Page 57 of Abandoned

Logan tapped Will’s arm. “I’ll keep knocking, you go see if you can look in her windows.”

He agreed, and AJ went with him. Jared and Becca looked around the parking lot and surrounding area for any indication something was amiss.

Nothing seemed strange around the building. When they reached the back, Will noted that the air conditioning unit wasn’t running. The blinds were all closed. But he and AJ tried to look anyway.

AJ moved to the side and tried at the bedroom window. “Will!”

He darted around to join her.

She pointed at the window. “Look.”

The blinds were slanted down, and he couldn’t see much, but there on the floor, Zara’s lamp lay broken.

There had been a struggle of some sort.

Will met AJ’s eyes.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I’ll call the fire station unless you have a crowbar. I could get the door open with a crowbar.”

“I should have one.”

They ran to the front. Will went straight to his truck and retrieved the tool. He met AJ at the door, where she was telling Logan what they’d seen. She took the crowbar from him.

He felt stupid letting the woman do the work, but she was the firefighter.

She slammed the end of the crowbar against the door at strategic spots, then wedged the end into the slight opening. She couldn’t get it in far enough. “I need something to help smash this in or I need a smaller wedge.”

Logan spun around and picked up a large stone from the landscaping. “Here. Hold it. I’ll hammer.”

Working together like Will hadn’t seen them do in years, Logan gave the end of the crowbar a few good whacks. Then together, Logan and AJ pulled the crowbar until they broke the lock and the jamb.

They repositioned the crowbar and pulled again. The door opened farther.

Will moved around them and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

The alarm only beeped. It was set to “at home.”

He switched on the hallway light. Nothing appeared out of place here, but the apartment was hot and stuffy. As far as he could guess, the air conditioning hadn’t been running all night.

“Zara?” Where was she? Was she here? Was she okay?

No response.

Will walked down the hall and spotted Zara’s sweater on the kitchen counter. “Zara?”

Nothing else noteworthy stood out until he turned the corner into the bedroom.

Her purse lay on the floor beside the broken lamp. Next, he spotted her dress, ripped.

His heart plummeted to the floor. Where was she? Was she hurt? “Zara?”

The bathroom door. It was boarded up. Six 2x4s were screwed into the door in a latticed pattern. Three ran vertical against the door, and the other three crossed them screwed into each board as well as the door frame.

“Zara?” Was she inside?

“Will?” Her voice was weak and hoarse.

She was alive! “Zara! Are you okay?” He grabbed a board and pulled, but nothing happened. It wouldn’t budge.