Tony surveyed the progress theyd made with a grunt. Remind me again why you didnt ask Spence Evans to help us? That guy looks like he can bench press cars. He would have saved us some trips.
I barely know Spence. Jack was friends with half the police department, but as a rule he avoided the K-9 unit. Besides, I figured with you, me, Gardoza and Burke, we had it covered.
Warning for the future, this is the last time I help you move during monsoon season.
Technically, I dont think Atlanta has a monsoon season. It had been raining all week, though, and Jack was sick of it. Outside thunder rumbled, warning that this afternoons drizzle was building to a real storm. But I dont plan on relocating again anytime soon. Moving had been a big enough pain that he almost wished hed renewed his lease at the former apartment complex. Hed wanted a change of pace, though, not to mention the extra distance between himself and his increasingly erratic ex.
Does it seem awfully convenient to you that Gardoza had barely shown up when his wife called with supposed labor pains? Tony grumbled. At least Burke made it a few hours before bailing.
You can have their share of the beer. Come back tomorrow to help me unpack, Ill even spring for your favorite Scotch.
No dice. You know Sunday dinner with my family is mandatory. I could get shot on duty and Ma would still expect me to show. Which reminds me...
Oh, hell. Thats your I-need-a-favor face.
Hey, you asked me to sacrifice a Saturday afternoon, and Im hoping youll reciprocate.
Are you planning a move I dont know about?
Nah. My sisters kid turns twelve the first Saturday in November. Its my nieces first birthday since the divorce, and Anita is trying to put together a big party on a budget. So we made a list of our most talented friends we could coerce into working for free. Any chance youll come do caricatures of the guests? Funny sketches these middle school kids can hang in their lockers? Theyll love it.
Jack, an only child raised by a single mother, always had difficulty wrapping his head around Tonys large family gatherings. A Saturday afternoon surrounded by middle school kids? You owe me a bottle of Scotch.
Then youll do it?
How could he say no after Tonys help today? Smothering a groan, he nodded.
Tony saluted him with his beer bottle. Knew I could count on you. Just promise me one thingtry not to smile at my sister. Or make eye contact with her. Or stand too close to her. Anitas still vulnerable after that snake ex-husband broke her heart, and you know how you are.
How I am? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Women love you. Its why every department wants you to talk to the female witnesses. Ladies access details they dont even realize they saw just to impress you.
Oh, please. Jack was uncomfortable with his friends assessment. Women do not instantly and universally love me. Exhibit A... Celeste. You do remember the crazy woman who drove me out of my last home? Shed lived on the first floor of his building. After the breakup, which had been far more dramatic than hed expected, shed taken to stalking him in the lobby, in the laundry room and in the resident gym.
She loved you plenty. Which is why she went bonkers when you dumped her.
And that, in a nutshell, was Jacks problem with the mass delusion of love. People wielded the emotional excuse like a weapon, using love to justify bad behavior, desperate decisions and even heinous crimes.
Ill come to your nieces party, but you should probably go before I change my Jack tilted his head, trying to better discern the sounds on the other side of the wall. Was the mysterious blonde in 4-C leaving the sanctuary of her apartment? As far as he could tell, she hadnt poked her head outside since their encounter Wednesday night.
Hed been hoping to run into her again, to replace their first meeting with a less startling impression. As a sketch artist, Jack dealt with witnesses for a living. Hed seen his share of fearful, shell-shocked expressionsbut not directed at him. It had disturbed him to know he was the cause of the raw emotions in her stricken gaze. He reasoned that shed only been afraid because it had been dark and the rain had masked the sound of his footsteps, causing him to unintentionally sneak up on her. All he needed to rectify the situation was a brief, friendly exchange in the nonthreatening light of day.
Hang on, Tony. Jack cracked his door open and glanced down the hall.
His shapely new neighbor was shifting a box at her hip so that she had a free hand to press the elevator button. This was a perfect opportunity. Jack set down his beer and grabbed the nearest empty pizza box and a few other pieces of debris within easy reach. Back in a sec!
By the time he headed down the hallway, she was already in the elevator. The doors were starting to close, but Jack had long legs. He threw his arm between the sliding metal, and the doors obligingly rebounded.
He beamed at her. Hello again.
In return, she muttered a sharp expletive. Apparently, this particular female had missed the memo about how all women adored him. Her clear blue eyes narrowed for a moment, but then she ducked her gaze. Too bad. She had beautiful eyes. Beautiful everything. If anyone had asked his preference before now, he probably would have said he liked women with long hair. But his neighbors super-short style suited her. It gave her an edgy appearance while still highlighting delicate, feminine features.
And youre staring. Not the best way to convince her he wasnt some creepy parking-lot lurker.
Sorry if my friends and I made a lot of noise with the furniture today, he said as the elevator doors slid shut. Im mostly moved in, so it should be quiet from now onalthough, I have been known to throw the occasional Halloween bash. As my neighbor, you would be invited, of course.
She didnt respond for a moment, and he wondered if she planned to ignore him for the entire descent. That would make for a paradoxically long four stories down.
But then she raised her head, glancing in his general direction while not quite meeting his eyes. Theres actually a building-wide party, but I dont The overhead lights flickered once, twice, before going out completely as the elevator dropped a few feet, then jerked to an abrupt halt.
2
THE LURCHING ELEVATOR knocked Riley into the wall, and she dropped her box of files and receipts. A gasp of surprise escaped hera really loud gasp. Or, if she was being honest with herself, a shriek.
You okay? Jack asked.
The dark was so absolute that she couldnt see him, and fear clutched her. She was trapped in here with him. Take a deep breath. He isnt going to hurt you. Yet her fingers shook as she fumbled for her smartphone, and her heart didnt slow from its breakneck gallop until the light of her phones screen pierced the blackness.
Jack was frowning at her with concern, probably because shed squealed in terror at something as basic as a power outage. Are you claustrophobic? he asked. Despite his kind tone, the question made her defensive.
Jack was frowning at her with concern, probably because shed squealed in terror at something as basic as a power outage. Are you claustrophobic? he asked. Despite his kind tone, the question made her defensive.
No! Im not afraid of small spaces. Are you sure? Lately, she seemed to be afraid of everything. In a quieter voice, she admitted, Im not crazy about the dark.
No judgment here. We all have our phobias.
As a kid at sleepovers, shed been the one who always suggested killing the lights and telling scary stories. I miss that kid. After the night shed walked in on her house being robbed, shed spent the next few evenings with every possible light on, determined never again to be ambushed by a man from the shadows. How long would her makeshift flashlight last? Shed talked to a number of clients today and had planned to charge her cell phone while she was driving.
Glancing down, she checked the phones battery power. Almost to the red zone.
Got any bars? Jack asked.
She shook her head. I learned months ago its next to impossible to get a signal in here. My moms been cut off twice. Her lips twitched at the memory of a phone call last week and how shed evaded her mothers latest attempt at matchmaking. On the plus side, whenever I want to end a conversation, I just say Im getting on the elevator.
Useful tip. Ill be sure to keep it in mind.
Hey! A mans booming voice came from above. Jack? You okay in there?
Were fine, Jack called back. To Riley he said, Thats Tony, one of my police buddies.
Pretty sure your whole building just lost power, Tony reported. If the elevators not moving, I guess theres no backup generator. Want me to call the fire department?
Jack darted a glance in Rileys direction, as if assessing her panic level. She gave him a weak smile.
The fire department can get us out, he told her, but this would be a low-priority call for them. Depending on what other outages or accidents have been caused by the storm, we may have to wait a little bit.
Understandable. She mentally crossed her fingers that the power would kick back on any second now.
While Jack continued his conversation through the ceiling, she sat down, her back to the wall and her denim-clad legs stretched out in front of her. There was a lid on the old printer paper box shed been carrying, and luckily none of her paperwork had spilled.
After Tony returned to Jacks apartment, her new neighbor sat across from her, flashing a grin that brightened the darkness even more than her phone. Since were crisis buddies, dont you think I should know your name?
Im Riley. Riley Kendrick. The other people in the building probably just called her The Hermit in 4-C.
Nice to meet you. Officially.
Her cheeks heated as she recalled their last encounter. She turned off her phones screen to preserve the battery. If shutting down the phone also kept Jack from seeing her blush, well...that was a bonus.
I apologize for the way I overreacted the other night, she said. Rainstorms make me jumpy. Rainstorms, the dark, the sound of pipes settling, her own shadow. Shed spooked herself a few weeks ago when shed caught movement from the corner of her eye. Her heart rate had tripled before she realized it was her reflection in the mirrored closet door.
If she did go to the tenant Halloween party in a couple of weeks, at least she knew what her costume should bethe Cowardly Lion. A frustrated noise caught in her throat, not quite a growl, but damn close.
Riley? Jacks voice was rich with humor. Please tell me that was you. Otherwise, we may be sharing the elevator with something not human.
Just me, snarling in exasperation.
About the power outage stalling you? Were you in a hurry to get somewhere?
Actually, I was headed to see my accountant.
On a Saturday evening?
Well. Hes also my brother-in-law. The middle Kendrick sister, Rochelle, was the only one married. Shed met her husband while they were both getting their MBAs.
Rochelle had once said that, of the three sisters, Riley was the perfect blend of traits. Wrens paintings are fabulous, when she bothers to finish them, but shes flighty as hell. I have a brain like a calculator, but no imagination. With your web design, you balance creativity and content management. Plus, youre braver than Wren and me put together.
Before, maybe.
She sighed, letting her head fall back against the wall. Im not exasperated because Im running late. Im exasperated with myself. For all that she wouldnt have chosen to be in the dark, not being able to see more than Jacks basic outline was liberating. It was easier to be candid when you didnt have to meet a persons gaze. Ive become quite the scaredy-cat lately.
Dont beat yourself up over your little scream earlier. Most people would be alarmed by their elevator taking a sudden dip then stopping dead.
Her lips tugged in a reluctant smile. Shouldnt the first rule between crisis buddies be not using words like dead?
Good point.
A moment passed, and she admitted, Its not just the elevator falling that made me jumpy. Or even you coming around the corner the other night. A year ago, before I moved here, I... Sorry. I dont normally treat neighbors like therapists.
There was a rustle of movement, and she could tell he was sitting straighter, his demeanor alert. Like I have anything else occupying my time right now? Besides, Im a good listener. Coaxing details from people is a big part of my job.
She had no intention of reliving the gritty details, but maybe reaching a point where she could calmly summarize what had happened was part of healing. The short version is, I was supposed to go away for a long weekend with my sisters but turned back because of weather delays. Unfortunately, I walked into my house midburglary. I wasnt really hurt, she said in a rush, trying not to imagine all the ways it could have been worse, but it left me...shaken.
Of course it did. His voice was soft and sympathetic.
Had she given another person reason to see her as a victim? She hated the worry that lined her parents faces whenever they looked at her. Im totally fine, she said, playing fast and loose with the definition of fine. I just miss the old me. Do you have any siblings?
Nope.
Im the oldest of three sisters, and growing up, everyone called me the daring one. Or, if they were feeling less charitable, the troublemaker. Now I dont even have the backbone to cross a parking lot without imagining the bogeyman, or to stand up to the president of the tenant board.
That would be Mrs. Tyler? His tone was the vocal equivalent of a shudder. I met her. She may actually be the bogeyman.
Yeah, she does put the ty in tyrant. Over the summer, it had crossed Rileys mind that she might feel safer if she bought a dog, even just a small one; since she worked at home, it wasnt as though it would be cooped up alone all day. When shed petitioned the three-member board about getting a pet, as per building policy, Anna Tyler had reacted with the same civic outrage as if Riley had proposed starting a meth lab.