Page 73 of Seven Deadly Sins

“Yes, boss.” He grinned at her bossiness and opened the box marked one and laid the items found at the murder of Lance Richardson. Not much. A tie, some carpet fibers, hair from the assassin who had offed herself with poison. Not a lot left behind when the victims were murdered in the nude.

He pulled up the photos from the scene Harper had taken and sent to him, comparing the photos to what lay in front of him. Everything seemed to be in place. He opened the second box.

“Here is the last one.” Harper placed the box on the table. “It’s from the bookstore explosion. Not much in there. Photos mostly. I’ll go through them.”

He nodded absently counting the photos on his phone with what was in the second box. “We’re missing the reports on the poisoned doughnuts and the clothing of the first assassin.” He understood the clothing. Often, a lot could be traced from them, but poisoned doughnuts?”

“There are at least two license plate photos missing from this box.” She showed him the screen of her phone. “Someone is definitely tampering with the evidence.” She glanced at the door.

He followed her gaze. James stared in at them.

Something slid across the door. He turned and left.

Liam turned the knob and pulled. The door wouldn’t budge. “He’s blocked us in.”

Smoke drifted under the door.

Harper’s eyes widened. “If a fire gets in here, we’re goners. The whole place is cardboard and paper.”

He looked around for something to shove under the door to keep the smoke and flames outside until somebody found them. Someone would find them. Someone would smell the smoke.

Coughing, he removed his shirt, having left his jacket on his chair, and shoved it between the door and the floor. It didn’t stop the smoke completely but helped. “Let’s get to the far side of the room. Do you have phone service?”

He glanced at his phone screen. “I don’t.”

“No, this basement room isn’t great for that.” She headed for the back of the room. “James is the only one who knows we’re down here.”

“When Annie returns from wherever she is, she’ll notice our jackets. She’ll come.” He slid to the floor, the metal of the shelf behind him cold on his bare skin. “Come.” He held out his arm for Harper to snuggle under. “We’ll be fine.”

“Why, though? Why would James lock us in here? Sure, it’ll destroy whatever evidence is left behind, but it’s all been logged into the system. Someone would have to go in and remove it all. Getting rid of us won’t do anything in stopping that.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.” What he did know is that he did not want to die in here. He stared through the small window at the flames licking the metal door. “I’m going to break out the window and try to reach the door handle. Find something to shove in the window in case my plan fails.”

“You’ll be burned.”

“I’d rather suffer a burn on my arm, than on my entire body. Death by fire is not the way I want to go.” He removed his arm from around her shoulders and got to his feet. Another fit of coughing wracked his body.

“Here.” She shoved a bloody blanket into his hands. “We are now burning evidence.”

“Can’t be helped. Cold case?”

She nodded. “The oldest one I could find.”

He wrapped the blanket around his fist and broke out the glass, then cleared the area of shards. The fire singed the hair on his arms as he reached through the small opening. The handle seared his palm. He hissed and felt the door. His fingers gripped the red-hot bar thrust through the handle.

A scream escaped him as the fire burned his forearm, drowning out the sound of the bar falling to the floor. He withdrew his arm, cradling it against him.

Harper used the hem of her blouse to open the door. “Hurry, Liam.” With her arm over her face, she leaped over the three-foot flames.

Taking a deep breath, he followed, grateful the fire hadn’t grown larger. If it had, he’d be seriously burned rather than what he thought would be minor blisters.

They rushed past James’s empty glass-enclosed office and up the stairs to the main part of the station.

The chief’s eyes widened at the sight of a shirtless Liam. “What’s going on?” His gaze flicked to Liam’s cradled arm. “You okay?”

“James locked us inside the evidence room, then set it on fire.” Harper grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall. “Someone grab the one in the breakroom. We can’t let it spread.”

Liam took the one from the breakroom and followed her while the chief barked orders for someone to call the fire department, then clear the building. A couple of minutes later, he joined them, also armed with an extinguisher.

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