When the Shadows Fall by Elise Noble
CHAPTER 16 - EMMY
“EMMY? I KNOW you’re marked as ‘do not disturb’ this evening, but I have a caller who won’t take no for an answer.”
I paused halfway to the door of the hotel suite. Tiredness had sapped my resolve, and when Black’s arm crept around my waist, I’d given in and left it there. The Blackwood switchboard operator who’d phoned me sounded nervous, and understandably so. I counted to five before I answered so I didn’t bite her head off.
“Who is it?”
“A Sky Malone? She says you know her.”
Sky? Relief flooded through me, but why the hell was she calling the switchboard? Oh, who was I kidding? This was Sky. Anything but predictable.
“Put her through.”
“I’ll do it right away.”
A second passed, and I put the phone on speaker.
“Emmy?”
“Where are you?”
“Eddie’s Roadhouse.”
“Elaborate.”
“It’s a dive bar in Culpeper. Can someone pick me up?”
“What the hell are you doing in Culpeper?”
“You won’t believe the answer.”
This was Sky. A fucking piñata of surprises. “Try me.”
“I found the School of Shadows.”
“You’re joking?”
“I’m not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because according to the sign outside, it’s an actual bloody school. Shadow Falls Academy.”
“Come again?”
“It has to be the place, right? I mean, I followed the guy right there.”
“What guy?”
“A waiter from the Grove. I went outside to get some air, and he came out of the basement fire exit with a bag under his arm. A woman’s handbag. I thought he was just a dirty thief, but then the car radio said someone nicked another painting. A shepherd?” Sky laughed. “Bet you didn’t see that one coming, eh?”
That brat. I didn’t know whether to hug her or shake her. As usual, she’d broken every rule, but in doing so, she’d also broken the case. I loved that girl, and yes, I felt a little bit smug for bringing her to Virginia at that moment.
Black was already tapping away at his phone screen. “Shadow Falls Academy, providing a first-class education to boys and girls from grades nine through twelve. A selective school for gifted pupils, specialising in the arts.”
Bloody hell. A school? A real school? That was…insane. And audacious. And possibly the work of a genius. I mean, who would ever suspect that a school was the front for a ring of art thieves?
I had a million questions. “Somebody needs to pick Sky up.”
“I’ll go,” Rafael said, already heading for the door. “Send me the address.”
“How did you get to Culpeper?” I asked her.
“Borrowed a Ferrari from the parking lot. And when that ran out of petrol, I swapped it for a Ford Fiesta with a guy near Charlottesville.”
“When you say ‘swapped’…?”
“Okay, so I just drove the Fiesta away while he paid for his fuel.”
“Did you wipe your prints?”
“Uh…”
“Don’t worry,” Mack said. “I’ll clean it up.”
She meant that if Sky’s prints popped up in a police database, she’d get rid of them. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d pulled that trick.
“Are you safe?” I asked Sky. “We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. This place is open all night.” A door opened in the background, and I heard voices. “But I gotta go.”
She hung up, and I blew out a breath. Once again, the whole case had been flipped on its head.
“Get Sky and drive straight back to Riverley,” Black instructed Rafael. “Emmy and I will join you as soon as we’ve picked the Picasso up tomorrow morning.”
Today had been a roller coaster. The nerve-racking ride up the incline followed by the adrenaline rush of the Spirit theft. Then the crushing realisation that we’d been tricked by the Master. But now? We’d hit one final loop and come out on top. Tomorrow, we’d regroup and start planning for the next ride.
A trip to Shadow Falls Academy.
The funhouse.