago Homicide Division. Why don’t we go ahead and get those statements out of the way? I’m sure you two have had a long night and can’t wait to get some sleep. If you like, I can have Officer Burleson here drive you down to the precinct.”
“I have my car outside,” Carson said. “To be honest I prefer to drive. I could take Ms. Donovan home once we finish.”
Erin smiled at her new friend. “That would be fine with me.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it,” Hutchins asked. “All of this must have been very frightening.”
“Thank you, Officer,” Erin said sincerely, “but we’ll be fine. What I want to know is what about the killer? Did you find him?”
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