Page 110 of Three for a Girl

Romeo glowered into the mirror. “Sounds like a crash. You could’ve got hurt.”

“I was hurt, you were gone.”

“I mean actually, physically hurt.”

Chad kept following the fence until he got to a huge gate. Nerves ran up his spine, and he shot a look at Romeo who flattened himself to the backseat. On closer inspection, the cameras were broken, lifelessly dangling from wires. A thick linked chain held the two gates together, and Chad throttled the wheel, wishing he’d planned for such an obstacle.

He pulled up on the opposite side of the road, and went to leave the car, but Romeo’s hand shot from the backseat. He splayed out his fingers on Chad’s chest over his heart, keeping him in place.

“I’m gonna see if we can get inside.” Chad said. “If we can’t, we’ll go home, do this another day.”

“What exactly isthis?”

“My gut feeling.”

“Your gut feeling led you into the arms of a serial killer. Marc Wilson, remember?”

Chad squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m not alone this time. I’ve got you, and I know you won’t let anything happen to me.”

“Of course, I won’t.”

Romeo’s hand slipped off his chest. His eyes were heavy on Chad’s back as he rushed from the car to check the gate.

A padlock lay in the grass, the chain next to useless. Chad unwrapped the gate before returning to Romeo in the car. He threw the chain in the footwell, and reached for the glove compartment. He pulled out a box of disposable gloves, took two for himself then cast his eager eyes on Romeo.

“You coming?”

Romeo unclipped his seatbelt. “I’m not gonna let you go alone with your track record.”

“Put some gloves on.”

“Yes, detective.”

Chapter Seventeen

Chad used the bottom of his shirt to push the gate open enough for them to squeeze inside. He paused when he looked at the mark on the gate, a row of horizonal red lines.

“What does that look like to you?” Chad asked.

Romeo peered at the marks. “Paint.”

“Yeah, thought so, too … come on.”

The road on the other side was cracked, with potholes deep enough to break a leg. The fields on either side had grass up to Chad’s hips. The grass swayed in the wind, masking the sound of them trudging up the road.

Chad glanced at Romeo. “Stay behind me.”

The road turned off, but Chad kept going straight, using his phone to navigate the grass. They were going to leave tracks, but the mud beneath was hard, their shoes wouldn’t leave any prints, and with Romeo walking behind, he hoped it looked like there was only one of them. Tracks led around the building out of view, old and cracked, but definitely from a car.

The windows on the building were boarded up, moss and ivy had grown up the walls, but when they moved around the building to the door, the vines had been cut back.

“You sure?” Romeo said.

Chad nodded, using the edge of his shirt to open the door handle. Romeo bristled beside him, bending his legs, bunching up his shoulders, ready to attack if needed.

Chad yanked down the handle and swung open the door. He shone his phone light into the darkness, and blinked, before blinking again and again as his eyes streamed.

“Jesus.” Romeo said, tugging Chad back by his elbow. “I think my eyes are bleeding.”

---