The Case of the Owl Feathers, a Gold Key, and Dead Chrysanthemums
Chapter 23: June and B.L.AiR., her Ai companion solve a mystery
It was pitch dark as Samantha picked me up from the alley behind the house. I felt like I was in a mystery movie — the nail-biting-prickly-skin kind — where I’m tempted to duck under my seat. Especially when the last time I trespassed, I was caught and only barely escaped by my wits.
“Hi June,” said Sam as I climbed in.
“Good evening, Sam.” My voice belied a breathless thrill on top of tingling nerves. I felt my purse strapped against my side — a reassuring feeling.
“Are you ready for this?”
“Sure. If you are.”
She threaded her way through light traffic to the office and parked in the employee lot. She took out her electronic pass from her pocket.
“Let’s go,” she said.
I took a deep breath and followed her through the front door into the airy lobby. There was a guard behind the reception desk who greeted us.
“Good evening, Miss Mateson. What are you doing here so late?”
“Ah, good evening, Charles. I was out with my friend and realized I had forgotten something in my office that I needed. We won’t be but a minute.”
“Okay, but I’m going to have to ask you to log in.”
We signed the register. I made up a name, not wanting to use my real name for fear of causing a red flag. Using the coded pass, we took the elevator up to the top floor and made our way along the carpeted hallway to the office marked Mr. George Mateson, CEO.
“I hope he doesn’t notice that we went to the wrong floor. My office is on the 10th floor, not the top.”
“Ya, well, we should probably be quick, whatever we do.” I looked through the windows as we passed office doors. I noticed a cleaning staff person working in one of the rooms.
“Hey, we’ve got company up here.” I pointed out the cleaning person to Sam.
“Shit. I wasn’t expecting that.”
We let ourselves into her dad’s office. Not wanting to draw attention, we used the flashlights on our phones to navigate to the desk. Sam sat down in front of the computer and powered it up. While she concentrated on entering the password, I hunted around while keeping a watch by the door. “What do we do if the cleaning people want to get in here?”
“Lock the door.” I saw someone in uniform coming down the hallway and quieted my breathing.
I whispered, “Someone’s coming down the hall. Put out your light.”
“I’m in. I need time to find the files.” She threw her coat around the computer to block the light emanating from the screen.
The person bypassed the door and continued down the hallway. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until noticed pressure in my chest. I took a big breath in. Whew.
“It was a cleaning person who passed by. They are still moving around up here. We need to hurry.”
“I’ve located the file, but I can’t open it. I’m going to download it to my thumb drive and try it at home.”
“Okay, just hurry up will ya.”
“Fast as I can.” I heard her rapidly entering keystrokes, and then a short beep.
“Got it. Let’s go.”
I opened the door slightly and peered up and down the hall. Nobody coming.
“All clear. Let’s go.” We crept out into the hallway heading toward the elevator. There was the sound of a door opening. Sam quickly motioned me into the nearest office, and quietly closed the door behind us. In the dark, I knocked into a chair with my shin. I felt an instant sharp pain and squelched an involuntary yelp by covering my mouth with my hands.
My heart seemed to beat loudly in my ears as I silently rubbed my leg. We were standing close together, in the dark. I leaned in toward her a little bit. She reached up and pulled a strand of my hair back, which had fallen in my face. I felt a thrill shiver through me. The combination of her hands touching me — and the fear of being found it — was too much for me to handle. I pulled away.
The sound of footsteps receded down the hallway. We again entered the hall and made it to the elevator and across the lobby.
“Have a good rest of the evening Miss Mateson,” said the guard nodding to us as we left. With purposely sedate movements, we calmly walked to the car.
“We pulled it off, June. But I’m so hyped up, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep for a while, and I do want to continue trying to get into this file. Shall we adjourn to an after-hours place, or what?”
“I need to get home. After all that’s happened lately, my dad will be worried sick, and I just don’t want to put him through that.”
“Okay, I’ll drop you home.” She pulled out of the parking lot and headed for my place. We double-parked in the alley behind my house for a moment. Nobody was moving about.
“Let me know as soon as you find out anything.”
“Oh, for sure.” She reached out and gave me a quick hug, and I got out and waved good night.
She waited until I was safely inside. I felt closer to Sam than ever after sharing this little clandestine affair and smiled. I was feeling some new feelings, and a thrill that more was yet to come. Sam was so fun to be around. Things were getting complicated between us, and I knew it, but I felt drawn to her whenever I was around her.
For the next installment, read here.