Page 42 of Devil
The ventilation system kicked up a notch, startling them both, and Lily dropped the sheet back into place. After a beat, she turned to him. “I’ll go in first and stay along the wall until I reach the back corner.”
He nodded. “Not that I think anyone is coming, but I’ll stay behind you and cover you from this corner,” he said, gesturing to the space on the other side of the sheet. “Once we know it’s empty, you do your thing and I’ll keep watch.”
Without another word, Lily held the heavy plastic back and slipped through. He followed right behind, though stopped just after entering. Remaining in position, he kept a watchful eye on both the lab area and the open space to his left as Lily made her way to the opposite corner, scanning between the rows of tables as she walked. When she reached the far corner, she started along the back wall, systematically opening each cabinet. Finding nothing, she then glanced in the storage locker.
“The room is clear. I’m going to start searching now,” she announced, holstering her weapon. He nodded, though she likely didn’t see as she was already thumbing through papers on one of the far tables. He kept his attention on the door and his ears peeled for any outside noises. For any number of reasons, a visitor now wouldn’t be a good thing.
Lily pulled out her phone and took a few pictures as she searched. When she reached what looked like the interrupted experiment, she picked up a piece of paper lying beside it. After taking a moment to study it, she leaned over the beakers and looked inside. He bit back the urge to bark at her to stay away. For all he knew, they could be holding water, but he did not want to take any chances with her safety.
Thankfully, before he edged too close to a heart attack, she moved away. After snapping a few more pictures, she finally returned to his side. Never in his life had seven minutes seemed so long.
“You can tell me what you found later. Let’s get out of here,” he said.
She nodded, and together they made their way back outside. “Leave your mask on,” Lily said. “We’re going to need to decontaminate before we leave, but I also want to search the house.”
He nodded as she strode past him toward the house, her weapon back in hand. Jogging a couple of steps to catch up, he came alongside her.
“Look,” she said, gesturing to the far side of the house. From where they’d parked out front, they hadn’t been able to see the other vehicle pulled to the side of the house. “Any idea if that’s Jennifer’s car?”
“I can’t see the license plate from here, but it’s the same make and model,” he answered. He’d taken an interest in Pritchard after the first break-in and knew the car her parking permit was associated with.
“Do you think she’s home?” he asked. It was possible that the woman had gone out for a walk. But if not, where was she?
Lily gave a curt nod. “Whether she’s alive or not, I don’t know, but yes, I think she’s here.”
They’d reached the back patio and stopped outside a set of French doors that looked into a sitting room. A room that wasn’t any tidier than the lab in the outbuilding, or, for that matter, Pritchard’s lab in Boston.
“If she’s dead, do you think it was at the hands of the virus or a person?”
“I don’t know,” Lily answered as she peered through the glass doors. “It could have been either.”
“Was she responsible for her father’s illness?” he asked.
Lily gave a curt nod. “Yes, but what she used on him wasn’t the final product,” she said, moving to peer through another window. He followed suit, shifting to the side to reduce the glare on the glass. “She had notes projecting what his symptoms should be,” Lily continued. “Those were side by side with a record of his actual reaction. She was close, but based on what I read, she anticipated it being much more severe. Not life-threatening, but more serious than it was. Maybe that explains why she seemed irritated.”
He couldn’t fathom how someone would want to intentionally infect another with a virus, let alone their own father. Especially when there was so little known about it, including whether it would transmit to other people. That was something to think about later, though.
“Ifsomeonedidn’t kill her, do you think she’d be so careless as to get herself infected?” he asked. They’d moved to another window, through which they could see a bedroom and a closed door, perhaps the en suite bathroom.
“Normally, no,” Lily answered. “But there was broken glass in the hazardous waste bin and a few streaks of blood on both the glass and the counter. I don’t know if it was an accident or something else. We need to go in,” she said, abruptly ending the discussion. A twinge of guilt flashed through Darius. It was possible he’d been trying to distract her in the hopes she’d decide they didn’t have time to search the house. He didn’t know what they’d find, but the fine hairs on his arms were standing to attention.
He let out a long breath. “You’re right, let’s go.”
Lily led them back to the French doors, then quietly opened them. They’d been talking for several minutes, so if someone were inside, their presence wasn’t going to be a surprise. That didn’t mean they needed to announce they were in the house, though.
They entered through the empty sitting room and quickly made their way toward the bedroom. There was a second floor, but they’d clear the first before making their way upstairs.
After a quick scan of the kitchen, they entered the bedroom, keeping their backs to the wall. Darius leaned over enough to see inside the closet to his left. He gave Lily the “clear” sign when he didn’t see anything, and she moved toward the closed door on the other side of the room.
Waiting until he was behind her, she turned the knob and leaned into the solid wood. The door didn’t move. She cast a glance over her shoulder at him, then tried the knob again. Again, it turned, but the door didn’t move. It was locked. From the inside.
Knocking softly, Lily put her ear to the door. “Dr. Pritchard?” She remained so still that Darius could no longer see the rise and fall of her chest.
“Dr. Pritchard?” she called again, softly. When no answer came, she knelt to examine the knob. It was old, maybe even the original, but it wasn’t what was keeping them out. If he had to guess, he’d wager it was locked with a good old-fashioned hook or possibly a slide lock.
He eyed the door. They could kick it open, but if someone was on the other side, they might get hurt. There was also that little thing called trespassing that they were doing. If they could leave no trace of themselves anywhere on Pritchard’s property, it would make their lives much easier.
“Don’t…”
