Free Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 15 - The Mona Lisa Murders by Kent Conwell Page A

bodies, but saw nothing.
    In the distance came the cries from isolated citizens punctuated by the coughing of straining outboards.
    ‘How you doing,’ I mumbled over my shoulder, keeping my eyes on the water before me.
    ‘I’m still here.’
    To my relief, only a few pieces of broken glass and a couple water-logged boards littered the stairs—no snakes.
    I waited for Latasha to go ahead of me. Halfway up, she pulled the key from her pocket and gave me a big grin.
    ‘Let’s get with it,’ I said. ‘The sooner we get that package, the sooner we get out of here.’
    ‘It can’t be too soon for me.’ With an impish grin, she turned and bounded up the stairs to the landing.
    I started up, but jerked to a halt when she screamed and stumbled backward. She slammed to the floor, one hand thrown wide. With a terrified scream, she leaped to her feet then lunged for the railing around the edge of the mezzanine.
    All I could think about were the snakes up above, and then I saw the key.
    Just as it toppled over the edge, her hand shot under the railing, grasping frantically at the small key.
    I saw it fall in slow motion, except it wasn’t slow enough. I leaped at the rail, stretching as far as I could in a desperate effort to catch the falling piece of metal, but it missed my fingers by inches, landing in the muddy water with a solemn plunk.
     

Chapter Fourteen
    Latasha lay motionless for what seemed like hours, then she jumped to her feet and in a amazing litany of curses, spun and sprayed the snakes slithering around on the terrazzo landing.
    A couple slid over the top of the stairs and started down.
    I hit them with a few heavy doses of gasoline, sending them curving through the railing and into the water below.
    Edmund shouted. ‘What happened?’
    Latasha called back. ‘The key! I lost the key!’
    Ignoring his shouts, I hurried up the stairs, fearful she’d been struck by one of the serpents when she fell to the floor.
    By the time I reached to landing, the last snake was disappearing over the edge, dodging a poorly-aimed kick she’d made at it.
    Latasha spun and raced down the stairs in tears. ‘I can’t believe it. Not after all this.’ She looked up at me, a glimmer of hope on his face. ‘Did you see where it hit? Maybe we can find it.’
    ‘In that muck down there? Forget it. Which locker is the package? I’ll see if I can jimmy it.’
    ‘Two eighty-seven. Over there,’ she replied, pointing at the end of a bank of lockers.
    One look, and I knew there was no way to break into it. Then an idea hit me. ‘A master key,’ I blurted out, looking around. ‘They’re bound to have a master key for these lockers.’
    His face red with frustration, Edmund shouted when he saw us descending the stairs. ‘What the blazes be going on?
    ‘We told you, we lost the key,’ I replied.
    ‘You what?’
    ‘I’ll explain later.’ With Latasha at my side, we waded across the lobby. By now, the humid hair was heavy with the stinging odor of gasoline ‘Watch out for snakes,’ I warned her. When we rounded a corner, we froze.
    Sprawled on the counter staring at us with glassy eyes lay a six-foot alligator.
    ‘That’s no snake,’ she muttered.
    ‘You’re telling me.’
    ‘On second thought,’ she whispered. ‘Let’s forget the master key.’
    ‘Good idea,’ I mumbled, backing away. ‘Best you’ve had all day. We can figure out what to do next when we get in the boat.’
    Even as we took our first step back, the reptile slid lazily into the muddy water and vanished. ‘Move,’ I whispered. ‘Fast.’
    We covered the twenty feet to the powerboat in mere seconds, but they seemed like weeks.
    Edmund stood in the bow, his dark eyes searching the water and his fingers tightly gripping the butt of an revolver. With his free hand, he helped us over the gunwale.
    Ten feet behind us, the alligator drifted to the surface, only the tip of his snout and his eyes above water. Edmund chuckled. ‘I be sorry, Mister