Page 78 (1/1)

"Yeah, but I had allanced around, taking in the passing cars, the storefronts across the street, theto notice"

Tenn pushed the kit at ht as well try If someone co"

"Tenn—"

He shoved the kit into my hand "You can do this, Scarlett"

I took the kit with a shaking hand, tugging at the zipper Tenn le to the rest of the ht He slouched into the door frame, his face a study in boredoot this And if you don't, we'll figure out so else"

His calh for me to focus on my task I took another look at the lock, then at ht would do the trick, I crouched in front of the ancient lock and went to work

Picking locks is mostly a function of sound and touch I could do it without hearing the lock, but it was harder For me, a lot harder Between the cars on the road and the noise of construction fro by feel is a lot harder on a lock I'd never opened before Most ofthe sa a variety of locks Like I said, not a master criminal

I followed Tenn's suggestion and took a long, slow breath His hand fell on oing to figure this out together That I wasn't alone It was enough to chase off my nerves, and I focused on the lock

I slid the lower pick in to hold on to any pins I h the lock This one should have been easier than the newer, higher quality lock on the cottage at the Inn, but what this lock lacked in security, it e

Twice I thought I had it and met complete resistance when I tried to turn the bolt Each tiain Above , "You're okay No one is watching Take your time"

I have no idea how I could have done it without hie by Even in this run-down part of town, at ato notice et it soon, it wasn't going to happen

Onso far I was sure it would open It did not I let out a gusty sigh "One more time," I muttered

"You're almost there" Tenn squeezed my shoulder

I was By now, I had a feel for the lock The first two pins slid up easily I had their number after four tries The third was trickier It pushed back at ht The feel of it clicking into place had ain

This was it I was almost there

Careful not to lose the progress I'dwith the curved tip of the pick, raking at the pin gently but firmly "Come on, baby, I know you're sticky, but slide up, just a little" I thought I had it and tried to turn the lock, al my hold on the pins I'd already moved when the lock jammed

I squeezedhands and a racing heart were not helping Slowly, I turned the lock back to its original position and went for the last pin one ain, sliding the pick back and forth and hoping it pushed the pin into place Raking looks sloppy, but it works on a surprising number of locks Not this one

A car door slas,a terrifying avalanche of what-ifs iner? Another guest? What if—?

I gave it one last effort, ja the pick up and in with such force I felt it bend A click vibrated down its length, registering in a burst of relief and triu free under the pressure of my hand