Blood Relation (Arcane Casebook Book 6) by Dan Willis

Author:Dan Willis [Willis, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-25T22:00:00+00:00

17

Numbers

What had started as a gentle rain turned into a full-fledged downpour by the time Alex climbed out of a cab in front of a very modern white brick and glass office building. His barrier rune was still in place, causing the rain to avoid him as he crossed the sidewalk toward the building’s extended portico. The image of the building blurred as the torrent flowed around the invisible shield as if it were being bent by a magnetic field.

He expected to find an officer in the lobby, but there wasn’t one. He knew Alice’s office was on the eighth floor, and fortunately the building had an elevator.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Nicholson growled when Alex stepped off the elevator. He was standing outside an open doorway just down the hall, his suit rumpled and his hair in need of combing. Both states were common to the man, but the sour expression was not, and it gave Nicholson the look of a man having a very bad day.

“Came as soon as I could, Detective,” Alex said. “What is it you wanted me to look at?”

“Not much anymore,” the Detective said, motioning for Alex to follow. As Alex approached the door, he saw the name Alice Cartwright engraved on a brass plate next to the frame. No company name or type of services offered were listed, just Alice’s name. That probably meant that her work was either by referral only or exclusively for the government.

The inside of Alice’s office was neat and modern. A row of six blackboards formed a semicircle against the left-hand wall with an angled drafting table like Alex used opposite. The desk’s adjustable top had been lowered so that it was inclined but not enough to obscure the blackboards. A short filing cabinet stood next to the table, reminding Alex of the rollaway cabinet he had next to his own work desk.

There weren’t any chairs for visitors in the space, just a sturdy chair behind the desk and a metal stool next to the blackboards. Clearly Alice was used to working alone and she didn’t receive regular visitors here. Based on how hot under the collar Harcourt, the government man, was to locate his missing files, Alex wondered if Alice’s lack of accommodations for visitors was due to being a private person, or for security reasons.

The thought of Harcourt stopped Alex’s musings and he took a hard look at the room. All six of the blackboards were empty but not clean. They’d been erased, but not washed. Also, the little file cabinet next to the drafting table was sitting askew. Alex could see the impression in the area rug where it had obviously stood for some time.

Putting those things together, he understood Detective Nicholson’s frustration.

“I see Harcourt’s already been here,” Alex said. “How much did he take?”

“Everything,” Nicholson fumed. “He took all the files here and the ones in the back, his goons erased all the boards, and he even took the damn pencils from the desk.

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