Slamming my shoulder into the door causes it to open with a splintering crack. The lights in the room pop on. More sensors. The room’s empty except for the computers resting on the desk table.
There’s a second locked door that no one mentioned to me. I kick it open. The lights aren’t motion-activated in the back room, and I have to feel for a switch.
Once I’ve got light, I look around with a frown. There are stacks of boxes and old equipment. Two large metal file cabinets. The room’s a maze, and I move through it. There’s no back door.
I look around at the floor, hoping I’ll spot something. None of the silver rings Arya wears appear. Nor does the ring Shane gave Avery. But there is a mark in the dust on the north wall where boxes have recently been slid out and back. I shift the stack of boxes.
There on the back wall is a metal square.
I raise the piece of metal and stare into the opening. It’s a dumb waiter. I wouldn’t fit inside, but Avery would. And so would Arya.
I shine my phone’s light into it. The only dust is at the back. I run my hand inside over the metal. Not dusty.
There’s a crank switch built into the wall. I grab a box and shove it inside the dumb waiter and then wind the shaft. I can feel the mechanism catch at every floor and then it goes lower.
Until it doesn’t.
I counted six floors, and I’m on the fifth, so it’s probably in the basement.
Convenient for Casanova if he used it.
As I stride out of the office I look around. I’m surprised I’m still alone. I should have tripped an alarm by now, but campus police do have their hands full.
I jog down the stairs, using my phone for light. The door to the basement is locked and it’s not a piece of plywood. It’s metal.
Get it open. Do it now.
I slam against it five times before the housing cracks. Then once more to open it. My shoulder throbs.
In the basement, I see something that stops me in my tracks. There’s a garage door. That means he could’ve driven a car or van in, loaded the girls into it, and driven away with them to anywhere in the world.
My heart hammers as my stomach drops.
Fuck.
With my guts knotting, I ball my fists.
If he drove, it’s game over. I’ll never find her in time.
Do not stop. Think. How are you going to track him down?
Rubbing my forehead, I walk myself through everything again.
Come on, think.
Wait, back up.If he drove away, how did he toss Arya and Avery’s live cell phones out near the student union? Vehicle access on campus is limited. There’s a parking gate arm that blocks access to the back of the student union where deliveries are made. It’s the only access point for a car.
There’s a security camera, and he’d have to have badged in to raise the arm. No way would he have done that. He doesn’t want a record of his movements. And driving to the union would mean going farther into campus instead of away from it. No.
Casanova has taken girls from several different points around campus. He did not carry them to a van waiting here at Beacon West. It’s too great a distance above ground for him not to have been seen.
Again, tunnels are the most likely option.
Look around. Find the access point.
I start working a grid, looking carefully at the floor.
In a corner, I spot a silver earring and a strand of dark hair. I squat down and study the dust. There are drag marks.
