Deep in Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (26 page)

“I’m afraid Sean’s out there setting fire to the house,” I said.

Geoff nodded. “Yeah. Let’s just hope your friend gets here first.” He panted a little and closed his eyes against the pain in his head. He was hurt worse than he’d said, but he didn’t want me to worry. The pain in his side from a couple of broken ribs hurt the worst, and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold up without passing out.

My stomach knotted with worry. “Just hold on Geoff. He should be here soon.”

Geoff tried to nod, but couldn’t move his head very well. He was thinking that even if Ramos got here in time, there was the big problem of the locked door, as well as getting us out of our manacles without a key.

“Ramos is good with locks,” I said. “And I’m not sure Sean bolted the door.”

Geoff’s eyes widened and he swore in his mind, thinking that I’d just answered his thoughts, almost like he’d said them out loud. That was a little freaky.

I ignored Geoff and stood, hoping the long chain would let me reach the door. Sean had left so fast that I didn’t think he’d taken the time to lock it from the other side. I prayed I was right, but got to the end of the chain before I could grasp the handle.

Stretching as far as I could, I managed to touch the knob with my fingers. Straining harder, I finally got my thumb around it and gave a short twist. The door opened, and I fell back, heaving in deep breaths. From the twinge in my leg, I knew I’d probably pulled a muscle, but at least the door was open.

It also let me hear a little of what was going on upstairs, and I flinched. The sound of breaking glass and a faint smell of smoke tightened my chest with fear.

“Did you hear that?” I asked Geoff.

“Not really, but I can smell the smoke. At least we’re in the basement. The fire shouldn’t reach us for a while. That should give your friend enough time to get here.”

Overwhelmed with fear, I could hardly nod my head to agree with him. I sat back down on the carpet and could barely see the bottom of the back door for the smoke gathering around it.

“So what did you see in the attic? What did he mean by trophies?” He hoped I’d found something, but more than that, wanted to take my mind off our impending doom.

“It was bad,” I began. “There were five bodies in the attic, one more than we thought. And they were sitting in chairs…with what was left of their mouths gaping open. I don’t know if they were still alive when he put them there, but it kind of looked like it.”

Geoff cursed a blue streak in his mind. “That son-of-a-bitch! If he succeeds in burning this place down, all that evidence will go up in smoke.”

As if on cue, the scent of smoke got stronger, and I felt the blood drain from my head. “Oh no! It’s getting worse.”

Geoff swore out loud this time, and I heard the desperation behind it. Something inside me snapped, and I jumped to my feet, frantic to find anything that would get us out of there. The chain reached to the bathroom, so I hurried inside to search for any kind of tool I could find.

Of course there was nothing useful, but I did find some towels, and wet them down in the sink. We could wrap them around our heads to help us breathe, right? At least it was better than nothing. A loud boom shook the house, and dust rained down over my head, making me cough. Dread tightened my throat and my heart raced. The fire was spreading quickly now, and I didn’t know if anyone could get inside to rescue us. What if the fire blocked the stairs?

The smell of smoke got worse, causing my eyes to burn. Taking the wet towels with me, I moved as close to the staircase as I could get, hoping to see if the way was clear. There was still light coming down from above, but I couldn’t get a clear view of the back door. Another crash sounded on the ceiling right above my head, and the light bulb popped, leaving us in darkness. I cringed back toward the wall and held a towel to my face. The fire was getting worse. It wouldn’t be long before the ceiling gave way and buried us.

I glanced at Geoff, but could barely make out his shape in the dark. He could see me though, and regret poured from his mind. “It’s been nice to know you Shelby. I’m real sorry…”

“Shelby!” Ramos shouted. “Shelby! Where are you?”

Hope blossomed in my chest. “Down here!” I yelled. “Down in the basement.”

The glow of a flashlight illuminated the stairs then came to rest on me. A rush of footsteps sounded, and then he was there, striding toward me. He held a fireman’s jacket over his head, and dropped the flashlight as he knelt beside me. “Thank God you’re alive. Are you tied up?”

“It’s worse…I’m chained to the wall. We both are.”

Ramos froze, glancing between us, his face distorted with dismay. I’d never seen him look like that, and all at once, I knew I was going to die. “You’d better get out while you can,” I said.

“No. I can get you out. I know I can, just give me a minute.” He pushed a button and talked into the radio. “I found them in the basement, they’re alive, but they’re chained to the wall. I need help getting them out.”

“Who is this?”

“Get Detective Harris,” Ramos growled. “He’ll tell you who I am. In the meantime, get someone down here.”

The smoke was starting to get thick, and hurt my throat. “I’ve got some wet towels ready. Can you give this to Geoff?”

Ramos took a towel and hurried to Geoff’s side. After a quick perusal of the chains, he found a catch on the wall and undid it. The chains loosened from the ceiling, and Geoff slumped to the ground. Moving quickly, Ramos pulled the chains through the pulley and Geoff was free.

A fireman appeared out of the smoke at the bottom of the steps in full gear and raised his visor. “There’s no time,” he shouted. “We’ve got to go now. The whole place is coming down.”

“Here,” Ramos said, helping Geoff up. “Take him out. We’ll be right behind you.”

The fireman took the weight of the chains over his shoulder while Geoff held the wet towel over his head and face, and they quickly disappeared up the steps. Ramos grabbed the other wet towel and wrapped it around his face, then handed me the flashlight. “Shine it at the lock.”

As Ramos took a pouch out of his jeans pocket, I held the light steady. He was thinking he’d never picked this kind of lock before, but it couldn’t be too hard. He got out the tools he’d need and got to work, trying to find the catch. Suddenly, the ceiling where Geoff had been standing cracked and part of it gave way, sending pieces of burning rubble to the ground beside us. It filled the space with smoke and cinders.

I lurched back and dropped the flashlight, choking on the smoky air. “Ramos…it’s okay. There’s no time. You have to go…I don’t want you to die.”

His gaze caught mine. “I’m not leaving you.” He coughed, and shook his head. “I’m getting you out.” He was thinking he’d rather die with me here than leave me behind, so I’d better not ask him again.

Tears streamed from my eyes and I found it hard to breathe. Ramos bent to his task, and I picked up the flashlight. I tried to hold it steady, but I was shaking and coughing so bad, it was moving all over the place. I closed my eyes against the burn, and held the towel tight, but the smoke was so bad I thought I might pass out.

All at once the lock clicked open and my breath caught with relief. Ramos quickly threw the fireman jacket over my head and spoke into the radio.

“I’ve got her. We’re coming up.” He secured the towel around his head and glanced at me, knowing that running up those stairs into a hail of burning debris might still kill us, but it was the only way out. “You ready?”

“Yes.”

With his arm around my waist, we ran to the stairs and started up. Water sprayed all around us, and I slipped on the steps, but Ramos held me firmly to his side. Within seconds we’d made it up and out the door, black smoke spewing behind us. After running several feet, both of us doubled over with coughing from the smoke. Taking deep breaths, I turned to look back at the house.

Orange-red flames engulfed the entire structure, then suddenly, parts of the building started to collapse. The ground shook, and a fireman came beside us, quickly ushering us back even further. As I stepped back, I couldn’t pull my gaze away from the roaring inferno, and realized that we’d barely made it out in time. Just another minute or two and the whole thing would have come down on top of us.

My throat burned and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. Then my legs went weak, and darkness clouded my vision. As I slipped to the ground, Ramos caught me. He said something, but it sounded like he was speaking from far away and I couldn’t make out the words.

Chapter 13

Something cool pressed over my nose and mouth, and I struggled to open my eyes. Taking a breath, fresh air poured into my lungs and I finally felt like I could breathe again. I opened my eyes to find Ramos holding the oxygen mask to my face, and realized I must have fainted.

“Better?” he asked.

I nodded, grateful I wasn’t out long. On one knee beside Ramos, Dimples hovered over me, his eyes anxious and worried. After a few more breaths, I pulled the mask away and gave them both a feeble smile. Dimples sighed with relief and smiled back. Someone tapped his arm and motioned toward the ambulance. “I’ll just be over there if you need me,” he said.

A paramedic held my wrist to check my pulse. “We should get her on a gurney and take her to the hospital,” he said to Ramos.

“Where’s Geoff?” I asked, my throat raspy. “Is he all right?”

“He’s fine,” the paramedic answered. “He’s in the ambulance…where you should be.”

I glanced at Ramos. He didn’t seem to have a problem breathing. “What about him? Does he need to go too?”

The paramedic frowned. “He didn’t faint.”

I sniffed and that made me cough. Ramos put the oxygen mask back over my face and I gratefully took a few deep breaths. Feeling better, I thought I should stand up and walk over to the ambulance. “Help me up,” I asked Ramos.

“Are you going to faint again?”

“I sure hope not.”

“Let’s give you a few more minutes, and then if you’re feeling up to it, I’ll help you up.” He was thinking that by then the gurney would be here and he wouldn’t have to worry about me fainting.

“Chicken,” I said. He smiled, and even with a soot-covered face, he still looked good enough to melt my heart and warm my toes. Maybe that’s why I’d fainted. I decided I might as well relax and enjoy being held in his arms while I could.

“So what happened?” I asked. “Did you get Sean?”

Ramos’ eyes darkened. “No. He got away. I could have gone after him, but with you inside that burning house…it was a no-brainer. I had to break the door down, and by then the firemen and Harris had arrived. They were taking too long, so I grabbed a jacket and flashlight off the truck and came in to find you myself. Harris saw me do it but didn’t try to stop me.”

“I wonder how the firemen got here.”

“Apparently a neighbor saw Sean light it and called nine-one-one.”

“Wow…that was lucky,” I said. After a moment I tilted my head so I could catch his gaze. “Ramos…thanks for not leaving me…I thought I was going to die down there. I would have if not for you.” Tears blurred my vision and a lump caught in my throat.

Ramos’ lips turned up in a half-smile, but he was thinking he’d never been so scared in his life. “Yeah. That was close. I think you owe me. So…maybe I deserve that kiss now?”

I smiled at his teasing, grateful he wasn’t getting all mushy and sentimental. “If you’ll take it on the cheek… then yeah… maybe.”

He snorted, thinking that when I got close he’d just turn his head. Then what would I do? That startled a laugh out of me, but it turned into a cough, and I had to hold the oxygen over my face to get my breath back.

Dimples came back to check on me. He was thinking about the phone call I’d made to him, and how it had taken two years off his life. Good thing Ramos and the firemen showed up when they did, or I’d be dead for sure. He wanted to yell at me for scaring him so bad, but he also felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to answer his phone the first time I’d called. Next time I called, he’d answer no matter what, even if he was in a meeting with the police chief and the mayor.

Watching me right now, holding an oxygen mask over my face, with my skin all blackened and streaked with tears was one of the best sights he’d seen all day. Somehow I’d made it out alive, which counted as some sort of miracle in his book.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“Good,” I answered. “Thanks to you and Ramos. I guess I’ll have to make you some cookies or something.” Dimples smiled, and I grinned to get a peek at his cheeks with their whirling indentations. “How’s Geoff holding up?”

“He’ll be fine. They’ll take you both to the hospital as soon as you can make it over there.”

I was enjoying myself right where I was, so I asked him a question instead. “What can you tell me about Sean?”

“We’ve got an APB out on him. We’ll find him Shelby, don’t worry.”

I sighed and then coughed. My throat still felt raw and burned. “I found five bodies up there in the attic. Now they’re gone.”

“It won’t matter. We can still get him on attempted murder.”

“But it does matter. The families of those women need to know what happened to them.”

Dimples’ lips tightened. “We’re going to do everything we can to find whatever’s left of them. I’ve got my best forensics team coming in on it. That’s about the best we can hope for.”

“Okay.”

The paramedic came to my side wheeling a gurney over the grass. “The ambulance is ready to go. Let’s get you on the gurney.”

“Fine,” I agreed, a little sad to leave the comfort of Ramos’ arms. He helped me stand, then quickly maneuvered me onto the gurney. A touch light-headed, I gratefully laid my head on the pillow, while the paramedic lifted my feet onto the gurney. He strapped me in and rolled me over to the ambulance with Ramos walking by my side.

Before lifting me in, Ramos squeezed my hand. “I’ll be going now.”

“You sure you’re all right?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. I wasn’t down there as long as you.”

“Oh…okay. I’ll see you later?” I asked.

“Sure,” he agreed. He was already thinking about how he was going to find Sean. He didn’t want me to worry that Sean could ever hurt me again, so he had to find him first.

Before I could tell him not to kill Sean, he strode away. I opened my mouth to call him back, but with my throat so sore I shut it instead and watched him go. Something settled in me to know Ramos wasn’t going to let Sean hurt me again, and in some ways, I wanted Sean dead. That probably made me a bad person, but right now, I didn’t care.

Dimples had turned away to answer his phone. He hurried back to my side, holding the phone out to me. “Shelby…it’s Chris. He wants to talk to you.”

Surprised, I took the phone and tried to make my voice sound normal. “Hi honey. Did Dimples tell you what happened?”

“Yes,” he said. “Are you okay? He said they were taking you to the hospital.”

“Yeah. It’s no big deal, just a little smoke inhalation. Will you meet me there?”

“Of course. I’ll leave right now.” He disconnected, and I handed the phone back to Dimples.

“Thanks for telling him what happened,” I said. “He didn’t sound too shook up, so that’s good.”

Dimples smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He felt sorry for Chris. What I put that man through…what I put all of them through…was enough to make a person go crazy. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I think he’s taking it pretty well.” He doubted that, but lied since he didn’t want to make me feel bad.

They lifted me into the ambulance, and I smiled to find Geoff on the gurney beside me. “Hey Geoff. Can you believe we made it out of there?”

“Well…” he said, his brows lifting, “to be honest, I didn’t think we would, but then your friend came barreling down those stairs. Now that was a sight to behold. One look at him, and I changed my mind.” His eyes held speculation, and he thought there was a lot more to my friendship with Ramos than I let on. But…he didn’t want to pry, glad that whatever it was, he’d always be grateful I had a friend like him.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “He saved us.”

“Too bad Sean got away,” Geoff said. “But it’s good to be alive, so I guess it’s okay…as long as they catch him.” He worried Sean would come after me. The guy might think he was smart, but his kind hated to get bested, and he was afraid Sean wouldn’t be able to resist his impulse to kill me just for spite.

“Uh…I’m sure they’ll find him,” I said, hoping it was true. I knew between the police and Ramos there was a pretty good chance he’d get caught. Still, I couldn’t help the knot of worry that settled in my stomach like a dead weight, and I had to agree with Geoff that Sean didn’t seem like the type to rest until I was good and dead.

We arrived at the hospital and whisked into the emergency room. I’d only been there a few minutes when Chris came in. He took in my blackened face and oxygen mask with shock, but then quickly recovered and rushed to my side. Pulling me into his arms, he held me close.

“Shelby…” he moaned. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. The kids called after you left saying something about a phone call to a detective. I thought it was Harris, so I tried not to worry too much. Then I just got this bad feeling so I called him. That’s when he told me you’d been locked up in the basement of Sean’s house. He said the house was on fire and you barely made it out alive. What the hell happened?”

I grimaced and swallowed, sorry for what I’d put Chris through. I cleared my throat to talk and ended up coughing. “I’m sorry,” I croaked.

“It’s okay,” he said, instantly contrite. “Just rest…do you need a drink of water?”

I nodded and Chris left to find a nurse. A moment later he came back with the nurse, and I gratefully sipped from the cup of ice water she handed me. The cold water felt amazing on my parched throat, and I closed my eyes in relief.

The doctor came in and pulled the curtains closed around us. He introduced himself and then proceeded to listen to my lungs and heart. He prescribed a lung treatment that would take about half an hour and told me I could go home after that, but needed to take it easy for a few days. He was a little puzzled that my throat was so sore until I remembered that Sean had nearly choked me to death. After I explained that, he was thinking I was lucky to be alive, and glanced at Chris with sympathy.

Dimples showed up to get my statement and I explained what had happened, relieved Chris could hear it at the same time so I wouldn’t have to go over the whole thing again with him. Dimples assured us both that they would do everything in their power to catch Sean and that he’d keep me posted.

Before leaving, I wanted to say goodbye to Geoff and introduce him to Chris.

“Hey. I’m so sorry I put Shelby in danger,” Geoff said, swamped with guilt. “I never would have agreed if I thought we might die.”

“I understand,” Chris said. “Shelby is…” he glanced at me with narrowed eyes. “Well, let’s just say she gets into trouble a lot, so it kind of goes with the territory.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” Geoff said, chuckling. “Next time, I’ll be better prepared.”

Chris nodded and smiled, but raised his brows, thinking there had better not be a ‘next time’ like that for me. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than being locked up in a basement with a house burning down around me.

“Yeah…it was pretty bad,” I admitted. “I think I might need some bath therapy tonight.” Geoff glanced at me like I had lost my mind, but Chris understood what I meant. “Anyways…I’ll keep in touch. Thanks again for coming with me. I hope you get better soon and that you wife isn’t too mad at you.” I knew he was worried about that, and I couldn’t help commiserating with him since I knew how it felt.

Geoff’s lips thinned in a tight smile, but he nodded and waved us out, thinking it was my premonitions that had to make me say stuff like that. But then it hit him that if I had premonitions, why didn’t I know what was going to happen at the house? How had Sean taken me by surprise? He opened his mouth to ask about that, but I ducked out of the room before he could, pulling Chris behind me.

Just that tiny bit of exertion made me a little light-headed, and I sagged beside Chris. He quickly put his arm around my waist and held me to his side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…I’m just exhausted. I can’t tell you how upset I was to find that Sean was teaching Savannah’s class. He’d even singled her out, and I think I went a little crazy. That’s one of the reasons why I had to follow him. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being around her. I hope you’re not too mad at me.”

Chris held me close, trying to imagine how he’d feel if he’d been there and how he would have reacted. “I would have done the same thing.”

I smiled up at him, my eyes filling with tears. “Thanks honey…that means a lot.”

He helped me inside the car, taking extra care to make sure I was comfortable, and it warmed my heart. As we pulled into traffic, he asked me to tell him how I got out of the burning building since I’d left that part out of my narrative. I explained how Ramos got Geoff out, then stayed behind to pick the lock on the manacle around my ankle, telling him it was a close thing and we’d both nearly died.

Chris took it all in, thinking he owed Ramos and how much he didn’t like it. What could he say to a man who had saved his wife, especially since this wasn’t the first time? It was enough to give him a complex.

“It’s not that big a deal,” I said, not wanting him to feel bad. “You don’t even have to say anything. Just do that little chin lift you do to each other. That should work.”

Chris snorted and then shook his head, but he was smiling, and I knew he felt better. 

A few minutes later he took a deep breath and blew the air slowly out of his mouth. He was thinking about Sean and what would happen next. “Sean’s still out there,” he said. “Do you think he’ll come after you?”