Page 26 of To Catch a Sub

Landon rose. “Please.”

Ten minutes later, they were in a nondescript corridor on the museum’s lower level, standing side-by-side in the open door of a large office. The office was cluttered with several desks, a wall of open cubbies stuffed with purses and bags, and cardboard boxes containing glossy pamphlets.

“This is the volunteer center,” Colette said. “Where people store things, or where volunteers help with admin tasks or event prep.”

No one had mentioned this place before now. Colette was a quiet wealth of knowledge, and Landon was starting to think meeting her was the best luck he’d had since being assigned to this case.

This particular corridor was accessed via a door tucked around the corner from the lower-level bathrooms. The door required keycard access, so volunteers had to ask to be let in by a security guard or staff member. He’d had a brief chat with the guard stationed in this area, and they’d gone over how the lower level was usually patrolled. Usually volunteers would simply wait at the door until the guard’s route brought him by, then he’d let the volunteer in and continue on his rounds.

“Were you a volunteer before you started working here?”

“No. And my internship is almost up. But I spend all my time either here or in class, so I got to know a lot of volunteers.”

“When did you start your internship?”

She gave him a date two months after the first auction listing had been posted. He was vaguely ashamed that he’d even entertained the idea that she was the thief. Suspecting everyone was part of his job, but the feelings of familiarity, and yes, lust, he felt for her made the rightful suspicion uncomfortable.

Landon looked up and down the hall. “All these doors have electronic locks, and even if one were left open, these are primarily administrative offices and meeting rooms. No artifact storage.” He glanced at Colette, raising one brow. “Right?”

A small smiled played at the corner of her mouth. The nervous awkwardness was gone, and he had the oddest feeling that they were playing a fun little game together, like kids on a scavenger hunt.

“You’d think so, but follow me.”

He did, wishing her boxy jacket didn’t come down low enough to mostly obscure her ass.

The corridor made a sharp left, and the environment changed from modern office to historic building. The entire museum complex was a melding of new and old, and in most places they blended seamlessly. Here it was abrupt, from concrete to wood floors, and modern white walls to yellowed plaster with electrical conduit running along the ceiling and floor, occasionally branching up or down for a plug box or round light switch. It needed a coat of paint, and the carpet runner was threadbare, but there was a security camera several meters down, so it wasn’t entirely neglected.

Colette stopped by a heavy wood door. There was a black rectangle of a keycard reader mounted above the knob. She raised her own badge, which was clipped to her jacket, and the light flashed red.

“I don’t rank high enough to have access.”

“I see that.”

“But some of these older doors don’t fit in their frames quite right, and the digital locks don’t work because of it. I heard that sometimes even people with access can’t get them open.”

Landon groaned. “So they leave them unlocked?” He reached for the round brass knob. It turned in his hand, but the door didn’t open.

“No. Not unlocked.” Colette crouched, and he followed suit.

Hidden in the shadow of the bulky black box of the reader was a keyhole.

“Easy to pick,” he said, examining the old-style lock.

“I don’t know about that, but…” Colette reached down and tugged up the edge of the carpet runner, revealing a key.

Landon leaned to the side and thunked his head against the wall several times.

Colette let out that wonderful throaty laugh. Keeping his head against the wall, he turned to look at her.

Her lips twitched, but she cleared her throat and got her expression under control, picking the key up and offering it to him.

“I can’t bear to do it,” he groaned, earning another laugh.

Colette fitted the key in the lock and twisted. The keycard reader hampered the turn radius a little, and she had to twist and wiggle the key, but after a moment she got it unlocked.

She twisted the knob, and leaned into the door to push it open.

Landon rose, checked his urge to be a gentleman and let her enter first, and went inside.