“Does anyone fall for that these days?” I asked. It made me think of a girl tied to railroad tracks by a man with a handlebar mustache and a fiendish laugh.
“I don’t know, but I think if I heard a woman crying for help, I’d at least investigate.”
“I suppose if I heard a man crying for help, I would too.”
A wry smile tugged at his lips. “I assume you have a better plan?”
“I have a spell that should work,” I said. It was one of Bronwen’s spells. I’d watched her cast it a few times over the years, though I’d never tried it myself. “It’s all in the bloodlines,” she used to tell me when I hesitated to try something new. “The blood of the Wildes runs through our veins. Your only enemies are lack of confidence and fear of failure.” And Detective Duggan, I would have added.
Travis shook his head. “‘Should work?’ Damsel in distress is sounding better by the minute. I think we’ll keep it on deck just in case.”
“I don’t intend to fail,” I said firmly and got out of the car. I must have been convincing, because he seemed a bit more at ease. At least one of us was. In a best case scenario, I would have been able to try the spell once before casting it. But we were out in public and I didn’t know how to downsize the spell to produce a tiny image that wouldn’t bring the fire trucks roaring to save the day. They’d be receiving a call soon enough.
Travis locked the car and joined me. “Exactly what does this spell do?” he asked as we headed north on Franklin Street.
I zipped my parka against the headwind and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “It creates a temporary vision.”
“You mean it makes people see things that aren’t there?”
“Yes.”
“What vision do you have in mind?”
“Fire. We need the cop on duty to leave the apartment unguarded long enough for you to slip in, find the thumb drive, and slip out again. Fire is our best bet.”
“The fire station is only a few blocks away,” Travis said, frowning as he considered it.
“The cop will call it in and evacuate the building. I’ll have to be in and out of the apartment in less than five. Not easy, but doable. I think I remember where Ryan kept the drives. How long will the vision last?”
“Ten minutes,” I estimated. I’d never clocked Bronwen’s visions. “But it will start to deteriorate before then.”
“Just to be clear, there isn’t any chance of a real fire?”
“No, it’s all about tricking the brain. Of course you’ll have to keep reminding yourself it’s not real. You’d be surprised how hard it is to run into a fire even when you know it can’t hurt you.” I spoke from experience, having tried it as a child.
When we reached the apartment building, a police cruiser was parked at the curb. We’d been walking quickly, but before opening the outer glass door of the building, we both stopped and inhaled deeply as if girding ourselves for our first foray into crime. If anyone happened to be watching, our little routine probably looked choreographed.
“You’ve got this?” Travis asked me.
“I’ve got it.” Failure could mean jail and a criminal record, so it was simply not an option. We walked in, passed through the second glass door, and emerged in the lobby, which was mercifully warm and windless.
“Anyone who sees us is a potential witness,” Travis whispered. “Don’t make eye contact. If we act like we’re having a serious conversation, most people will respect our personal space and look away.”
“Are you a reporter or a psychologist?” I whispered back.
“You’d be surprised what you learn in this business.”
The elevator was straight ahead of us, but Travis took my arm and steered me to the right where a door was labeled STAIRS. “Taking the elevator could be risky,” he said. “If there are other people on it, they’ll have time to get a good look at us. And they’ll see where we get off.”
“Stairs it is.”
When we stepped out of the stairwell, Travis opened the door to the third floor as quietly as he could and peered out. “The hallway’s clear. How close do you have to be to cast the spell?”
“I don’t have to be all that close, but I need to get a peek at Ryan’s apartment, at least the door, in order to visualize it properly. After that I can do the rest out of sight.”
“It’s going to be a challenge.We don’t want the cop on duty to see you while you’re getting your peek. Fortunately, the hallway turns a corner before we reach the apartment. We just have to hope the cop is facing the other way long enough for you to poke your head around the corner and see the door. Will that do?”
“It has to.” I gave myself a silent pep talk. Believe in your power; fear nothing.
“Okay, let’s go.” Travis took the lead. I followed close behind him.
At the corner, he turned to me. “There’s no sense in us both risking a look. It has to be you.”
“What if he’s looking right back at me? Shouldn’t we have a plan for that?”
“Sometimes you have to stop thinking and just act.”
“Right.” It was now or never. I moved my head as close as I could to the corner of the wall and took a quick look. I drew my head back so fast I slammed into Travis, who’d inched up behind me. When I turned around, he was holding his nose, his eyes watering from the pain. “Sorry, I’m so sorry,” I mouthed. “Are you all right?”
He nodded, but I was pretty sure he just wanted to keep me from going on about it. He was already retreating to the stairs. “Well?” he asked, once we were safely behind the door.
“He didn’t see me. He was doing something with his cell phone. He wasn’t anyone I knew either. But I did get a good look at the door. It’s beige and could use a new coat of paint. The apartment number was black wrought iron and there was a peephole. Details help. Should I start the spell?”
“The sooner the better.”
I closed my eyes, focusing on the image still fresh in my mind.
Fire crack and fire leap,
Fire hiss and fire sizzle.
Smell the smoke and see the flame.
Trick the eye and fool the brain.
No harm come and nothing burn.
When I’d repeated the spell for the third time, Travis stepped into the hallway to listen for sounds of activity. He ducked right back inside. “Sounds like the cop’s running down the hall, banging on doors to get people out. They’ll all be using the stairs. You need to go now and wait in the car like we planned.”
“Good luck,” I said, hating to leave. What if something went wrong and he needed me? “Maybe—”
“Now, Kailyn!” He cut off my argument by making his way back into the hall as the first tenants were rushing into the stairwell. I started down the stairs with them. Grim-faced men and nervous women holding on to young children, carrying babies, as well as assorted cats and dogs and birds in cages. I wished I could tell them not to be afraid, but they wouldn’t have listened anyway. At the second-floor landing, we were forced to slow down as more tenants piled onto the stairs. The sirens of approaching fire trucks mixed with those of the police and emergency vehicles, stoking everyone’s fears and thrusting them into overdrive. Someone stepped on the back of my shoe, causing me to stumble. I would have gone down and knocked over the person in front of me, if I hadn’t been holding on to the banister—a domino cascade with live dominos.
When