Page 15 of The Girl He Wanted

The climbing gym was a large, industrial building among a cluster of other, similar buildings, with a bright sign out front advertising its name. Paige could hear the sound of music and people laughing as they got closer. She wondered how many of them were aware of the brutal murders that had happened in their town. Some of them had to be, surely, when one of the climbing club's members was one of the victims. Yet that didn’t seem to do anything to stop them from enjoying themselves.

It was so strange sometimes that normal life could simply keep going in spite of the horrors that occurred near people. Or maybe that was just the way people worked, trying to keep things as normal as possible as a way of coping with everything that was happening.

They pulled up in front of the gym and headed inside. As they entered the gym, Paige saw a series of large climbing walls with people clustered around them. There were mats on the floor and ropes hanging down from the ceiling. It looked like the people there were having a lot of fun, but Paige was more serious. They were there on business. They were there to find a suspect and question him.

There was a reception desk at the front of the gym, made from what had been constructed to look like one huge, shaped slab of rock. Paige approached it while Christopher hung back, surveying the area, obviously keeping a lookout for Jack Reynolds.

Paige could see a young woman, probably in her early twenties, sitting behind the desk. She had short, dark, curly hair, and she was typing something into a computer. The woman behind the desk looked up as Paige approached.

"Hi, can I help you?" the woman asked, smiling.

"We're looking for Jack Reynolds," Paige said, showing her FBI badge.

The woman thought for a moment or two before nodding. "Yeah, he's here. He's on the wall over there right now. Do you want me to call him down for you?"

"No, we'll go to him and wait until he's done," Paige said. If they called for him, that gave him too much time to get down off the wall and get away if he was the killer. It was better to wait at the bottom of the wall he was using, where he wouldn’t be able to get away. She turned to Christopher. "Let's go."

They made their way over to the climbing wall the receptionist had indicated, where a group of people were watching as a man made his way up to the top of what looked like a particularly difficult wall to climb. Paige spotted Jack Reynolds immediately, currently making his way around an overhang as easily as if he were out for a stroll. He was tall and lean, with a shock of blond hair held in place by a sweatband and a focused expression on his face as he climbed.

"Now, do we call him, or do we wait for him to finish?" Paige asked.

Since she and Christopher were at the base of the wall, covering his escape routes, she couldn't see how Reynolds could get away. It might be easiest just to wait and would make the questions they had to ask him seem a little less hostile. On the other hand, they had to push forward with this case. If Reynolds didn’t turn out to be the killer, could they really waste time here waiting?

"I don't want to wait," Christopher said. "Jack Reynolds! This is the FBI! Come down! We need to speak with you!"

It should have been enough to get Reynolds to climb back to them, or at least stop and talk. Instead, Paige saw the panicked expression on his face, followed by a flash of determination.

Paige saw Jack Reynolds start to climb faster. He swung up along the climbing wall with the speed and ease of a monkey, heading for the rafters … and a window that would let him out into the outside world.

Paige's heart raced as she watched Jack Reynolds climb with a newfound sense of urgency. She knew that they had to act fast if they were going to catch him. If they hesitated any longer, they were going to lose him.

Paige and Christopher exchanged glances, both realizing what was happening. Reynolds was making a run for it.

Without hesitation, Paige took off after him. There was no other choice. She could hear Christopher below, but she didn't dare look back. Her heart was racing as she chased Reynolds up the wall, climbing as quickly as she could, her fingers reaching out to grab at his ankles.

Reynolds was quick, but Paige was determined. She pulled herself up the wall, her muscles straining with the effort. It helped that she didn’t have to stick to particular hand and footholds, the way the climbers did when making their way along a route, but even so, it was hard work. She was almost there, her fingers brushing against Reynolds's leg, when he made a sudden move, kicking her hand away.

Paige lost her grip and fell, her body slamming into the mats below. She felt a sharp pain in her chest, and for a moment, she couldn't breathe. She gasped for air, clutching at her ribs as she tried to stand up.

Christopher was already at her side, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice tight with emotion.

Paige was on her feet again then. She could see Reynolds clambering out of the window he'd been trying to get to, and she ran over to the receptionist.

"I need another way onto that roof, right now."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Paige ran up the stairs leading to the roof, taking them two at a time. She knew that there was no time to lose if she was going to catch up to Jack Reynolds. Not when he already had a head start. Christopher was a little behind her, also moving quickly.

There was a door at the top of the stairs, leading out onto the roof. Paige approached it without slowing down.

Paige pushed the door open and stepped out into the bright sunlight, reflecting from the glass of multiple windows to allow light through into the climbing gym. She could see Jack Reynolds up ahead, running along the rooftop towards the far edge, still with plenty of ground to cover over ducts and old chimneys. She sprinted after him, her heart hammering in her chest.

Reynolds vaulted over a duct smoothly, with all the grace of a parkour expert, barely breaking his stride to do it. Paige watched him in awe for a brief moment, admiring the way he moved. But then she remembered why he might be fleeing, and her sense of purpose returned. Why would he run if he wasn’t the murderer?

She pushed herself harder and followed suit, leaping over the duct as she continued after him. Her movement wasn't as smooth as his, but it didn't slow her down. Behind her, she heard the sound of Christopher clearing the same duct with a clatter, his heavier frame making it impossible to do it quietly.

Ahead of her, Reynolds was moving faster than ever, desperation seeming to lend him speed. He was almost at the edge of the roof now, and Paige could see him looking down at what lay beyond.

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