Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“Hey!” Kat called to the janitor, who had reached the end of the hall. “Excuse me.”
The guy turned, giving them a slightly wary smile. “Can I help you?”
“You work with a man named Ollie?” Kat said as they made it to him. “Tallish, average weight, dark hair?” She moved her hand over her chin. “Short beard.”
“Oh. Yeah. I saw him in passing. I never worked with him. But I heard he gave his notice last week.”
“Damn,” Kat swore. “Okay, who can I call to get his information?”
“The company we contract for is called A-1 Janitorial Staffing. They’ll be able to help you.”
As they rushed to their desks to make the call, Sienna thought back to their one interaction with the man named Ollie. He’d seemed normal, nice. He’d been wearing earbuds, and . . . he’d only removed one to listen to what they had to say when they’d signaled him. “His earbuds,” she said to Kat. “He only removed one. Danny Boy sustained an injury that resulted in his hearing loss in one ear.”
Kat frowned. “Yeah. Or the guy removed one because he only had one hand free and that was all that was necessary to hear what we were saying to him.”
Maybe. Ten minutes later, after confirming the janitor’s full name and getting an address from the owner of A-1, they were heading for the door.
As they drove, Sienna put a call in to Gavin, but the call went to voice mail. She pictured Mirabelle’s flushed cheeks and the way she’d seemed a little glassy eyed. And the silver dollar and its connection to Argus had spooked her. She texted Gavin.
Hey, have you talked to your mom? The more I think about it, she seemed a little strained this morning. And would you check on Argus too? xo
She put her phone away, biting at her lip. If Gavin couldn’t get hold of him, she’d pay Argus a visit after they’d checked out Oliver Finley’s address.
The house they pulled up in front of was a single-family brick home in Old Northwest, several blocks away from Copper Canyon High School. They rapped on the door loudly, calling out, “Reno PD,” but no noise came from inside. “Not home or not answering?” Kat asked, looking at Sienna from the other side of the doorway.
Before Sienna could form a response, they heard the very faint sound of music beginning to play. They both stilled, leaning in. I keep my money in an old tow bag. Oh! Doo-dah day!
Sienna’s eyes met Kat’s. Kat reached over and turned the knob, and the unlocked door swung open, the music inside suddenly louder and easier to hear. Kat paused. “It’s coming from upstairs,” she whispered. “Call backup.”
After stepping away and calling for backup, Sienna leaned back slightly, looking up at the window above the porch overhang. Obscured by curtains. Her gut said they didn’t have to rush to get inside the house, but that didn’t negate the nerves. Thankfully, their wait wasn’t long, and after about ten grueling, frustrating minutes, a car pulled up to the curb, and two officers joined them, a man and a woman.
“What have we got?” the male officer asked.
“We’re not sure,” Kat answered. “But last time we showed up to a similar situation, that song led to a mummified corpse. This time, however, we’re at the home of an unaccounted-for person of interest.”
“We don’t know if he’s inside?” the female cop asked.
“No. You two take the bottom floor, and we’ll check upstairs. Take caution.”
The two cops nodded, and Kat and Sienna went inside, calling their arrival and clearing the first room. The two uniforms came in behind them, and as Kat and Sienna made their way to the staircase, the voices of all four of them announcing their presence rose above the sound of the blaring repetitive song.
Upstairs, only one door was open at the end of the hall, and it was the room where the music was playing. They made their way carefully in that direction, checking the other rooms as they went, triangulating the open door and moving inside. Doo-dah! Doo-dah! Oh! Doo-dah day! screeched. On the bed lay another mummified corpse, shreds of clothing melded to the bones, the bedding underneath stained where he or she had decomposed over what must have been a long, long time. At one point, the stench in this room had surely been unbearable. Now it just smelled musty and dank, overlaid with the scent of rotted fabric.
The battery-operated radio was on the edge of the dresser near the door. Doo-dah!—Sienna reached over and clicked it off, her shoulders lowering as she exhaled.
“You two okay up there?” came a call from the bottom of the stairs.
“Yes,” Sienna called back. “But call the ME. We’ve got a body.”
“No rush,” Kat murmured sarcastically, walking over to the dead . . . man. The clothes were rotted and falling apart, but by the look of them, they had once been a man’s plaid shorts and button-down shirt.