38: Now or never

Terri stood behind a row of hedges, surveying Bryce’s two-story house made half out of windows. Though it was in a nice neighborhood with the homes big and a comfortable distance from each other, it still seemed simple for someone of his stature. With no fences or guards, the place looked completely unassuming.

Her stomach squirmed, and the biggest moment of doubt she’d felt since deciding to fly to Switzerland arrived. This was crazy. What if Bryce had security cameras or an alarm?

She took a deep breath looking around trying to confirm her suspicions. She had no idea if he did but in a mansion this big, she knew he must have a good number of them.

Chewing on her lip, she thought the matter over yet again. If she turned around and went home, she’d live to see another day, for sure. But would it be worth it?

What if Charlie never got a hold of the evidence he needed? Could she live the rest of her life knowing she hadn’t done everything possible to take Bryce down?

As she considered the matter, Bryce’s garage door started to open. Terri sucked in a breath. Now or never.

Keeping low, she darted across the street and into the bushes lining Bryce’s drive. A sedan slowly backed out of the garage. Through the windows, Terri saw a mop and bucket of cleaning supplies and a woman who looked over her shoulder as she navigated into the street.

It was another perfect moment that wouldn’t happen twice. Bursting from the trees, Terri ran into the garage, ducking so the door didn’t hit her on its way down.

The door finished closing. Darkness pressed in on all sides, and sticky, hot air clawed at her neck. Shuffling forward, she reached in front of her until she hit a wall. After some more bumping around, she finally located a light switch.

Yellow light flooded the garage, and Terri exhaled with relief. There were no other cars. The house was empty.

Pulling her hoodie as low over her face as it would go, she slowly opened the door leading into the house and poked her head into a laundry room. More silence.

Twenty minutes. That’s all she’d give herself. After that, she had to get out. No exceptions.

Excepting the laundry room she’d walked into, the house was an open space plan, with the kitchen merely an extension of the massive dining room. Licking her dry lips, she crossed through the kitchen and into another room that turned out to be an entertainment haven with a widescreen TV on the wall, couches, and a bar.

And one bookshelf.

Terri stared at it, every one of her nerves coming to life with crackling, almost painful energy.

According to Gigi, this was the bookshelf that led to Bryce’s secret room. All Terri needed to do was find the lever or button that would grant her access.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Almost there. This is easy now.”

So why did she sound on the verge of hyperventilation?

Her legs felt like lead, but she managed to move them forward one at a time. Skimming her fingers over the books, she started pulling them toward her one by one, like she was taking them out to read. Just like in the movies.

Which seemed kind of silly. That couldn’t really be how secret—

The distinct sound of a door unlocking pierced the air, and Terri gasped. The bookcase popped forward the slightest bit, revealing a side that had an inverted handle in it, like on a refrigerator.

Hands shaking, she pulled on the handle and opened the door. White walls with white steps between them curved down, presumably into a secret part of the basement.

Fear clawed its way up her chest and throat with the frenzy of a wild animal desperate to escape. She was exactly where she wanted to be, and yet she was sure she would faint any moment. What if she found something in the basement that made her regret all of this? It didn’t matter. She had to push forward.

Rolling her shoulders back and lifting her head, she descended the steps.

The room was another entertainment center, with gaming consoles and a pool table. It was the chest of drawers in the corner of the room that grabbed her attention, though.

She tried every drawer, but each was locked. They’d need to be broken into.

Spinning around, she searched the room for something heavy. A foot-long metal figurine of a dragon in the opposite corner would do the trick. She picked it up, but the lack of weight surprised her.

“Huh?”

She turned the figurine over, inspecting it. On the dragon’s belly was the door to a little compartment, much like there would be if it were a toy that took batteries.

Terri dug her fingernails into the door, and it popped off. Paper poked out of the dragon’s belly.

No, not paper. Photographs, from an instant camera.

She yanked the photos out, sour bile rising into her mouth. Each photo was of a different woman, dressed up in gowns and makeup just like she’d been in Vietnam.

Terri let out a choked noise, caught between disgust and elation. She’d found the evidence she needed.

Taking out her phone, she took a few pictures of the room, including the dragon in the spot she’d found it. There were a few missed calls on the phone, but she didn’t stop to see who they were from. It was probably Charlie freaking out.

Well, he’d be freaking out in a good way pretty soon.

Pocketing the phone, she jammed the photos back into the dragon, which she tucked under her arm, and sprinted up the stairs.

A grin stretching her face, she jogged across the room with the bookcase and into the kitchen. A sudden creak of the hardwood floor made her skid to a stop.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a man’s voice asked.

Bryce Shillings stood in the living room, right between Terri and the open front door, pointing a gun straight at her face.