Part 118 (2/2)
”Get the kids, take the dog for a walk.”
”A walk?”
”On the beach, honey. We can see Bluff House, maybe keep an eye on things.”
Her hand squeezed his. ”Good thinking.”
Eli unlocked the side door of Bluff House, quickly reset the alarm before turning to Abra. ”Be sure.”
”Stop it.” With that, she led the way to the bas.e.m.e.nt. ”It's barely ten after six. We were fast.”
Once the door shut behind them, Eli switched on his flashlight to lead the way down and through the pa.s.sage. It could take minutes, he thought, or hours. But he went with the odds. ”He'll probably wait until dusk, maybe even dark, figuring he has all night.”
”Whatever it takes.” She edged behind the shelves with him and into the pa.s.sage.
For now they used the overhead light. Abra took her position on the steps to check the laptop monitor and the nanny cam they'd set up on the third floor. Eli checked the video camera once again as he contacted Sherrilyn.
”We're inside the pa.s.sage.”
”No movement from Suskind yet. I'll let you know when and if.”
”It'll be when.”
”Positive thinking,” Abra approved when Eli put the phone away.
”He sure as h.e.l.l didn't come back here to surf or sunbathe. This is his goal, this is his chance to try for it again. Once he leaves Sandcastle, we go to dark.”
”And all quiet, like a submarine. I've got it, Eli. If he goes to the third floor, the nanny cam will record him. If he comes down here, and that's most likely, we do. The sun sets in less than two hours, if he waits that long. We've probably got some time to pa.s.s.”
And now they were closed in, without even enough room to pace off the tension.
”Should've brought a deck of cards,” he commented. ”Since we didn't, why don't you tell me how you'd do a yoga studio if you had one.”
”Oh, hopes and dreams? I can pa.s.s lots of time that way.”
She pa.s.sed less than an hour before she stopped, angled her head. ”Is that the phone? The house phone?”
”Yeah. It could be anyone.”
”Or it could be him, just making sure n.o.body's here.” She shook her head when the faint ringing stopped. ”We can't hear from down here if the caller's leaving a message.”
Moments later, the phone vibrated in Eli's pocket.
”He's on the move,” Sherrilyn told him. ”Carrying a large duffel. He's going to use his car. Just stay on the line a minute, let me see how he plays it.”
Eli repeated the statement in a whisper to Abra, and watching her eyes, saw them light with antic.i.p.ation.
<script>