Armed and Dangerous by Jo Davis Page B

wait.”
    â€œHope it nets us some information we can use.”
    â€œYeah.”
    As the hours wore on, they chatted to pass the time. Finally, the sun went down, but they couldn’t move yet because it was still too early. He studied the church looming in the darkness, and wondered what other secrets it held besides the one they knew the reverend had been keeping. There were bound to be more.
    Daisy spoke up. “This area is quiet, no other businesses. It’s more residential than anything.”
    â€œIt’s dark here at night, too,” he observed. “Perfect for getting victims in and out with no one noticing.”
    â€œUsing a church is creepy and wrong on so many levels. If that’s what they’re doing.” She scowled at the building.
    â€œLook.”
    Down the street, the reverend and his wife rounded the corner of the church and got into a plain, dark sedan. After a moment, the reverend started it up and they drove away.
    â€œSuper,” Daisy breathed. “Let’s go.”
    Shane gave Taylor a quick call to let him know. Then they checked their weapons and started toward the building. Ascending the steps, they checked the main doors at the front, and as expected they were now locked.
    Leaving the front, they crept around the side of the building toward the back. Shane wasn’t surprised to find that he hadn’t noticed the building had two levels—an upper floor and a basement. Typical of many buildings in the area, the basement was below ground with windows situated above the soil level. Getting down on his stomach, he tried to peer inside.
    â€œSee anything?” Daisy whispered.
    â€œToo dark.”
    Reaching around, he grabbed his gun, handle out. Using it as a club, he brought it forcefully against the glass, shattering it.
    â€œWhat are you doing? You’re going to get us in trouble!”
    â€œNow, sugar, we came back to talk to the Wakefields and found this broken window, so we couldn’t very well leave without investigating a possible break-in. Right?” He grinned up at her.
    She snorted. “Sure. Hurry up before someone sees us.”
    After breaking out the rest of the glass, he carefully brushed the big chunks off the ledge. Then he turned around and went in feet-first. Dangling over the edge, he tried to touch some sort of stable surface but met with air. Lowering himself as far as he could, he dropped, and landed hard, skidding back on his ass.
    The distance hadn’t been that bad. He could see the light from the window a few feet above. Standing, he positioned himself below it and called up to Daisy. “Come on. I’ll grab you.”
    Her silhouette appeared and she scooted over the edge. When her legs were close enough, he grabbed them. “Got you.”
    She let go and he managed to get her on the floor without dropping her. With Daisy safe, he fished his cell phone from his pocket and woke up the screen. It gave off a fair amount of light, enough to illuminate a few feet around him as he searched for a light switch.
    â€œSmart,” she said. “Not sure I would’ve thought of that.”
    â€œYou would have. Eventually.” She caught his teasing tone and laughed softly.
    â€œJackass.”
    Locating the switch near the door, he flipped it on and was rewarded with a flood of bright light. The basement was surprisingly clean. It was also well-organized with the typical items a church would use for various events—spare tables, chairs, a few standard wedding decorations, shelves of cleaning supplies, and other odds and ends. Nothing ominous jumped out at them.
    â€œWe can check the rest of the building, but I doubt we’ll find anything,” he said in disappointment. “Too much traffic from guests and maintenance workers to hide anyone.”
    â€œWhat about their cottage out back?”
    â€œIt’s worth a shot.” It was their only shot. If the victims had been