Page 12 of Property of Stone
She pulled over and hunched down enough so she could get a better view of the sprawling two-story brick building at the top of a long, grassy slope. Surrounding the building and a majority of the property was a six-foot chain-link fence. Most likely installed to keep out vandals after the school was closed.
To the right of the school were double gates with one side wide open. The empty paved parking lot in front of those gates had seen better days.
From where Taryn sat, she could see the cracked and crumbling macadam also had some deep potholes wide enough to dent a rim, if not pop a tire, and the painted lines for the parking spots were barely visible, another sign that the lot hadn’t been maintained in a long time.
George had to be mistaken. James Conrad could not be living at this address. He had to have provided a fake ID when he was arrested that day.
But why this property? He had to have some sort of ties to it.
Gnawing on her bottom lip, she contemplated her next steps. She could park in that lot and travel on foot through the gate. Or she could simply drive through it and straight up to the building.
However, the abundance of ominous “no trespassing” signs attached every few yards to the metal fence posts was a good indicator she needed to be cautious. She might not be welcome here, whether on foot or four wheels.
At least if she drove up, she could make a quick escape. That decided it.
She pulled through the gate.
When you get out, keep your door unlocked and your keys in your hand. Seconds might count.
Another huge parking lot at the top of the hill and much closer to the school had rusty signs stating the parking was for “staff only.” Nobody was parked in that lot, either. However, she saw what appeared to be a few junk cars in the distance behind the school.
Once she parked, she could easily read a weather-stained concrete rectangle embedded in the brick above the entrance: Oaklyn Public School.
Publicschool.No indication whether it had been an elementary, junior high or middle school, or even a senior high.
No one made this type of school a home. Offices, maybe. A home, no.
It made no sense. This addresshadto be wrong. But since she was here, she might aswell confirm it.
She glanced around one more time before climbing out. Once she did, she stood there for a few seconds, waiting to see if anyone would approach.
She didn’t see a soul.
Once at the school’s front entrance, she found the door handles chained together with a heavy-duty lock as well as two huge “no trespassing” signs.
She was sensing a theme here. A very unwelcoming one.
Since the door’s dirty window panes were covered from the inside, she couldn’t even get a peek inside.
Shit.
With a building this size, common sense said there was more than one way to get in. She only needed to find one that wasn’t locked or blocked.
The landscaping around the exterior had probably been abandoned since the last time the school saw a student. What remained was dead and overgrown with weeds.
If someone did live here, they wanted it to look as uninviting as possible.
Goal achieved.
She headed back in the direction she had come from, but instead of returning to her car—what a sane person would do—she rounded the building and came across a metal basement door that was also locked.
Of course.
With a sigh, she continued on, heading around back. The school was bigger than at first glance. The placard by the front door stated it was built in 1927, but it looked like some major updates and additions had been done after that.
Obviously, none of them recent.
When she got to the rear of the property, her feet slowed to a stop and she blinked to make sure she was seeing all of itclearly. Either the placewasoccupied or it had been vandalized, she couldn’t quite tell.
