Page 5 of Gem Warfare

“So far, burglarizing a salon on Plover Street.” I paused, watching the figure pass through the shadows towards the back of the salon where my client kept her boxes of backstock. “Can you hurry?”

“Sure. Sit tight and I’ll be there in fifteen.”

I watched as the figure returned, lifted a bag into the air, and waved their arms around. The bag drifted upwards and disappeared into the ceiling.

“How did they do that?” I asked. “It looked like it floated and disappeared.”

“And so is our perp,” said Maddox, pointing.

We watched as the figure stretched and seemed to float upwards only to disappear. “No!” I wailed as my opportunity to catch the thief seemed to vanish with them. Jord was on his way. Solomon and Delgado might be too. What was I supposed to give them? I’d promised a thief and all I had now was fresh air.

Then I stopped, forcing myself to think.

If the thief could go up, so could I.

“I don’t like that look on your face,” said Maddox.

“Yes, you do,” I countered.

“Okay, yes, I do, but it scares me too. I’ll need to speak to my therapist about that.”

“I’m going in.”

“I’m right behind you. Literally. I don’t have a bullet proof vest with me and we don’t know what we’re walking into.”

I gaped at him. “You would use me as a human shield?”

“Absolutely.”

“I don’t think anyone brings a weapon to steal shampoo.”

“I guess not. One could call it asqueaky-cleancrime.”

I shook my head and sighed.

“I’m going in,” I said, reaching for the flashlight I’d stashed in the glove box.

“Is this breaking and entering?”

“No. My client gave me a spare set of keys and signed a form. It’s all totally legal,” I said, already halfway out of the car. Maddox wasted no time in jogging after me as we crossed the road, dodging a bus that trundled past.

I unlocked the door, pushing it open as quietly as I could, and entered the code on the keypad to disarm the door alarm. I reached for the lights and paused. I didn’t want to alert anyone to our presence but then… I couldn’t hear anyone. No rustling or shuffling, or breathing, nothing that would suggest someone was hiding.

No, the salon was empty.

I could feel the emptiness.

Then Maddox poked my shoulder and I felt his warmth close to me.

“I’m going to check the stockroom,” I whispered as we took a cautious look around. Jogging across the salon, glad I’d worn soft-soled sneakers, I reached for the stockroom doorand pushed it open. Using the flashlight’s beam, I scanned the several open boxes. It was impossible to tell what had been stolen and what had been legitimately used so I pulled the door closed behind me, returning to Maddox.

“There,” he said, softly, pointing to a square panel in the middle of the small waiting area.

I squinted up. The panel didn’t look any different from the others.

He pointed his phone’s flashlight to the floor. “See that?” he said. “The perp didn’t notice in the dark but they dislodged a smattering of dust. The panel isn’t quite in the frame either. It’s lifted a little in the corner. Sloppy.”

“I see,” I said. “But how did they get up there? I couldn’t even put one foot on the reception desk and launch myself up. Neither could you and you’re taller than me. But there’s a ladder in the stockroom. We could get that.”