The Deciding Clue

Chapter Fifty-five

Janelle heard Ben’s cell phone ring.

         Good. That gave her a few more minutes. She would check a couple boxes while he was on the phone.

         Moving the next group away from the wall, she gasped. Level with the floor board was a black ring. She tugged on it. The board moved up.

         Janelle’s eyes widened. Beneath the floor was a space, shrouded in darkness.

If only she had a flashlight.

Well, if she couldn’t use her eyes, she’d use her hands. She plunged her right hand into the darkness, only to jerk it back.

“Yuck!” Her hand was covered with cobwebs.

Taking an old girdle from another box, she wiped the cobwebs off her hand, then used the girdle to wipe the inside of the hole.

Gingerly this time, she put her hand down through the space. She felt something hard, something plastic.

Using both hands, she reached down and pulled up a briefcase.

Was this what the killer was looking for?

Janelle sat back and put it on the floor. She pushed in the two latches and the lid popped open. She caught her breath.

In neat bundles, thousands of dollars filled the briefcase.

“Ben, come here! You’ll never believe what I found.”

“Just a minute.” His voice sounded far away. “I’m on the phone.”

The passageway lights went out.

With a gasp, Janelle sat up straight.

Why hadn’t she been more careful? She had just announced to the entire building that she found something—something the killer had obviously been looking for. 

From the other end of the passageway she heard footsteps. Someone walked slowly toward her.

Her heartbeat took off. “Who’s there?”

The footsteps stopped. A voice came out of the darkness.

“That money is mine!”

* * *

          To be continued!