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I quietly steady the boards between the two buildings, forming a bridge. A terrifying bridge that could get me killed in more ways than one, but a bridge all the same. The moment I put my weight on them, they begin to wobble too much for me to stand. The only way I can get across is to crawl on my hands and knees. I have to bite my lip to keep from screaming out in fear and alerting the men below. Somehow, after what feels like an eternity of holding my breath and bracing myself to plummet to my death, I make it to the other side.
I run up to the rickety old wooden door, but it creaks and whines when I pull it up just a few inches. It’s too loud to open. If I was a guard, I’d definitely investigate a noise like that. Then I hear train whistles in the distance and sit back to wait for my chance. As the train roars past, sounding like a tornado, I fling the door back under the muffled sound and stick my foot inside to test the opening. It feels like hollow metal beneath my foot, and then I spot the pulley system. Feeling around in the black hole, convinced some rodent is going to bite my hand off, I manage to find a handle and pull the top door open.
It’s definitely a laundry chute, but the box is small and terrifying. I have no idea what kind of condition it’s in. I have to brace myself for a moment and face the reality that if I step inside, I am seriously risking my life. But if I don’t? If I pass up my chance to gather whatever evidence I could find against Theo inside? He’ll do everything he can to come between my mom and Brendan and to tear Emmett and me apart. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows what shape the people I love will be left in by the time he’s done.
The Elites are already out to kill me, I tell myself finally. So I might as well make a go for it in the name of a good cause. With a deep breath, I crawl into the small metal box and use the pulley to begin lowering myself down. I pass through several floors of nothing before finally hearing the laughter and noise of the gambling party growing closer.
Each new floor I come to only shows some empty closet or maintenance room that connects to the chute, so I have no idea where I should get out at or what will be waiting for me on the other side when I do. Thinking it’s better to sneak my way into whatever is out there by foot rather than drop in on it from this little box, I stop before the sounds of people get any closer.
I quietly step out into a gray room with concrete floors and shelves lined with dusty cleaning supplies. A bright fluorescent light blinks from the ceiling. I st
op at the door for a moment to make sure I won’t be walking into a room full of people on the other side. It seems quiet enough, so I slowly crack it open. But the first thing I see in the distance is a pair of legs. I immediately shut the door and lock it, stepping back in a panic.
Okay, Ophelia. This is not going to work. You don’t know your way around this building at all and you’re going to get yourself killed. Maybe it’s another dead end. But then I look up and see the opening for the air vents. I’ve seen this in movies. Sometimes it works perfectly, other times it goes terribly wrong. But it’s a viable means of secret transportation through a building, so I’ll give it a try.
Using a stack of crates and boxes, I climb up to the vent and pop it open before climbing inside. I army crawl through until I finally come to a series of rooms where various poker games and other forms of gambling are being held. But there’s no sight of Theo. I’ve come this far. I can’t give up now.
I keep crawling, studying each room as it passes. Until finally I’ve reached some back offices. I see a room for counting money and then another with a line of TV monitors for men to keep watch over the games, ensuring that no one is cheating. Whatever would happen to a suspected cheater would probably happen to me if I was caught in here, so I take it as an extra reminder to be as careful as possible. The guards in there don’t look like the kind of guys you want to be on the bad side of.
As I’m passing an empty hall, I almost don’t even stop to look out. But a figure catches in the corner of my eye. It’s Theo, walking back to one of the offices. I wait a minute for him to walk past, then do my best to turn around in the tight space and follow after him. He makes the rounds through all of the important rooms, checking in on the TV monitors and then the money counting room. He pockets some of the cash in there and says something to the guys, but I can’t hear what it is.
One thing is certain. He is moving and talking like he owns this joint or is at least very heavily involved in the organization of it. That’s exactly the kind of thing I need proof of. It’s even better than I hoped for. I wonder if this has anything to do with all of those eager, generous investors he’s been talking about?
I follow Theo around on his business for a while, snapping pictures all the way. When I’ve taken as many as I dare, I try to remember my way back to the room I entered through. After a few wrong turns and panicked moments of thinking I’ll be stuck in here forever, I finally find the closet where the laundry chute pulley is waiting for me. I climb in and pull my way back up, thinking the entire time that this is when the line will finally snap and send me hurtling through the building straight to the hard floor below.
But thankfully, I make my way back to the roof and even back across the wooden boards to where I started from, safe and sound. I go back into the empty building and I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ve truly managed to pull this off as I go out the side door. I start marching back to my car when suddenly, someone calls out to me.
“Hey! Miss! Stop!” a deep bellowing voice yells in the darkness.
I ignore it and start walking faster, but I can hear him pick up the pace behind me, still shouting for me to stop. My heart pounds as I think this is it. I’ve been caught. Just as I break into a full-on running pace, the man grabs me by the arm and whips me around.
“What are you doing here?” he demands.
“I…I’m just out for a run. Now let me go or I’ll scream,” I stammer, wishing I sounded less guilty.
He squints his eyes at me, trying to determine if he believes me or not. But finally, his face softens as he straightens his suit jacket, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Sorry, miss. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay,” I shrug, swallowing a hard lump in my throat before sprinting off back to my car.
I start driving as soon as I’m inside, not feeling safe again until I’m almost back home. My hands are still shaking when I pull off into a parking lot and pull out my cell phone to make a call.
“Ophelia? Is everything okay?”
“Coach Granger,” I answer. “I need to ask you something. Do you still have that contact on the police force? The detective or whoever you said could be trusted?”
“Detective Williams?” he asks. “Yeah, but what’s going on?”
I sigh, not quite sure where to start. “It’s my biological dad. Theo Nickelson. I have some information that ties him to this underground illegal gambling ring and I want to turn him in.”
The line falls silent for a moment. “You want to turn in your own father?” he puzzles. “Ophelia…are you sure? Sure, it’s illegal gambling. But do you really want to take the man out just for that?”
“That’s not the worst he’s done by far, believe me,” I huff. “It’s just the only thing I have any proof on. Can you help? Can you put me in touch with Detective Williams?”
Finally, Coach Granger is convinced enough to give me his friend’s number. I call him immediately and find out where to send my photo evidence to. After hanging up, I go home for some much-needed sleep. I can hardly wait for the news to come that Theo has been busted.
21
