William Bernhardt - Dark Eye

Because it pointed away from the room, not toward it. Because the chain had been torched from the inside.

Edgar had already been inside when he brought out his acetylene torch. He’d had access to the room. Breaking the chains andforcing the lock had been just another clever trick to throw us off his trail.

My respiration spiked. I was breathing hard and heavy, my heartbeat racing. I was getting there. I knew I was getting there.

I stormed into headquarters, taking them all by surprise. The feds appeared to be reorganizing our offices into an FBI hostage crisis center. Which wasn’t a bad idea, in theory. But I knew that by the time they were finished, it would be too late for Rachel.

Patrick was in the chief’s office, conferencing. Darcy sat silently behind O’Bannon’s desk.

“Susan!” O’Bannon bellowed. “Where the hell have you been?” He looked at me suspiciously.

“Go ahead, sniff my breath. I haven’t been drinking.”

“Then what? Damn it-this is your own niece.”

“I know that,” I said firmly. “I also know he won’t kill her. Not yet. He might… do things to her. But she’s strong. She’ll survive. I did.”

“Susan, our investigators have a thousand questions-”

“And I’ll answer them. But in exchange, I want five plainclothes answering to me and complete freedom.”

They stared at me, all of them, speechless.

“And I’d like Patrick, if the Feebs can spare him. And Darcy,” I added. “Most importantly, Darcy.”

O’Bannon stared at me uncomprehendingly. “Have you taken complete leave of your senses?”

“Just the opposite. Regained them, finally.”

He looked as if he were about to burst a blood vessel. “Even given the bizarre assumption that I said yes, what do you think you’d do?”

“Go back to the Transylvania.”

“You already played that hunch! It was a good theory. But it didn’t pan out. None of the guests-”

“He isn’t a guest. He works there.”

Patrick stepped forward. “Susan, I looked at the employee rolls. I didn’t see anyone who-”

“Then we need to line them up and let me look. I’ll recognize the rat bastard.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. It’s obvious, once you know.”

“Know what? What do you think he does?”

“I’m not sure. But I know he wears a uniform.” I paused. “I think there’s a good chance he’s a cop.”

He frowned. “A cop?”

“Or something like a cop. Don’t they have security at the Transylvania? I thought I remembered seeing some.”

“Of course they do. But they might contract the security out, like most of the big houses.” He snapped his fingers. “Which would explain why he didn’t turn up on the employee rolls.”

“I need to get over there immediately.” I turned to O’Bannon and looked him square in the eyes. “With your permission.”

He barely hesitated a second. “Consider yourself back on the case.”

“Good. I’ll stay in touch.”

“You won’t have to. I’m coming with you.” He pulled out his desk drawer and tossed something onto his desk. A gun. My gun. “I think you may need this.”

“I don’t know. If you’re not-”

He pressed it into my hand. “I insist.”

“We need to blanket the hotel,” Patrick said. “Make sure he doesn’t slip out before we identify him. How much time do we have till this Day of Ascension?”

I checked my watch. “Only a few hours.”

“ Hours? Then the Day of Ascension-”

“When else?” I led the way to the door. “Today. Halloween. At the witching hour.”

“You think this place will be ready in time, Ernie?” Martin asked.

He was calm and confident. “I don’t see why not. The grand opening isn’t until midnight.”

“But there’s so much still to do.” Both pairs of eyes scanned the ballroom. The façade of the Notre Dame cathedral was largely in place, but some of the surrounding decorations were in pieces on the floor, waiting to be assembled. Exposed scaffolding occupied a corner of the room. “I hear the hunchback is still experimenting with his makeup. And what’s with these bells?” He gestured toward the huge six-foot bells that were being hoisted into place at the front of the cathedral. “Those mothers are huge. And heavy. Why would the hotel lay out so much for bells?”

“You can’t do The Hunchback of Notre Dame without bells.”

“Hey, I been meaning to ask-what were you doing in the ventilation shafts last night?”

He stiffened. “Last night?”

“Yeah. I saw you crawling out of that shaft over at the north end of the casino. I didn’t even know that was big enough to get into. What were you up to?”

“One of the patrons reported smelling smoke. I didn’t detect it myself, but I thought it best to be certain.”

“Huh. Well, they never covered that when I came on. Maybe you can show me how to get in there later tonight.”

He touched the syringe in his pocket. He could take this man out if necessary. Quickly and quietly. “Tonight would not be a good day, what with all the work going on. Perhaps after the Halloween celebration.”

“Good point. Okay.”

His hand relaxed. Just as well. Another dead security officer would draw more attention to the hotel-and he had directed too much attention here already. “If you’ll excuse me, I, uh, need to check on something in the storeroom.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time in there lately.” Martin chuckled. “You got a naked girl up there?”

He smiled. “Yeah. Four of them.”

He left the ballroom and headed for the elevator bank. There was still much to be done, so many arrangements to finalize. Everything had to be right, just perfect. But soon he would be able to cordon off the ballroom so he could finish his preparations. Rachel would not participate willingly, but the other three would, and they would help him with her. He had put so much time and effort into this, not just with the offerings, but everything. Obtaining the C4 on the Vegas black market. His unbroken brown study of radio signals and electronics and incendiary agents. Everything that was required.

The hotel had spent thousands advertising this event, generating publicity for the grand reopening of this ballroom. But they would be celebrating ever so much more than those dullards imagined.

This celebration would be a cataclysmic event. An apocalypse for some, an ascension for others. The end of days.

“No, it can’t wait until tomorrow!”

I pounded my fists together for emphasis. I wasn’t trying to threaten the man-well, actually, I was, wasn’t I? If I couldn’t convince him of the urgency of the situation one way, I was prepared to try another.

“But today is a very special day,” Bloomfeld insisted.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“All our resources are taxed to the limit.” This guy had annoyed me when I was investigating the first crime scene and he hadn’t grown on me any in the interim. He was probably perfect for micromanaging the organizational details of a hotel but he was useless to me. “Our hotel is booked to capacity. Our Halloween celebration is generally considered the best anywhere. Thousands of people come to the Transylvania from all over the world.”

Patrick stepped between us. “I don’t give a damn about your tourists getting their ghost and ghoul fix. Four girls have been kidnapped.”

“My staff is already being pulled six ways at once,” Bloomfeld continued.

I shot him the harshest look I could muster. “I’m chasing a serial killer here, a killer who-unless he’s stopped-is going to try something very bad tonight, probably at midnight, which is less than three hours away. I think that’s a little-”