He frowned and then stared around the room. “You’re right. There should be. But there isn’t.”
“You know, it was always rumoured that the gangsters had secret rooms and hidden escape tunnels. Maybe Greyson has one in this place.” She got up and began pushing the bench aside, stamping the floor with her foot, listening for a change in sound that might indicate a tunnel.
Ryne joined in the search, checking out the centre area of the room, then moving aside a table. Melody was near the window when her stomping produced a hollow, drum like sound. They both looked at each other and grinned.
Melody dropped to her knees and Ryne rushed over to help her, both running their fingers over the floor, searching for a seam or finger hold. Soon they were pulling back a section of floor board.
“You were right!” Ryne smiled up at Mel as he lifted the heavy wooden panel. It revealed a dark tunnel leading to somewhere under the shed. He lay flat on his stomach and peered into the darkness. “It looks like there’s a room down here. I’ll go and check it out. You wait here.”
Mel nodded in agreement. Usually she’d balk at being left behind, but she didn’t like dark closed-in spaces and was still feeling a bit off. Just this once, she’d let Ryne have the fun.
After a moment, his voice echoed up at her. “It’s a short tunnel and then there’s a room at the end. I think there’s also a way out through the sewer.”
The sewer? She wrinkled her nose at the idea, picturing creepy crawly things and filth. “I’m not so sure about that, Ryne. There are probably rats down there.”
“Ah, come on!” His voice held a teasing quality. “You’re a big bad wolf now. You’re not going to let little rodents best you.”
“I’m not a werewolf!”
Ryne appeared at the entrance to the tunnel, shaking his head. “You’ll have to face the fact sooner or later.”
She folded her arms and gave him a mutinous stare.
“All right. We’ll leave it for now.” He rolled his eyes and held out his hand. “Come on down, Melody, and don’t worry. I’m big and bad enough for both of us. No rat in its right mind would bother me.”
Reluctantly, she sat down and dangled her feet into the hole. “Whoever said rats are in their right mind?”
Chapter 38
Aldrich slowly drove through the massive gates that marked the entrance of the Greyson estate and made his way to the safe room at the back of the property. He’d gone to his apartment to gather the small tool box he used to maintain his various listening devices and surveillance cameras. After all, he’d told Greyson he was adjusting the equipment, and he wouldn’t put it past the man to check up on him.
Yes, Greyson was a suspicious bastard, but then he wouldn’t have gotten where he was any other way. It was a cut-throat world and Aldrich had a grudging respect for his employer in that regard. On the other hand, the man was cold-hearted, arrogant, and likely to turn on you the minute you let your guard down. At present he was in Greyson’s good graces, but it was a tenuous position at best. Greyson made a bad enemy, so Aldrich had sucked up, kowtowed, and carried out every task the man had set before him.
But not anymore. Melody Greene was going to be his ticket out. She was a werewolf and if Greyson was interested in werewolves then there had to be money in it somehow. Money was the only language Greyson understood. Some even rumoured that his heart was a bank vault. Well if that was the case, Leon Aldrich was about to make a personal withdrawal. He’d take the girl and tuck her away in his cottage—after all, he wasn’t getting to use the place for relaxation as he’d planned that weekend; he might as well make some use of the expensive piece of property. Once she was secured, he could start putting out feelers among his old contacts, people associated with the black market who would know where he could get the greatest profit from her sale. Private collectors, scientists... Who knew where there might be a market for such a specimen?
Alternatively, he could keep her. Put her on display, charge admission, even rent her out... Briefly he’d considered the idea but then decided against it. A quick turn over would be the easiest way. Aldrich had a feeling that Greyson would be less than pleased when he realized Ms. Greene never returned with a report. If he had the money from her sale stashed away, he could leave at a moment’s notice if it appeared Greyson was going to lay the blame on him.
A less clever person would try to disappear along with Ms. Greene, but Aldrich knew if he suddenly quit, Greyson would be suspicious. It was better to stay around for a few months and then hand in a carefully worded resignation before slipping away to enjoy the fruit of his labours.