Chapter 5 - The Fire Behind the Locked Door
Adrian rushed through the smoke.
“Rosa!”
Flames climbed the curtains.
The dressing room door slammed shut behind him.
Someone had locked it from the outside.
Adrian wrapped his hand in his jacket and grabbed the handle.
It would not turn.
Rosa coughed from beside the wardrobe.
“I can’t breathe.”
Adrian kicked the door.
The wood shook.
It did not open.
Detective Brooks shouted from the hallway.
“Step back!”
Two gunshots tore through the lock.
The door burst open.
Brooks dragged Rosa into the hallway.
Adrian followed seconds before the ceiling collapsed.
Firefighters reached the mansion quickly.
The flames were contained to the dressing room.
But the burner phone and identification card were badly damaged.
The letter from Evelyn survived because Adrian had placed it inside his jacket.
Security footage showed a masked person entering through the laundry entrance.
The intruder knew exactly where the cameras were positioned.
Adrian watched the video in the security office.
“That entrance requires a staff code.”
Brooks looked through the access logs.
“The code belonged to Rosa.”
Rosa shook her head.
“I haven’t used that door in months.”
Someone had stolen her code.
Adrian studied the masked figure.
The person limped slightly on the right side.
A memory returned.
Dr. Hale had injured his right knee during a skiing accident years ago.
“It’s him.”
Brooks enlarged the footage.
The intruder was tall.
Broad-shouldered.
And limping.
A patrol officer entered.
“We found a vehicle abandoned two blocks away.”
“It was registered to Dr. Hale.”
Inside the car, police discovered syringes, restraints, and a map.
A circle had been drawn around the abandoned Vale hospital.
Brooks ordered tactical units to the property.
Adrian insisted on going.
“You’ll stay behind the perimeter.”
“That woman may be there because of me.”
“And you’ll help her by not getting shot.”
Mia approached Adrian as he prepared to leave.
“Take me with you.”
“No.”
“She may not trust the police.”
“You’re a child.”
“So is Noah.”
Adrian crouched in front of her.
“You already saved his life.”
“Now let us protect you.”
Mia stared at him.
“People have been saying that to me since I was six.”
“No one ever stayed long enough to do it.”
Adrian could not answer.
He gently touched her shoulder.
“I will come back.”
Mia did not believe him.
But she nodded.
The abandoned hospital stood behind rusted gates and dead trees.
Tactical officers entered through three different doors.
Adrian waited inside an armored vehicle with Brooks.
A radio crackled.
“Basement clear.”
“First floor clear.”
“Movement on the third floor.”
Gunfire erupted.
Brooks reached for the door.
“Stay here.”
Adrian waited exactly ten seconds.
Then he followed.
The third-floor corridor smelled of mold and chemicals.
A police officer lay injured near a stairwell.
Adrian stepped around broken medical equipment.
He heard a woman crying.
The sound came from a locked treatment room.
Adrian forced the door open.
A hospital bed stood in the center.
Leather restraints hung from its sides.
Blood stained the white sheets.
But the woman was gone.
On the wall, someone had written a message in black paint.
YOU ALWAYS ARRIVE TOO LATE.
Adrian heard footsteps above him.
He climbed toward the roof.
The night wind struck his face.
Dr. Hale stood near the edge.
He held a gun in one hand.
With the other, he gripped a weak woman by the neck.
Her hair covered most of her face.
Adrian knew her immediately.
“Evelyn.”
She lifted her head.
Her eyes widened when she saw him.
“Adrian?”
Dr. Hale pressed the gun against her temple.
“One more step and she joins your brother.”
Adrian stopped.
“You killed Julian.”
Hale smiled.
“No.”
Then he looked directly behind Adrian.
“Your wife did.”
A gun clicked near Adrian’s ear.
Celeste had escaped police custody.
May you like
And she was standing behind him.
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