The Sandman: Blue Moon Investigations Book 17 by Steve Higgs

Author:Steve Higgs [higgs, steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-22T16:00:00+00:00

Jane. Electricity. Friday, December 23rd 2007hrs

It took another hour, using the heel of my boot to smash away at the plaster around the door until I exposed the electrics inside. There was no handle on the inside of the cell, nothing for me to grab and pull, and the gap around the door where it fitted into the frame was no greater than a fraction of an inch.

Once my hands were free and I could move on to tackle the door, I kicked it and shoved it and barged it with my shoulder just to see what it would do. All I got for my effort was some bruises. It was after I gave up kicking and shoulder barging it that I chose to attack the wall.

I surmised that there had to be a lock keeping the door closed. Maybe it was electronic and maybe it was mechanical. Maybe I could do like Shawshank Redemption and chip right through the wall to the other side.

I doubted there would be time for that, but luck chose to give me a break because I found the cable almost straight away.

Well, actually, what I found was the plastic conduit it ran in, but its presence inside the wall made the plaster thin and when I whacked it, the conduit flexed a little and the plaster broke up.

It still took what felt like an hour and I found myself questioning how long I had been working at getting free. Was it three hours? Was it four? More than that? Where was the Sandman? Why wasn’t he trying to stop me?

These questions and more swirled endlessly around my head as powder and grit from the plaster coated my skin. I was damp with sweat and deeply uncomfortable, but the option of taking a break never occurred to me. I was fighting for my life.

With almost a two-foot section of the conduit exposed, all the way from the mid-point of the door where I expected the lock to be, and upward to the top of the door almost, I started to yank at it.

It was not my first attempt to get the cable out of the wall, but previous attempts had all failed because I had too little leverage and too much of the conduit was still trapped inside the wall.

This time, losing a fingernail in the process, I was able to get enough purchase to rip it free.

By about an inch.

A fresh shower of plaster rained down to land at my stockinged feet. Sharp pieces were already digging in. My boots were ruined, the heels battered down to almost nothing, yet they were all I had and better for running and fighting in than forty denier nylon.

I shuffled carefully to the bed to put them back on, dusting off the soles of my feet as best I could first. Taking a second to eye up my latest challenge, it was time to see if I could convince the door to open.

As I said before, I am not an electrician.

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