Page 57 of Hidden Falls

Cruz had to move mops and a bucket out of the way inside a janitorial closet off the kitchen, revealing a steel panel painted the same mustard color as the inside of the storage space. Lei braced herself as he worked a combination on the door; they were going down to a bombproof basement “safe room” the drug dealer had built. She didn’t consider herself claustrophobic, but the idea of being trapped down there shortened her breath and made her palms sweat.

“You okay?” Cruz slanted a reassuring smile over his shoulder.

“Of course,” Harry said impatiently.

Lei gave a brief nod and practiced her relaxation breathing, rubbing the bone hook she carried in her pocket. The smooth natural material warmed under her fingers. Remembering what the hook stood for—the love between her and Stevens, the hope and joy of their life together—soothed her.

The door at the back of the closet opened with a little snick, revealing a small metal elevator with just enough room for the three of them to squeeze in. The air coming through the portal was chilly and smelled musty.

Lei followed the other two inside. She pressed against Harry and one wall in order to give Cruz room to turn around and push the button on the panel to take them down.

“It’s just one floor,” he said. “We’ll be there before you know it.”

And they were.

Lei squeezed the bone hook and barely held back from pushing past her companions to get out of the tiny steel box when the door panel drew back silently.

Cruz flicked on a light; a surprisingly large space bloomed into visibility.

Bunk beds lined a wall, a seating area surrounded an entertainment center, a kitchen and dining area filled a corner, and an office area lined with full bookshelves defined another.

“When we first opened up the place, we didn’t know what to expect. I’m pretty impressed with the setup, to be honest.” Cruz sniffed aloud. “Smell that?”

“I don’t smell anything,” Harry said.

“That’s my point. This is an entirely closed, secure bunker, but it’s got a great ventilation system. Six months’ worth of food and water are stored in the kitchen, too.” Cruz indicated a wall of water jugs and closed cabinets. “And it’s got its own satellite-enabled Wi-Fi and phone hookup, plus power source. No one is cutting this place off from power or communications.”

“Nice.” Harry followed Cruz as he headed for a computer console in the office corner.

Lei wanted to take it all in. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to survey the space.

A fake fireplace with flickering “flames” provided ambience in front of one of the couches; it had come on when Cruz hit the lights. Wall-mounted speakers would pipe in music, or the audio of movies. One area had been dedicated to a home gym with a treadmill and weights set and even a small trampoline. “They thought of everything.”

Cruz, already seating himself at the computer in the office area, nodded. “The guy wanted to be able to bring his family down here and be safe no matter the challenge.”

“I can understand that.” Lei’s home in Haiku was fireproof and carefully designed; if she could have afforded to build a bunker like this, she would have. The attacks on her family by unsubs with murder on their minds were hard to forget.

Harry grabbed a couple of folding chairs from where they rested beside the kitchen counter. “Come have a seat, Lei.”

Cruz shook his head. “I can’t work with you two lurking over me. There are a number of protocols I need to put in place before I reach out to my contact in the Ramirez establishment. Find something else to do for a while.”

Lei headed for the kitchen. “You hungry? Let’s break into some of those supplies.”

Harry shrugged. “Seems like we just ate.”

“Haven’t since morning,” Lei reminded her.

Her friend reluctantly followed Lei into the kitchen. Lei glanced over as Cruz put on a pair of headphones he produced from one of his cargo pockets and leaned forward, his fingers flying on the keyboard. Their friend Sophie engaged with her computers like that too, as if they were the cockpit of a spaceship and launched her into another universe.

The two women began opening cupboards. Harry snorted. “Yuck. Powdered eggs?”

Lei’s mind was still on Sophie. “Have you thought any more about giving Sophie and Security Solutions a call? They deal with your kind of situation all of the time.”

Harry frowned. “Not ready for that yet. We’ll go there if we have to.”

“Okay. Sophie’s a great hacker, though. Might be able to get eyes on Malia inside the house,” Lei said. She produced a box of powdered pancake mix. “Let’s make these. Easy comfort food.”

“I just want a cig.”

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