NH 01 Heat Wave by Richard Castle

Author:Richard Castle [Castle, Richard]
Format: epub
ISBN: 1401323820
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: 2009-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

NINE

Nikki Heat’s apartment building was not the Guilford. It was not only a fraction of the size, there was no doorman. Rook looped his fingers in the brass handle and held open the front door as she entered the small vestibule. Her keys clacked against the glass of the inner door, and once Nikki unlocked it, she waved to the blue-and-white still double-parked out front. “We’re in,” she said. “Thank you.”

The cops left on the spotlight for them, and thanks to its spill the lobby was dim but not totally dark. “Chair, see?” Nikki shined her light at it briefly. “Stay close.” A row of shiny metal-plated mailboxes caught the reflection beside them. She twisted the beam a little wider, and although it was not as intense, it gave them a better sense of the area, revealing the long, narrow lobby, which was a small-scale match for the footprint of the building. A single elevator sat ahead to the left, and on its right, separated by a table holding some UPS deliveries and unclaimed newspapers, was an open passageway to the staircase.

“Hang onto this.” She gave him the box and crossed over to the elevator.

“Unless that thing’s steam powered, I don’t think it’s going to be working,” said Rook.

“Ya think?” She shined the light up at the deco brass dial indicating which of the five floors the car was on. The arrow pointed to the 1. Heat rapped the heel of her flashlight on the elevator door and a series of loud bongs resonated. She called out, “Anybody in there?” and put her ear to the metal. “Nothing,” she said to Rook. Then she dragged the lobby chair to the elevator door and stood on it. “For this to work, you have to do this up top, at the header.” Clenching the tiny flashlight in her teeth to free her hands, she used them to pry the doors open a few inches at the center. Nikki angled her head forward and inserted the light into the partition. Satisfied, she released the doors and stepped down, reporting, “All clear.”

“Always a cop,” said Rook.

“Mm, not always.”

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