Bayou Heat (20 page)

“Orbit’s aura is still on these but it’s faint.”

“I understand, but I need the artist’s name.”

Eris looked him in the eye. “I’ll get it for you and won’t even
argue about it.”

Rob smiled. “Thanks, now where is the VCR so I can review
the security tapes? If we get lucky we’ll see who left these behind.”

Eris grimaced at his words.

“What?” He dreaded her answer.

“Our system is a twelve-hour looping system.”

“Damn.” Rob started toward the back room and heard Eris move
in behind him.

“We never figured we’d need more than that. The store is
open almost every day and if it’s closed longer than that someone checks on it
daily.”

He found the archaic system and turned it off. “The store is
now officially closed. Considering our lack of luck on this case, I doubt these
appeared in the last twelve hours, but I’m going to take a look anyway. While I
review the tape, why don’t you give your parents a call to see if we can pinpoint
the day the earrings appeared here? I’m going to lock the front door and then
we’ll see how lucky we might be.”

* * * * *

Three hours later, as he handed the earrings and tape over
to LD, Rob knew exactly how unlucky they were. It didn’t seem as if they could
get a break no matter how they tried. Eris’ mother had discovered the earrings
after opening the shop this morning but had no clue how they got there. Zane
had closed the evening before and he didn’t remember seeing anyone with them
either.

His quick review of the tape showed nothing of great
importance, but he was going to have his team review the tape in case there was
something he missed. The earrings were going to the police department for
fingerprinting, although he held little hope anything would be found.

“How’s Marie doing?” Rob asked as he and LD walked toward
the shop’s front door.

“Grumpy, moody, bossy and ready to have these babies. I keep
reminding myself this won’t last forever. It might seem like it, but it won’t.”

Rob chuckled. “Who’s with her now?”

“Tammie, and if I don’t get these items delivered so I can
hurry back with their order from Peking Duck, there’ll be hell to pay.”

He laughed as he locked the door behind LD and returned to
the back room where Eris was still on the phone talking to her parents. She
stood with her back to him and a phone pressed to her ear.

Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist
and pulled her to him. It took her a couple of seconds but then she leaned into
him. She ended the call and turned in his arms, resting her head on his chest.
He held her there until she started to move away.

Moving a hand, he cupped her face and lowered his mouth to
hers. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the slow, achingly sweet kiss
was not it. He felt her move into him as her arms wrapped around his neck and
knew it wouldn’t take much to change the direction of this encounter. He broke
the kiss and regretted the loss of warmth immediately. “We should head home.”

Eris locked the metal gate that covered the front doors to
the store and dropped the keys into her pocket. She turned and watched as Rob
surveyed the dark streets. Her eyes drifted across the street to the alley and
she wondered who was down there waiting to get her. “Oh my gosh, I’m getting as
bad as you.”

“What are you talking about?” Rob asked without taking his
eyes off the street.

“You’ve got me searching the shadows, wondering what evil
lies within, and I don’t like it.”

Rob turned to her and even in the dark she could see the seriousness
in his eyes. “Well, I like it. You’ve been way too trusting in the past.”

He turned away and looked up and down the street one more
time. “Damn, I wish we’d driven tonight.”

The tone of his voice did nothing to curb the uneasiness she
felt as they started toward her place. “You’re scaring me.”

He slipped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as
they walked. “Fear isn’t a bad thing; it can often save people’s lives when
they heed it.”

She first thought the gesture was meant to be
comforting—that was, until he put her between him and the building. It was then
she realized he was shielding her as much as possible from some unseen danger.
“What’s wrong?”

“Not sure, but something is off. It’s too quiet, if you know
what I mean.”

Eris looked around and for the first time noticed the lack
of pedestrian traffic. She jumped and moved closer to Rob as a black sports car
drove unhurriedly past them. “Slow night, they happen.”

“Open the door.”

Eris didn’t even consider questioning him as she retrieved
her keys from her pocket and unlocked the security gate. Rob reached around her
and shoved the heavy door aside.

“Could you hurry it up?”

“I’m working as fast as I can,” she answered as she shoved
the key into the front door. The lock was barely disengaged before Rob shoved
her through the door.

“Get in the back room.”

“Rob—”

“Eris—”

His words died as tires squealed only seconds before glass
exploded and bullets sprayed the storefront. Rob dove at her, taking her down
to the floor and covering her body with his. He rolled them to the side and
slowly they inched their way behind a display case as bullets flew above them
and glass showered the floor. She watched as he pulled out his cell phone and
punched in a number. His mouth moved, so she assumed he was talking to someone,
but the roar of the gunfire drowned out his voice even in such a close space.

The sudden silence was almost as terrifying as the onslaught
of the automatic guns. Before she could wrap her mind around that, he was
shoving her toward the back entrance. The strong smell of gasoline filled the
air as Eris scrambled through the swinging door.

Rob came through right behind her. “Keys, have you got your
keys?”

“No, I lost them in the store, but there’s an extra set
hanging above the desk.”

“I’ll get the spare keys.” He ran to the other side of the
door, retrieved the keys and turned back to her.

The floor beneath her feet vibrated and what sounded like a
freight train roared to life in the other room. The dividing door blew open,
slamming against the wall as flames shot through the opening. Eris screamed as
flames licked up the opposite wall and the sprinkler system kicked on. Pictures
and paperwork went up like Roman candles on the Fourth of July even as the
water sprayed down on them.

“Eris!”

She turned to see Rob trapped on the other side of the
flames. “There’s an extinguisher beside the file cabinet!” she called to him.

“Great. Catch.”

She caught the keys and ran to the back door. Already the
room was filling with smoke and heat. She looked over her shoulder and saw that
Rob had managed to put out enough flames to close the door and clear a path.
She shoved the key into the lock, knowing he would reach her in a second or two
and they would be out of there.

The key didn’t turn.

Eris pulled it out and wiped the water out of her eyes. She
checked to make sure she was using the correct key. It was the right one and
the locks hadn’t been changed for years, so it should work. She inserted the
key again, pushing her growing fear down.

“What’s wrong?” he shouted above the fire alarm.

“The key won’t turn.”

“Let me.”

She stepped aside and watched as he did what she’d just done
with the same results.

Rob tossed the useless keys to the ground and pulled a small
black pouch from his pocket. He removed two small, slim tools and handed the
rest to her. She watched as he poked and prodded.

“Someone’s jammed the lock from the opposite side, there’s
no getting it open.” His voice was calm even as the room filled with smoke and
heat. “Is there another way out?”

“What about through the front?”

“It’s totally engulfed in flames and the sprinklers aren’t
doing anything to stop the spread.”

There was a swooshing sound and Eris turned in time to see
the swinging door go up in flames.

“There’s a small roof access door that’s up in the storage
loft, but I don’t know if it’ll open or not. Dad closed it off after finding us
kids playing on the roof.”

“You lead the way.”

Eris moved to the steep, narrow staircase that ran along the
exterior wall. As kids the upstairs level had been their play area, now the
walls were lined with shelves and extra merchandise. Her eyes started to water
as she reached the upper level. Each breath filled her lungs with smoke and
heat, making their progress seem painfully slow.

“Where is it?” Rob’s voice came from directly behind her.

“Behind one of these sets of shelving.”

They both started clearing the shelves, tossing the items to
the floor or over the railing to the ground below.

“Got it.” Eris started tossing boxes over the railing even
faster. The heat and the smoke were becoming overpowering.

“Move,” Rob said as he put a hand on her shoulder and pushed
her to the side.

She did and watched as he grabbed the bars of the old metal shelf
unit and tilted it. Stepping to the side, Rob let the shelves crash down onto
the railing, revealing the old door behind it. “It’s padlocked closed. Do you
have a key?”

“No,” she coughed.

Rob knelt in front of the door and pulled the small leather
pouch once again from his pocket. “This might take a while. Keep looking for
something to pry this lock off with.”

From outside she could hear the sirens of the emergency
vehicles and wondered how long before they reached them. Smoke burned her eyes
and lungs as she searched for anything they could use to open the door. Her
chest hurt and each breath was an effort that seemed to become more impossible
with each passing minute. Her knees gave out and she sank to the floor.

“Got it. Get up, Eris.”

She heard Rob’s voice but her limbs felt heavy and she
simply didn’t have the strength to move.

“Damn it, move your ass!”

“I can’t.” She heard him crawling over things to reach her.

“Yes you can, now move it.”

She felt herself being dragged by one arm and thought for a
moment her shoulder was going to dislocate. “Okay, okay. I’m moving.”

She forced herself up and over the toppled shelving unit
with some help from Rob.

“Crawl through the door and out onto the roof, we have no
idea how bad it might be. Head to the closest edge once you’re clear of the
fire.”

“You’re coming with me this time, aren’t you?”

“Yes, now go.”

He gave her a gentle push but she understood the urgency
behind it. She crawled through the thick smoke and across the hard gravel roof
until the smoke thinned enough that she could see to walk. As she stood, Rob
joined her. “The roof is heating up.”

“I feel it. Is there a fire escape up here?”

“There’s only a small caged-in ladder, but it’s on the left
side up by the front of the store. No way can we get to it.”

In the darkness she could see the flames licking their way
across the roof toward them. The entire front of the store was engulfed and
flames had quickly traveled down the sides of the building. The only area free
from the fire was the back of the store.

“How are we going to get down?”

“Give me a minute and I’ll get us down.”

Rob pulled his cell phone out and for a moment she wondered
what the hell he was doing, but then she realized he was talking to the
emergency operator. She felt marginally better but wouldn’t feel truly safe
until they were off the roof and away from the fire.

Rob took her hand even as he continued to talk and pulled
her toward the back edge of the building. There was a small, narrow alley at
the back of the store. It was barely large enough for a small car to fit down.
She knew there was no way a large fire truck would ever make it.

She looked down and watched as firefighters ran toward them
carrying a long extension ladder. She squeezed Rob’s hand as the first drops of
water rained down on them and the ladder was raised. Thank God, they were going
to make it.

A hair-raising groaning sound came from the inside of the
building seconds before it shuddered as if an earthquake hit it. The roof
vibrated beneath their feet then the sound of splintering wood ripped through
the air as the front half of the roof caved in.

Rob grabbed the ladder as he pulled her toward it. “Get on.”

“Come with me!”

“I’m going to hold the ladder up here until you’re down and
safe. Don’t worry, I’ll get down. Now go!”

Eris climbed over the edge of the building and onto the
ladder. She looked up into his eyes and everything she wanted to say got stuck
in her throat.

Rob leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. “Go. The
sooner you get down, the faster I can get off this roof.”

She started as quickly as she could down the ladder, one
rung at a time. Each step seemed to take an eternity. Before she even reached
the bottom, a pair of strong arms pulled her off the ladder and started moving
her toward the alley’s entrance.

“Watch your step,” the large firefighter yelled as they
stepped over fallen bricks.

It was then Eris noticed the other debris littering the
ground. The building made another sound, reminding her of a horror movie, then
more chunks of mortar and brick fell to the ground. The firefighter shielded
her with his body as they cleared the alley. She turned to face the building,
scanning the area for Rob.

The alley was quickly filling with smoke, making it
impossible to see what was happening. If she squinted she could make out the
outline of the ladder and what she thought was Rob coming down it. Another
large cloud of smoke bellowed out of the top of the building, blocking what
little view there was.

“Clear the area!”