“You here somewhere?”
It was Curtis.
“In the basement. Come in the back door. I opened it for you.”
A moment later, she heard Curtis’s heavy footsteps descending the stairs.
“You opened it for me? You broke in. What the hell’s going on?
She did not want to tell him about the tracker, so she simply said, “Jasmine wasn’t answering.”
“Of course she’s not answering. She’s not stay—” He appeared in the doorway and noticed Vail’s new companion. “What’s a dog doing here?”
He went up to Curtis, tail wagging, and licked his hand.
“I was wondering the same thing. And here’s another mystery. This is a concealed room.”
He drew his chin back, then turned and looked at the doorway. “I don’t get it.”
“Makes two of us. Let’s have a look around.”
“Why are you here?”
“That requires a bit of an explanation.” And I guess now’s as good a time as any. She told him about the device Uzi had given her.
“I don’t even know where to begin with that—but we’ll save it for another time. Right now, we need to make sense of what’s going on. And apparently that starts with a hidden room and a strange dog. Is it Jasmine’s?”
“No. She can’t have pets.” Seeing Curtis’s confused look, she said, “Because of what Marcks did to one of her stuffed animals as a kid.”
“Shit, that’s right.” Curtis pulled out his iPhone and started dialing. “We need animal control. Until we figure out who this guy belongs to, someone’s gotta look after him.”
While he made the call and gave them the address, Vail started taking a quick inventory of the room: it was roughly ten by twelve feet, with a futon, shelving on one wall, and a cheap laminate armoire.
“You get anything from reading Underwood’s book?” he asked as he hung up.
“Yes. Maybe. I mean …” She sighed. “I’ve got some problems with Underwood. I finally reached him. And he lied to me. Twice.”
“How so?”
“He’d told me he was in Hawaii. But I reached the show’s producer and they wrapped filming weeks ago. He finally called me back—we spoke for less than a minute—and he said he was boarding a plane to Philly to testify in a case. But I looked up the case. The trial was postponed for three months.”
Curtis looked at her. “What the hell?”
Vail turned back to the room. “I know. I didn’t want to say anything to Hurdle. He seemed to want to go hard after Underwood. And I don’t know … I guess I feel like we owe him more than that.”
“We can’t let emotions get in the way of doing our jobs.”
Am I doing that?
“There’s food here,” Curtis said. “A water bowl. And … some dog crap. No collar. But he’s definitely cared for. By whom? No way Jasmine would risk coming back here on a regular basis.”
“Add it to the list of things I can’t explain.” She crouched down and—Oh, shit. “Uh …” Vail got up and spun around, her gaze darting from one wall to another. “We’ve gotta get out of here.”
“Why? What—”
“I’ll explain when we’re in the car. Leave the dog. Follow me.”
“Leave the dog? We can’t just—”
“Do it. Did you touch anything? Move anything?”
“I don’t think so, no.”
“Then let’s go.” She passed through the door and closed it behind Curtis, her heart dropping at the sight of the pooch’s sad eyes.
Vail ran up the steps, her gaze moving from one wall to another, one corner and shelf to the next. They exited the back door, where they had entered.
“Karen, what the hell’s going on?”
They came around the side of the house and Vail pressed the remote for her Honda.
“Move your car. A block away, at least. Quickly. Meet me at the corner. And call animal control, tell them not to come.”
“Why can’t you just t—”
Vail started the engine and drove down the street, then parked in front of Curtis and got into his Ford.
He gave her a hard look. “Now what the fuck’s going on?”
Vail sat there a long moment, trying to work it through. “I’m not completely sure—and I’m afraid that what I’m thinking won’t make any sense.”
“Just tell me, we’ll work it through together.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s Thomas Underwood’s dog in there.”
“Underwood’s dog. What are you talking about? How—”
“When I spoke to him this afternoon, like I said, it was a short conversation. But right before he ended the call, he told me to read his book, carefully, and that I’d find some of my answers there.”
“Okay. Why is that weird?”
I’m not sure.
“You were reading one of his books.”
“Yes.” She dug two fingers into her temples and rubbed. “And I found a case where there was a note found in a victim’s mouth that said, ‘Next in line.’”