Another Chance (A Penelope Chance Mystery Book 2) by Daniel Patterson

Author:Daniel Patterson [Patterson, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: clean and wholesome, christian book, crime fiction, police procedural, christian romance, suspense romance, christian mystery, suspense, women sleuths, christian fiction, mystery romance, mystery, christian suspense, romance
Publisher: Ravenwood Way Publishing
Published: 2016-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 50

Penelope took a step back, physically doing what she was doing in her mind—distancing herself from the crime scene and the victim’s point of view. “I want to get a feel for how this guy lived.”

“What floor?” Gabriel tilted his head upward as if trying to see into the windows of the building. Small beads of water formed on his high forehead from the mist that wasn’t quite rain.

“Third floor. Apartment 323,” she said, a little worried they might be recognized as police, but people walked by and didn’t give them a second glance. It didn’t hurt being in civilian clothes.

A call box was located next to the heavy front door. Penelope gave the door buzzer an experimental push, but nothing happened. She pulled the door handle and was not surprised to find the lock was broken. It looked like someone had taken a screwdriver and hammer to the locking mechanism and the landlord had never fixed it.

“No telling who’s been in or out of here,” Penelope muttered in Gabriel’s direction.

They entered a gloomy hallway lined with metal mailboxes. A staircase with a scarred metal banister led up to the upper-floor apartments. She turned back to see if Gabriel was following. Her eyes met his and he nodded. She did her best to act like she belonged there in case they should run into a resident.

“No elevator?” Gabriel asked from behind.

“I’ve never minded taking the stairs,” she said with a smile.

She didn’t usually work with a partner, but she found that she liked having him around. It made this building a lot less spooky.

They didn’t cross paths with anyone as they moved up the three flights of stairs. As they exited the third-floor stairway, Penelope looked up and down the long hallway. It appeared that the paint on the walls had started off as light beige. It was ending its life as a dingy gray marked with black and brown scuffs from people moving furniture in and out over the years. A lone window at the end of the hall, near apartment 323, allowed light to filter in from outside.

Penelope headed for the window.

The view was dismal. A giant warehouse across the street dominated the view. Chain-link fencing surrounded empty lots, and several abandoned vehicles dotted the landscape.

A creaking sound came from behind.

Penelope turned to investigate and saw Gabriel pushing open the door to apartment 323.

“Hello? Anybody home?” he called out.

Before Penelope could react, Gabriel fell backward and a young white or Hispanic woman pushed past him. The woman ran for the stairs and, without thinking, Penelope gave chase.

“Wait!” she called out after the rapidly receding figure of the frightened woman. “We just want to talk.” Penelope estimated the girl to be in her early twenties. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a blue, University of Florida sweatshirt. Her long black hair bounced as she ran for the stairs. She was fast. Penelope ran up to the stairwell and looked over the banister in time to see the girl disappear down the last flight of stairs and around a corner.

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