Page 71 of Holmes Is Missing
“Livelier than usual? Who the hell normally comes here?” asked Holmes.
“Kids mostly. Or ghost hunters,” said Duff. “And devil worshippers.” He nodded toward the underbrush and the crumbling complex beyond. “There are lots of shallow graves out here from years back.”
Poe felt a cold shiver.
“Grab your vests,” said Duff, pointing to the open trunk of an unmarked car. “And don’t leave my goddamn sight.”
Poe walked over to the trunk and lifted out a piece of NYPD-stenciled body armor. He dropped the vest over his head and tightened the Velcro straps. The vest was heavy on his shoulders, but there was something else. A dark weight inside his chest. He looked across the compound. The SWAT team was already moving in assault formation through the trees.
There was evil here.Freshevil. Poe could feel it.
CHAPTER76
POE MOVED INa low crouch alongside his partners, a few steps behind Duff, who held his service pistol at his side. Ahead, past the sparse tree line and a tangle of vines and brush, the SWAT team had already reached the first building, or what was left of it. At this point, the colony structures were no more than shells—walls crumbled, roofs caved in, elevator shafts gaping.
The cops swept in, one ruin at a time. Shouts of “Clear!” echoed in succession across the eerie compound.
“Dammit!” muttered Duff. “There’s nothing here.”
“What about other farms on the island?” asked Marple.
“We checked them too last night,” said Duff. “Mostly small family operations and pumpkin patches. Maybe Robinson lied to us.”
“No. This is it,” said Poe. He faltered slightly, then leaned back against a crumbling concrete post.
Marple stepped over and grabbed his arm. “Auguste! Are you okay?”
Poe waved her off. “I’m fine.” But he wasn’t. He felt lightheaded and queasy.
The image from Helene’s sonogram flashed into his head. Two tiny shapes floating in a void. Then Helene’s face. Worried.
“Auguste!” Marple again.
Poe took a deep breath and snapped to. “I’m here,” he said. “Ready.”
The next building in line was a large stone structure with an arched entrance. It looked like it had once been the centerpiece of the compound. There was nothing farmlike about it. It was built like a nineteenth-century factory.
“Wait here,” said Duff, holding his arm out as a barrier.
Poe watched with Holmes and Marple as a SWAT team moved through the entryway under a large stone arch. Poe was out of patience. Especially with Duff.
“Wait, my ass,” he muttered.
Poe started running toward the building. He heard a shout, then footsteps.
He glanced back to see Marple and Holmes right behind him. Duff was in the distance, shouting into his portable radio.
Poe and his partners reached the entrance at the same time. SWAT teams were already moving through the first floor. Poe looked up. The second story was totally gone, no structure left. A staircase from the ground level ended in midair.
A massive SWAT sergeant stepped forward and planted himself in their path. “You guys can’t be in here,” he said.
“And yet we are,” said Marple.
“Sarge!” a young SWAT officer called out from the top of another stone staircase. “Down here!”
Poe got to the staircase before any of the other cops. But they jammed him up against the wall and forced their way past. He followed them down, with Marple and Poe close behind.
The stairs led to a square landing, then took a turn to the left for a drop to the basement level. The air was dank and musty.Poe saw Holmes pull out a handkerchief and hold it over his nose.