Heat Wave [Nikki Heat 1] by Richard Castle

Author:Richard Castle
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Murder - Investigation - New York (State) - New York, Women Detectives, Man-Woman Relationships, Journalists, Mystery & Detective, New York (State), New York (N.Y.), Police Procedural, Crime, New York, Women Detectives - New York (State) - New York, Women Sleuths, Journalists - New York (State) - New York, Thrillers, Suspense, Mystery Fiction, Fiction, Murder
ISBN: 9781401310400
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: 2009-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

NINE

Nikki Heat‘s apartment building was not the Guilford. It was not only a fraction of the size, there was no doorman. Rook looped his fingers in the brass handle and held open the front door as she entered the small vestibule. Her keys clacked against the glass of the inner door, and once Nikki unlocked it, she waved to the blue-and-white still double-parked out front. ―We‘re in,‖ she said. ―Thank you.‖

The cops left on the spotlight for them, and thanks to its spill the lobby was dim but not totally dark.

―Chair, see?‖ Nikki shined her light at it briefly. ―Stay close.‖ A row of shiny metal-plated mailboxes caught the reflection beside them. She twisted the beam a little wider, and although it was not as intense, it gave them a better sense of the area, revealing the long, narrow lobby, which was a small-scale match for the footprint of the building. A single elevator sat ahead to the left, and on its right, separated by a table holding some UPS

deliveries and unclaimed newspapers, was an open passageway to the staircase.

―Hang onto this.‖ She gave him the box and crossed over to the elevator.

―Unless that thing‘s steam powered, I don‘t think it‘s going to be working,‖ said Rook.

―Ya think?‖ She shined the light up at the deco brass dial indicating which of the five floors the car was on. The arrow pointed to the 1. Heat rapped the heel of her flashlight on the elevator door and a series of loud bongs resonated. She called out, ―Anybody in there?‖ and put her ear to the metal. ―Nothing,‖ she said to Rook. Then she dragged the lobby chair to the elevator door and stood on it. ―For this to work, you have to do this up top, at the header.‖ Clenching the tiny flashlight in her teeth to free her hands, she used them to pry the doors open a few inches at the center. Nikki angled her head forward and inserted the light into the partition. Satisfied, she released the doors and stepped down, reporting, ―All clear.‖

―Always a cop,‖ said Rook.

―Mm, not always.‖

She learned just how dark it could get when they started climbing the stairs, which were wall-bound and did not get any of the police spotlight bleeding into the lobby. Nikki led with her Maglite; Rook surprised her with a beam of light of his own. At the second floor landing she said, ―What the hell is that?‖

―iPhone ap. Cool, huh?‖ The screen of his cell phone radiated a bright flame from a virtual Bic lighter.

―These are all the rage at concerts now.‖

―Did Mick tell you that?‖

―No, Mick didn‘t tell me that.‖ They resumed their climb and he added, ―It was Bono.‖

It was an easy climb to her third-floor apartment, but the stifling air of the staircase had them both palming sweat off their faces. Inside her foyer she flicked the light switch out of habit and chided herself for being so on autopilot. ―Do you have service on that thing?‖

―Yep, showing all bars.

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