Breaking Steele (The Jasmine Steele Mystery Series Book 3) by Kimberly Amato

Author:Kimberly Amato [Amato, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-05-09T22:00:00+00:00

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When I get to the ancient, five-story pre-WWII building, I see Marlow leaning against the wall. Her cell phone glued to her ear, her hand in her hair, one high heel placed firmly on the brick wall behind her and one on the ground. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she looked like she had gone a few rounds with her friends at the Bureau. Walking up to the building, I notice there’s no doorman. I push the buzzer and wait in silence.

“Call me when you have something.” She pushes the hang up button with anger. “Sometimes I wish I could just slam the phone down in anger like we used to.”

I laugh in response.

“Showing your age, agent? Besides you can still slam your phone down. You just break it and get a new one.”

“You realize you sound like my oldest son, right?” Marlow says as I press the buzzer again.

“There’s a difference though. I pay my own bills.” I press the button again, getting impatient. “He said he was heading home.”

Marlow pushes on the door and it easily swings open. She looks at me, and a slight concern begins creeping up. “How long you think this has been broken?”

I hold the door open and look at locking mechanism. Seeing a few new scratch marks, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. “These are fresh,” I point out.

“Okay, so one of the people in the building might have forgotten their key and broke in.”

Staying calm, the two of us walk through a second broken security door. My foot taps on the warped egg cream colored linoleum floor as Marlow presses the elevator button. The dilapidated elevator struggles to open as we step up into it. The creaky old doors shut as the box shakes every few feet as it moves up to the fifth floor. Finally, with a sound like a dying animal, it dings and the doors open onto the floor. Walking down the long, wavy, warped hallway, I first notice the utter silence. No one’s home or else everyone is sleeping. No parties. No kids screaming. No dogs. Nothing.

Marlow knocks on the Captain’s door. No response.

“You mind if I do this?” She holds up a lock pick set.

“Why didn’t you show me that downstairs?”

“Those were security doors, this is the Captain’s door. We can be responsible for one of our own, just not all five floors.” I simply nod in response and watch her go to work. Kneeling down she keeps her eyes focused on the lock as she pulls out the appropriate tools.

“I first learned to do this in the fifth grade. My dad taught my brothers and I. Became a bit of a game to see who could break out of Master locks faster.” The door clicks. “I always won.” Marlow gently pushes the door open. I step inside with her behind me. My feet stop short at the edge of the living area, my heart beats faster, and I feel the coldness creep in.

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