"But!"

"Go!"

Another large object crashed down on top of the opening, blocking it completely. More burning embers were falling down around Ravenwood. The wood framing in the corners of the enclosure were catching on fire. Soon the flames would reach the wooden planks that lined the overhead of the tunnel. The string of lights along the overhead blinked on and off. Tears welled up in her eyes. There was no way Kane was going to make it out of that inferno. She knew she had to save herself while she still had the chance.

When she reached the other end of the tunnel, she stopped in a breathless panic, her eyes wide. The ladder had been badly burned and was still smoldering from the fire. The bottom two rungs were gone and the rest of it was a charred skeleton of its former self. She looked around, desperate to find something, anything to stand on so she could reach the opening. There was nothing. Her only escape route, the hole in the floor just a few feet above, suddenly seemed impossibly distant.

Having no option, she grabbed the blackened rails of the ladder, stretched her right leg up and caught the third rung. She hoisted herself up slowly but the rung cracked and fell away and she went down with it.

She got up, brushed herself off and gazed up at the hole in the floor. "All right," she said. "Take a breath. You've been in worse situations than this." Even though, at the moment, she couldn't really think of one. "There's no way in h.e.l.l it ends like this."

She examined the ladder and her eyes focused on the upper portion of the handrail. The top rung seemed untouched by the fire. If she could jump high enough, she might be able to grab it and pull herself up. But her first attempt was unsuccessful. With the second and third, she knew it was pointless. If she only had a rope, she could loop it around the upper rung. My belt! She stripped the belt from her pants and flung it upward, buckle end first, holding onto the other end. Two attempts were all it took. The belt found its mark, draped itself over the rung and dangled down just far enough that she might be able to grab it by standing on her toes.

Stretching upward, every muscle and tendon in her legs quivering from the strain, she managed to grab the buckle and fastened the two ends together. She gave it a tug. It seemed like it would hold. It had to.

She tightened her grip, sucked in a quick breath, and pulled herself up, walking her feet up the wall between the rungs of the ladder. One of the metal brackets, securing the wooden ladder to the wall, popped loose. The loose side of the ladder swung a few inches from the wall and she nearly lost her grip. The whole thing was about to break apart.

With her left hand, she made a quick grab for the charred edge of the frame that bordered the opening in the floor but it cracked and broke away. She nearly fell but managed to hang onto the belt. She swung her arm out again. This time her hand gripped a solid piece of the frame. She froze in position, trying to calculate her next move. If she missed her mark with the other hand, she would fall to the ground and all hope would fall with her.

With a swift awkward twist of her body, she let go of the belt and grabbed for the only portion of the frame that was available. It held firm.

With her fingernails digging into the wood, her dangling legs scrambled to find some footing against the wall. Pure adrenaline came to the aid of her dwindling strength as she somehow pulled herself up and out of the pit. She emerged not into the shed as she had expected, but into the cool, open night air.

Exhausted, panting and resting on her knees, she looked around. The shed had burned to the ground, leaving nothing but the charred remains and a hole in what was left of the floor.

There wasn't a minute to spare, no time to fully recover her strength. She struggled to her feet and headed off toward her SUV.

She turned, briefly, to look at the old mansion. The fire was spreading quickly throughout the entire structure. The windows glowed red in the dark, glaring down at her like the eyes of an angry demon. It would soon be as dead as the Beast insidealong with the Teddy Bear cop who gave his life to save his daughter.

Ravenwood's vision became blurred. An emotion rose up from some unfamiliar depth and stuck in her throat. She swallowed hard and continued across the yard.

CHAPTER 76.

Sitting in her vehicle, Ravenwood wiped the tears from her face and looked in the mirror. She barely recognized the woman staring back. The dirt smudges were indistinguishable from the smeared mascara. Her black hair was a tangled mess, flecked with ash. Her clothes were ripped, partially singed and smelled of smoke. She drew in a deep breath and held it for a long moment before letting it go. She had to get a grip.

She phoned in the fire and fished the ignition key from her pocket. She knew she had to drive to Sarah's house to make sure the precious girl and Linda were safe. It wasn't going to be easy, even if they were okay.

Informing someone about the death of a family member was something she'd never had to do. That gruelling task had always been someone else's job. The thought of having to tell Sarah...

Ravenwood shivered as her eyes welled up again. She had no choice. She flicked a tear from her cheek and slipped the key into the ignition. Then she heard something. A voice.

"Hey!" the voice shouted.

She turned toward the sound and her eyes grew wide. Kane was coming at a labored half-trot across the back yard of the mansion, his hands waving for her to wait.

She flew out of the vehicle, ran up and threw her arms around him. "Oh, my G.o.d," she said, choking the words out. Then she realized what she was doing and stepped back. She cleared her throat, and tried to manifest some degree of composure. "I thought you were..."

"What the h.e.l.l?" he said. "You were just gonna take off and leave me here?"

"But, I thought... How did you...?

"I know how he got in and out of that room."

"What?"

"A G.o.dd.a.m.n secret door. The fire must have tripped the mechanism. I don't know. All I know is, I stumbled against a wall and part of it opened up."

"Oh, my G.o.d. I can't believe you're"

"Yeah, me neither." He grabbed her by the arm. "Let's get out of here. We gotta get over to Sarah's. You drive. I'll call Linda."

Ravenwood flipped the toggle switch on the dash. The red and blue strobes behind the front grill started flashing and she peeled out of the alley just as the fire trucks were pulling up out front.

Kane took out his cell phone and called Linda but there was no answer.

CHAPTER 77.

Kane fiddled nervously with his cell phone as they sped down Capitol Hill's residential streets, heading for the freeway. He called Linda again, but still no answer. Why didn't she pick up?

He tried to push the worst-case scenario aside and thought back to her earlier call. He wracked his memory, scanning through her broken, chaotic words in his mind and suddenly he recalled something. She'd mentioned Pete. What had she said? The stranger had killed him? Of course he had. That was part of the whole sick agenda from the start.

He didn't know how he should feel about that. He'd expected it. But now... The familiar dilemma had taken on a new twist. It was a bittersweet sort of revenge. In the past, he'd felt guilty for wishing the old man dead. Now that the old man was dead, he found himself feeling guilty about the sense of relief that was slowly seeping in along with the reality of the situation. He flipped the phone open. He should call somebody, report the old man's death. Then it hit him. The old man's death was going to be a problem.

If word got out that Pastor Pete was the adoptive father of Lieutenant Brian Kane and that the old man was killed by the mysterious preacher killer, the media would have a... He snapped the phone shut. There was no way in h.e.l.l he wanted to deal with that. Then he remembered what Ravenwood had said about cover stories. She had resources. He was going to need her to tap those resources, big time.

He gave a quick appraising glance at Ravenwood. Her attention was glued to the road as she maneuvered the speeding vehicle through the traffic. Physically, she was a mess. She looked like someone had dragged her out of an alley after a drunken catfight. He pulled down the visor, looked at himself in the mirror and flipped it back up. He looked even worse than she did, if that was possible.

He attempted to smooth his hair back with a sweep of the hand and tugged at his singed jacket. One sleeve was ripped from the cuff to the elbow. His pant legs were covered with tiny burn holes. He thought about those horrifying minutes he was trapped inside the raging inferno. He wondered now if he would ever tell Ravenwoodor anyone, for that matterthat he'd come this close to blowing his brains out with his own gun rather than burn to death. He was one lucky son of a b.i.t.c.h.

Ravenwood's voice interrupted his rambling thoughts. "I gotta ask. Did you see the body?"

Kane nodded. "What there was left of it." He winced as he flashed back on the gruesome sight. "Burnt to a crisp."

Ravenwood's shoulders lowered as if relieved of a heavy burden. "Ashes to ashes."

Kane didn't respond.

"Can't figure out about that book, though," she said, as she cranked the wheel to make the freeway entrance. The SUV careened heavily to the right and then straightened out. She flipped the siren switch and the numbers on the speedometer jumped from 75 to 90.

Kane tightened his seatbelt. Her comment reactivated his previous train of thought about the old man. "Wait a minute," he said. "I might know how that book could have ended up at my house. I mean, you know, Linda's house."

Ravenwood shot him a glance.

He shook his head. "I mean, I can't imagine how Pete could ever have had possession of the d.a.m.n book in the first place..."

"But...?"

"But when Pete moved into that little mobile home, there wasn't room for all his stuff. So, like a dumb a.s.s, I offered to store a bunch of it in my bas.e.m.e.nt. You know, when Linda and I were still married. Bunch of boxes. I never even looked to see what was in them. Just stacked them up under the stairs. Some were labeled, though. I think one was labeled 'books'." He looked at Ravenwood. "That's the only thing that makes any sense. If it's in the house, that might be how it got there." He shook his head again. "I mean... h.e.l.l I don't know. What do you think?"

Ravenwood gave the accelerator nudge. The speedometer jumped from 90 to 100.

CHAPTER 78.

As the SUV lurched to a stop in front of Linda's house, Kane was already out of his seatbelt. He did a double take as he looked at the living room window. The inside of the house was on fire. "Oh, Jesus..." He tore out of the vehicle and raced to the front porch.

Ravenwood grabbed a small blanket from the back seat and ran after him, cell phone in hand, calling in the fire and requesting an Aid Unit.

Kane tried the door but it was locked. He pounded on it. "Sarah! Linda!" Then he remembered Linda kept an extra key inside a fake rock in the garden next to the porch. He found the key, opened the door, and was nearly forced back as a thick cloud of white smoke billowed out.

He took off his jacket, used it to mask his face and entered the house, scanning, searching every direction. "Sarah! Linda!" There was no answer.

Ravenwood caught up with him, masked her face with the blanket and checked the kitchen. Nothing. There seemed to be more smoke than fire and it was stinging her eyes. The main fire had to be in another part of the house.

"Ro! In here!" It was Kane's voice.

"Where are you?"

"I found Linda! I need help!"

Ravenwood followed his voice to the den. The room was consumed in flames. A bookcase had fallen, blocking the doorway and Kane was trapped inside with Linda's body draped in his arms.

Ravenwood braced her foot against the bookcase, put her whole weight into it and gave a ma.s.sive shove. It moved enough for Kane to squeeze through. He quickly made his way to the living room and got Linda out of the house. He laid her on the cool gra.s.s of the front lawn near the sidewalk.

Ravenwood came to his side. "Is she?"

"She's breathing but unconscious."

"The Aid Unit will be here any minute."

Kane nodded. "Stay here. I'm going back in."

The fire was spreading rapidly and Kane had to dodge the flames as he entered the living room. "Sarah! Sarah! Where are you?"

"Daddy?" The voice was weak.

Kane stopped, listened. "Sarah! Where are you?"

"Daddy?"

Her voice sounded distant, m.u.f.fled. The bas.e.m.e.nt? He rushed to the bas.e.m.e.nt door and yelled down the stairs. There was no reply. He moved back to the living room and called out again. "Sarah! Talk to me! Where are you?"

He heard her say his name again. He moved quickly toward the back of the house and threw open the door to the laundry room. Sarah was cowering in the corner beside the washing machine. "Sarah!" He grabbed her up and got her out of the house just as something inside exploded with a dull Whomp!

He carried her across the yard and put her down next to her mother. He brushed Sarah's hair back from her face. "Are you all right?"

She was shaking and dazed, barely cogent and seemed almost oblivious to what was happening. She looked down at her mother. "Mommy?"

Kane knelt beside Sarah and held her close. "Your mom's going to be okay. The ambulance will be here in a minute. They'll take her to the hospital and the doctors will take care of her." He looked at Sarah's eyes. They still seemed distant. "Do you remember anything about what happened?"

Sarah nodded unconvincingly. "There was a man... I don't know who he was... He wanted something... A book..."

Kane held her firmly by the shoulders. "Did he find the book?"

Sarah shook her head, no. "There was a light... then the fire... the man... he disappeared."

Ravenwood stood up and started back to the house.

Kane reached up and grabbed her by the arm. "Where are you going?"

She looked down at him. "The book."

"Let it burn."

She pulled away from him and headed toward the house.

Kane called out to her. "Ro!"

She hesitated for a moment at the door, then shielded her face with the blanket and ducked into the house. She found the bas.e.m.e.nt door, flipped on the light, and hurried down the stairs.

The cool air of the bas.e.m.e.nt was a welcomed relief to her burning eyes. She quickly made her way to the back of the stairs and spied the pile of boxes, just as Kane had described. She began pulling the boxes out. Kane was right. Several of them were labeled. Finally, she found the box labeled 'Books'. She dragged it out and ripped it open. She turned it upside down and the books spilled out onto the floor. There it was. The tiny, ancient book that had been Crowley's obsession, the motivation for all of this insanity was in her hand. Now it was she who held The Keyes Of The Gatekeeper. She shoved it into her pocket and made it out of the house just as the Fire and Aid Units were pulling up out front.

The paramedics were putting Linda into the back of the Aid Unit when Ravenwood walked up to Kane.