The Catalogued Corpse by D.S. Lang

Author:D.S. Lang [D.S. Lang]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: D.S. Lang
Published: 2023-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

On their way to College Hall, Mallow made a stop at his vehicle, a shiny Willys-Knight roadster. He reached into the glove box and pulled out a flashlight. “Since Miss Darwine said the tunnel isn’t well-lit, this should help.”

“I went with Aggie that time, and I didn’t go into the tunnel, either. In fact, I’ve only been inside once when I was a little girl, and my dad showed it to me. There were sconces every twenty feet or so, but he took a flashlight, too. And I remember it being eerie then. I imagined monsters living there.”

A low laugh left him. “How old were you?”

Doro smiled in return. “Eight. I’d pestered Dad to show me the place from the time I heard about the tunnel,” she said as she led the way to the building. “Once was enough, though. The last time, Aggie and I only peeked inside.”

When they reached the building’s main door, he slid a key in and pushed it open. “Here you go.” After Doro stepped inside, Mallow spoke again. “You don’t actually have to head into the tunnel with me. You can point me in the right direction and stay up here while I poke around.”

The suggestion held appeal, but what kind of sleuth didn’t go digging for evidence? Not that she was a sleuth. Not exactly. “I’m not eight, so I can manage.”

He studied her face. “If you’re certain.”

“I am.” With that, Doro headed down the long corridor to the far end. They passed several offices, including the president’s domain. As they did, Doro wondered if the security officer would report their findings to Winwood later. She also wondered how the president would feel about this foray. When they reached a large, metal door, she looked over her shoulder at Mallow. “The passage is at the foot of this staircase.” At the entrance, Mallow swung the door open and let Doro continue to lead the way. When they reached the bottom, she stopped in the archway in the area between the steps and the tunnel.

“This is a cellar,” Mallow commented as he halted beside her.

“It’s only under part of the building. The custodians have a supply room, and some old items are stored in another room. The boiler is down here, along with a coal room.” Doro gestured to the doors on both sides of the large space in the middle. “Here’s the tunnel entrance.”

“Let me get it.” Mallow stepped ahead of her. As he swung the iron door open, the hinges creaked loudly. “Evidently, not many people come through here.”

“Probably no one besides the janitors.”

Mallow turned on the flashlight and focused the beam along the passageway. “Few of the sconces are lit. Your friend said half were, but it looks like more burned out since the two of you were here.”

“It does,” Doro agreed. “It’s good you brought your flashlight.” Although she had insisted the tunnel would not bother her, Doro gave an involuntary shudder. She wasn’t eight, but she could imagine vermin in every nook.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.