Chapter 48
A fter igniting a flash-bang in the gazebo at the back of the house, Nick and Raven slipped inside the estate through the doors to the laundry.
The eruption was louder than he’d expected, like a series of cherry bombs detonating, but he didn’t want to wait around to assess the response to the explosions.
They needed to take immediate advantage of whatever confusion the fireworks created.
The laundry was one of the support structures that flanked the courtyard. Raven assured him that in the evenings it was usually empty of staff.
Inside that dank chamber, a brass wall sconce equipped with a wavering candle provided the only light.
Nick saw big steel wash basins on the floor, and piles of linens sitting on a long table.
Old-fashioned washboards leaned against a wall, soap congealing on their ridges.
There wasn’t a washing machine or clothes dryer in sight.
This place is literally frozen in time , Nick thought.
“I lasted a day working in here before Miss Lula moved me.” Raven sneered. “Hard, nasty work.”
They threaded past the wash basins and table and reached a pair of double doors on the far side of the room. Nick heard commotion outside the room: muffled shouts and the patter of rapid footsteps.
“They’re freaking out in there,” he said.
Raven pushed open the doors. They swung out soundlessly.
The doors led to a wide but short hardwood corridor lit by a couple more wall sconces with candles. Another hallway intersected the passage.
A woman in a dress ran past shrieking, her hair wild and eyes swimming with terror. She didn’t notice them standing there with their guns. She rushed past without slowing.
“What’s the matter with them?” Nick asked.
“Some of these people have been here a really long time.” Raven hurried forward clutching the rifle. “I guess your fireworks sort of woke them up.”
At the intersection, she cut to the left. It would take them in the direction they had seen Amiya headed with Westbrook. Raven guessed that Westbrook had taken Amiya to the wine cellar, which everyone knew was one of his favorite areas of the mansion.
Nick had been amazed at the exterior condition of the restored estate, but inside, traveling down these polished hardwood corridors, seeing the crystal chandeliers ablaze with candlelight, and passing through the sumptuously furnished rooms .
. . it called into question all his years of scientific study.
If they survived this night, he would be forced to seriously reevaluate some beliefs that he had once held so dear and sacred.
The residents behaved as if they were out of their minds. He saw men and women, all of them dressed as if attending a black-tie affair. Babbling and shouting and weeping, they stampeded aimlessly through the house, and those that noticed Nick and Raven shrank away from them fearfully.
“We’re here to help them, but they’re looking at us as if they’re scared,” Nick said.
“Some of them we won’t be able to help.” Raven strode forward. “Like I said, they’ve been here too long.”
“Institutionalized.” He swept his gaze around. “I want to offer them a way out, but I need to find Amiya first.”
“Right around the corner.” Raven nodded toward an intersecting corridor ahead.
A man and a woman flashed through the intersection of hallways that Raven had indicated. Nick did a double take.
“Babe?” he asked.
Amiya turned, and saw him.
“Oh, God . . . Nick.”
They ran into each other’s arms.