Fallen Angel (Detectives Kane and Alton) - Page 23

Her friend seemed to consider her words, the hairdryer stilling and twirling just above the suds. She pushed wet hair from her face with trembling fingers. “Tell me what you want.”

“An apology would have been nice.” The hairdryer dropped another inch. “Or an acknowledgement in your book.”

Sucking in a breath, Kitty lifted her chin. Oh, she’d get even. How dare this person treat her like this? She’d call the cops the moment her friend left.

“You don’t believe I’ll drop it do you?” The hairdryer brushed the suds sending foam blowing into the air like snowflakes. “I’d like to see you fry in hot oil. In fact, it’s been a fantasy of mine for some time, but I guess water will just have to do.”

Suddenly very afraid, Kitty watched the air from the hairdryer make holes in the suds. Teeth chattering, she looked up at her friend. “If you insist. I’m—”

“Too late.” With a wide grin, her friend let go of the cord.

Horrified, Kitty opened her mouth to scream just as the hairdryer splashed into the water.

Twenty

After supper Jenna followed Kane, Emily, Julie, and Rio into the elevator. “I’m ready to get back to work. What about you?” She looked at Kane.

“There’s nothing else we can do until Wolfe completes the autopsies and we hear back from Bobby Kalo.” Kane shrugged. “We’ll just have to put up with all this luxury.”

Plunged into darkness without a warning, the cab dropped. Brakes shrieked before the elevator bounced to a stop, throwing everyone in all directions. Jenna moved around on hands and knees. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah.” Kane touched her shoulder. “Give me your hand.”

Jenna grabbed hold and was pulled to her feet. “Em? Julie?” She peered into the dark, seeing nothing at all. “Zac?”

“We’re okay.” Emily’s voice came out of the pitch black.

“I’m good.” Rio had tumbled into Jenna as they fell. “Are you? Sorry I trod all over you.”

“I’m fine.” Jenna fumbled for her phone and lit up the space with her flashlight. “What the hell happened?”

“The power’s out is all.” Kane’s voice was calm and steady. “Don’t worry, the backup generator will kick in soon, unless there’s a fire or it’s an electrical fault. They have many backups in the resort. Power problems on a mountain in freezing temperatures are normal.”

“Normal?” Jenna stared at him. “I thought the elevator cable had broken.”

“It’s fine, don’t panic.” Kane squeezed her hand. “Trust me, okay? We’re not in any danger.”

The elevator moved, dropped, and then settled again. Julie let out a wail, phones hit the floor, and everyone hung on, anchoring themselves to the handrail. Unease crept over Jenna. She bent to retrieve her phone. “What’s happening? That can’t be normal.”

“The falling is normal. This is a new building and the elevators would be fitted with a braking system that doesn’t require power. Once the cab goes over a certain speed, the brakes engage.” Kane smiled at her. “The reason we moved again is because it also has a battery backup that takes us down to the closest floor. It only works once and often doesn’t open the doors.” He looked at the girls. “We’ll hang tight for a few minutes. It depends what’s happened. As the power didn’t come on straight away, there may be a bigger problem. They might have to find the cause before they turn everything back on.”

“And just how do they do that? This place is massive.” Julie’s face looked pale. “I hate enclosed spaces. It comes from being buried alive.”

“You were what?” Rio looked at her astonished.

“Long story.” Julie shrugged.

“There’ll be a circuit board somewhere and they’ll check for the fault.” Kane smiled at Julie. “Once they locate the fault, they’ll turn on everything in sections. But if you’re worried, I’ll open the doors and we’ll take the stairs.”

“Please open the doors, Uncle Dave.” Julie looked frantic. “I can’t breathe in here.”

“Sure.” Kane turned to Rio. “Give me a hand.” He dug his fingers into the seal on the door.

Keeping the girls to the back of the cab, Jenna held her breath as both men, heaved the door open a few inches before it snapped shut again. She pulled off her boot and when they slid it open again, she stuck the heel into the gap. “Hang on, I’ll get down under you and help.” She dropped to her knees, and with the three of them, they forced the doors back, and Kane used his back on one side and foot on the other to hold the doors open as they all ducked out under his leg.

“That was harder than I

thought it would be.” Kane frowned. “I couldn’t get any leverage. They need to leave a crowbar or something in the elevator in an emergency pane.”

Tags: D.K. Hood Mystery
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