Look Behind You by Johansen Iris & Johansen Roy

Author:Johansen, Iris & Johansen, Roy [Johansen, Iris & Johansen, Roy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, thriller, Suspense, Crime, Adult
ISBN: 9781250075987
Amazon: 125007598X
Goodreads: 31450697
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2017-07-18T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

8

“MINERAL OIL?” LYNCH PULLED onto the I-8 freeway and accelerated.

“There was a slight residue on the chair with Amanda Robinson’s burned corpse. I was pretty sure it was mineral oil, but I had no idea what it meant. So I did a little online research. Mineral oil is used as a coolant in power transformers, but only for outdoor installations. Fire codes prevent it from being used indoors in case of leakage. That’s what made me think to look for a nearby outdoor transformer substation.”

“Hmm. Did it occur to you that the mineral oil just may have been there to lubricate the casters of that chair?”

“It did. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

A few minutes later, they pulled up to the construction site and parked on a shadowy street in the Jamul neighborhood. The two-story motel was little more than a shell and the property had been overrun by weeds and vegetation.

“Except for the vines, it looks exactly as it did in the Google Earth satellite image,” Lynch said.

“Exactly. This place hasn’t been touched in years.” Kendra looked down at the gravel and dirt path. “But I think a vehicle has been here recently. Looks like the rocks have been freshly punched into the earth.”

Lynch glanced at the humming transformer and nearby power lines. “Poor placement for a motel. No wonder it’s sat here unfinished all this time.”

Kendra pointed to the dirty stucco that faced the transformer substation. “Probably some leakage from the transformer. There’s a light film of oil on that wall.”

“Looks like you were right,” he murmured.

Kendra glanced up at the two-story structure, which had no doors or windows. It consisted of thirty-two guest rooms, sixteen on each floor, each facing what would have been the parking lot. Beyond the stucco exteriors, the guest rooms were littered with trash and construction debris, separated from each other only by thin wooden framing.

“See anything?”

Kendra squinted into the building. The sun had set over the adjacent hillside, casting long shadows over the abandoned structure. She pointed toward the dark front office. “Let’s go in here.”

Lynch followed her as she moved through the wood-and-stucco opening. A stale odor permeated the room.

Something rustled in the corner.

Lynch instinctively stepped in front of her. His gun was suddenly in his hand and his entire body was in attack mode.

More rustling, moving among discarded bags of cement mix.

Three rats emerged and scampered into the darkness.

Lynch lowered his gun.

Kendra took the lead again, moving through a back doorway. She pulled out her phone, flipped on the light and held it over her head. “A hallway. Looks like it runs the entire length of the building.”

Her nose tingled with a familiar odor.

Death.

“She was here.”

“What?”

Kendra’s stomach tightened. “I think Amanda Robinson was here. She’d been decomposing for a few days before she was dropped in front of the school. That same stench is coming from this hallway.”

“How do you know it’s from her?”

“I don’t. That means there could be another body back there right now.” She turned toward him and cocked her head toward the dark hallway.

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