Chapter 71 Taylor
Taylor
Taylor abruptly rips off her mask.
Is this what it’s come to? Locked in a dark basement stairwell until help arrives? If help arrives?
Her heart hammers so wildly she’s finding it difficult to breathe. There’s no telling when Sam will see the note, she suddenly realizes. He’s been recovering with a nasty respiratory virus since his casino binge. He’s likely fast asleep and won’t wake up for hours.
What if it’s too late by then?
Taylor tries to even out her breathing, the ragged inhales and halting exhales. She needs to remain calm. Think, Taylor, think!
She pulls out her iPhone and shines the camera flashlight around. She spots a wall light switch. Thank God. As Taylor flicks it on, the space becomes immediately illuminated like a harshly lit hospital room. She winces and attempts the door handle one final time, but no luck.
Okay, plan B. She swivels around, taking in the unfinished basement that presents itself below.
There are four water heaters, multiple water and electrical lines running along the walls and ceilings.
She spies a door at the far end of the basement and relief surges through her.
It’s the exit. Or entrance. Whatever you want to call it—it’s a fucking way out.
Given the direction, it must be the entrance to the servants’ quarters. Perfect.
She’ll snake through this basement space, go through the servants’ quarters, leave from their front door, and retry the Knox—if her courage continues. It has to continue. She has to see this through.
If she doesn’t run into anyone.
If she’s not already too late.
If her claustrophobia doesn’t get the best of her.
Taylor gathers the bottom of her cape in one of her hands and starts down the wooden stairs.
There’s an exit, she tells herself. An entrance and an exit.
She wants to dampen her awareness of the surrounding space.
Entrance and exit. Entrance and exit. She begins to stride across the room, toward the far door. Entrance and—
What is that noise? There’s a continuous tapping sound.
She stops. The beating noise is coming from behind. She turns and sees another door, tucked beneath the stairs she climbed down. A door, that, from her orientation, seems to lead to a sublevel of the Knox.
Of course. A connecting basement, well, connects. She guesses that this leads to the underground section of the Knox, the area with the room that recently underwent renovation. Maybe it’s dumb luck she got locked in here.
The noise steadily continues like a parade drummer keeping time.
With trembling fingers, Taylor slips her mask back on. She forces her legs to take her over to the door. Then she grasps the handle and turns.