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I stand a little ways fro in to shake I don’t know the name I don’t ask to see the photo on the ID I don’t want to know if I knew the face
It’s right then that Rachel rounds the corner frooing froton’s
It’s Tina, behind the desk, who speaks
"Another one fell off the top of the elevator," she says, in a small voice "She’s dead"
Rachel’s face drains of all its color beneath her carefully applied MAC foundation
But when she speaks a few seconds later, there is no tremor in her voice "I assume the authorities have been notified? Good Do we have an ID? Oh, thank you, Pete Tina, beep Maintenance, and have them turn off all the elevators Heather, can you call Dr Jessup’s office, and let theton, I ao back to your breakfast…"
Aware that I’ a million ti calls
Only this ti Dr Jessup’s office first, I call Cooper
"Cartwright Investigations," he says, because I’ve called hi he’d be there
"It’s me," I say I keep my voice down, because Sarah is in Rachel’s office next door, calling each of the resident assistants on their cell phones and telling the them to come back to their floors as soon as possible "There’s been another one"
"Another what?" Cooper asks "And why are you whispering?"
"Another death by elevator," I whisper
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah," I say
"Dead?"
I think about Pete’s face
"Yeah," I say
"Jesus, Heather I’m sorry"
"Yeah," I say, for the third and final time "Listen…could you come over?"
"Co past our office door just then, in their hel an axe Obviously, no one told New York’s bravest what the nature of the eency hen they called
"Downstairs," I say to the to the stairs to the basement "Another, um, elevator incident"
The captain looks surprised, but nods and leads what has suddenly turned into a very grim procession past the reception desk and down the stairs
To Cooper, I whisper, "I want to get to the botto on over here, and I could use the help of a professional investigator, Cooper"
"Whoa," Cooper says "Slon there, slugger Are the police there? Aren’t they professional investigators?"