BLOOD DRAGON by Freddie Peters (books to get back into reading .TXT) 📕

“Alive?”

“Yes, and able to tell us what he and Ollie were suspicious about.”

“Turner Junior is not going to be happy about that.”

“As much as I’d love to go and put some handcuffs around the wrists of the Viro-Tech CEO, it won’t be on the strength of Randy’s evidence I’m afraid, mon coeur.”

* * *

Senior Officer Rachel Lord had gone around the building twice. She had promised Pole she would survey the state of the structure before Cora’s attempt at abseiling down the walls of her flat.

Someone called her name from a distance. Senior Officer Lord recognised Cora as she ran towards her. Her black and purple spiky hair bristled as the wind blew through it.

“So sorry, I went for a quick walk … to clear my mind …”

Senior Officer Lord smiled. “That’s no problem. I’ve just surveyed the building a couple of times thorouhly. The external structure held up pretty well after the fire.”

“And it helped the windows had metal frames rather than wood.” Cora jerked her head towards her apartment.

“I read your plan … that’s a bit daring for a member of the public.”

Cora’s face dropped a little. “You haven’t seen what I can do …”

“I was about to say that you are not the run of the mill member of the public though. I’ve seen your videos and … well … I’m impressed.”

“So, it’s okay with you?” Cora beamed.

“Not so fast, young lady. I need to see your equipment and how you are going to gain access to the beams in the flat.”

“I’ll show you.”

Cora led the way. DS Branning had stopped at the gate of the small courtyard. He was giving her space to speak to the person she needed to convince.

The equipment had been laid outside her apartment. Cora strapped the harness around her torso and secured the leg straps. She had called Pole to tell him she was going ahead. Pole gave her a don’t-do-anything-stupid type of reply. She handed the phone to Senior Officer Lord.

“The equipment is in good condition. I’ve checked everything myself.”

“That’s very good of you, Senior Officer … I presume she’s determined to go through with it?”

“You’ve got that right, Inspector. She won’t take no for an answer.”

Cora was already up on the emergency stairwell that hugged the back of the building. The metal structure echoed to the sound of her pounding feet, vibrations coursing along its frame.

Cora dragged herself and the coiled ropes to the landing on the stairs that was closest to the window she wanted to access. The glass had been blackened by smoke but she knew exactly where the window locks were.

She turned to look at her small audience of friends and well-wishers: Johnny, Charlie, Branning and Senior Officer Lord. She gave a confident little nod. Beth was on the landing with her, ready to hand Cora her equipment.

“I can’t bear it.” Charlie grabbed Johnny’s hand.

Johnny remained silent. For once he had nothing flippant to say about the situation.

“I hope she’s bloody careful.” Branning muttered.

Everyone nodded back and held their breath while Cora stepped onto the banister. The weather had been dry all day. Conditions were ideal, she had argued with Pole. The next two days were forecast to be rainy and uncertain. It had to be now.

She felt in one of the pockets of the harness and took out a small hammer. She broke the glass with a precise knock, cleared the fragments with her gloved hand and found the catch immediately. The window opened.

Cora pushed up the bottom section. She heaved herself onto the frame and held the position for what seemed an eternity. With a supple move she landed on the window sill. She was inside.

Beth threw the ropes to her. Cora arranged them at her feet. She selected one and tied it to one of the D-rings of the harness in a secure knot. With a small jump she disappeared out of view.

Beth stood on the tip of her toes for a moment, then turned around. “She’s okay … I can see her standing on the large transverse beam.”

Cora was busy securing the other side of the rope she had fastened to another D-ring on her harness to the hooks and pullies she had had made specially for her performance rehearsals.

The lingering smell of soot and melted plastic made her cough a few times. She stopped for a short moment … focus was essential.

She surveyed the landscape below her. A lot of the debris and damaged furniture had been removed. The props, however, had not been touched. They were covered in smoke residue, but they had not been displaced by the fire.

Cora heaved herself below the beam, swung her body a few times and landed onto the windowsill again.

Beth had jumped on the bannister too and pushed the other rope towards her friend. Cora returned to the main beam. She secured the second rope to different hooks and pulleys. She sat across the beam for a short moment, planning her descent. The floor where she had decided to land looked solid.

Cora started to slide slowly downwards. She touched down using her right foot … testing the solidity of the floor she had just reached. It felt strong and she rested her foot on the ground, gradually letting the full weight of her body transfer to her foot. The wood held firm.

Cora secured the rope through another D-ring on her harness. If the floor gave way, she would have time to pull herself up.

Her props had been stored by performance event. Some of the heavy pieces were lying at the bottom, but none of these provided an opportunity to hide anything within them.

Cora tried to remember Ollie’s words. He had joked that some of the long tubes she was using to build a structure, around which she would perform some complex aerobatics, were ideal to secretly stash away documents.

“It’s like an old cypher …” Cora had found his comment a little strange at the time, but not taken any notice.

She displaced a