Free Operation Willow Quest by Karlene Blakemore-Mowle

quietly. Terry’s name was on the front and she paused when she saw it,
before brushing her sorrow aside for the moment. There was too much at stake
right now. Willow
went straight for the large desk. Pulling on the smooth timber drawer handles,
she gave a small groan when they refused to budge. “They’re locked,” she
whispered across to Del,
who stood guard at the door.
    Moving back to allow him access to the drawers,
she watched as he deftly worked his magic set of tools once more and jimmied
the lock. Rifling through the contents, Willow
shook her head impatiently as she caught his frown of enquiry. “It’s not here.
The little package I saw him put away isn’t in here.”
    Del started on the other
side of the desk, shaking his head when he too came up empty.
    The filing cabinet was next and Willow opened the drawer
containing T’s, wishing it were that easy—but there was no file relating to Trèago . Carefully she flicked through the other cupboards,
searching for some name or an item that might jump out at her.
    “Find anything?” Del asked, coming up behind her and looking
over her shoulder.
    “Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head,
unable to keep the disappointment and despair from her voice. “At least nothing
working in the dark under this pressure. Maybe we could take some of these
files back to the hotel room with us?”
    “No way,” Del said, then gave an impatient sigh.
“We’re out of time, the security guard will be making his rounds soon, and I
don’t want to be here when he does.”
    Willow let her gaze wander the room, the
bookcase on the other side catching her eye, and she moved toward it quickly,
moving books about, hoping to find something hiding behind them.
    Del followed her progress
across the room, shifting his glance between Willow and the doorway to the outer office.
    “There has to be something here,” she said with a frustrated grunt in her throat.
    “Maybe whatever you thought he had was with him
in the car. Maybe it’s gone,” he whispered.
    Shuffles from outside made both of them freeze
in their tracks. “It’s the guard,” he muttered. “Get under the desk.” He
quickly pushed her in before him.
    Willow felt her heart thump
in alarm as the footsteps echoed through the empty office building, drawing
closer. Del
sat huddled beside her, his eyes trained on the floor—ready to spring into
action if the need arose. There was a rattle and a squeak as the door opened,
before a beam of light bounced around the room in a routine check. Then the
footsteps retreated and the room was once again dark and silent.
    Willow released the breath
she’d been holding—too scared to breathe in case she gave away their hiding
spot. Easing out from under the desk, Del
put out a hand to help her to her feet before moving toward the doorway,
checking the guard had gone. Waving her over, he ushered her through the door
and went back to fix the alarm he’d somehow immobilised on their entry. They slid out a side-door entrance, keeping to the shadows as
they crept back around to the front of the building. Willow was tempted to run
all the way back to the hotel but Del eased her back alongside him and took her
hand in his, keeping their pace to a cautious stroll.
    Expecting at any moment to be tapped on the
shoulder by a police officer and slapped into a pair of handcuffs, she was
relieved when they made it to the motel without incident, letting out a small
sigh of relief as they stepped into the elevator.
    “Miss Sheldon, wait.”
    Willow thought she might pass
out as a man in hotel uniform came running towards the lift, thrusting his hand
between the doors and making them spring back open. The puffing, round little
man flashed them a relieved smile. “Miss Sheldon, I’m terribly sorry, there was
some kind of mix-up today, and somehow this got overlooked. I’m very sorry
about the delay,” he apologised profusely.
    Willow sent Del a confused glance before turning back to
the