Free Thin Ice 6 - Hangman & Socrates by KR BANKSTON

Swallowing hard she finally forced her feet to move and walked over to the large wooden armoire, sliding the key inside and opening it. Once again Lauren had to remove the shelving and open the small panel behind them to reveal the safe. It was a combination lock and fortunately Carlo had given her the numbers to unlock it during one of their talks. Her father spent a lot of time giving her life advice, Lauren thought as she turned the tumblers. Too bad none of it was about how to forget your father was the first man ever to have sex with you, she continued to ponder as she turned to the last digits and popped the safe handle. The door opened without effort rewarding her with the treasure she sought. All fear and reservations gone now, Lauren quickly grabbed stack after stack of cash, transporting them back to the book bag, filling it to capacity. She grabbed another small tote bag she found in the room and finished emptying the safe, quickly filling that one as well. Lauren knew the safe contained almost a half million dollars and that would definitely keep her hidden the year she needed to finally turn eighteen.
    *****
    Blue heard the noise and immediately began heading for its source. He arrived on the third floor of the house, finding it once again deathly silent. Taking a deep breath he continued to wait and listen, praying Lauren would make another sound so he could find her. Looking down the long hallway, Blue thought he saw something and began walking toward it. He took in the house as he walked, finding it just a regal as the other floors he’d passed on his way up. Carlo definitely knew how to live. He took in the artwork hanging from the walls, all masterpieces from various French and European painters. The marbled floors were exquisitely polished, causing him to walk gingerly on them, even knowing the house was now deserted. Blue looked up to find himself standing in front of a bedroom. Curious he walked inside. This had to be Lauren’s room, he thought as he enjoyed the soft pastel pinks of her curtains and walls. The bed was canopy with a sheer topper that made it look royal. Her dolls lined shelf after shelf in the room. Blue walked over and opened her closet revealing row upon row of clothing, shoes, hats, and accessories. Everything a girl could want, Lauren had. Blue walked into the adjoining bathroom, the pink accessories matching the outer bedroom. He smiled slightly trying hard to reconcile the Lauren he knew now with the soft frilly little girl who had inhabited this room at one time.
    Another noise broke his thought and brought him quickly back to the hallway trying to disseminate which direction the sound resonated. Holding his breath and listening, the sound came again, closer this time as Blue turned to his right and continued down the hallway, quickly seeing the mess left in the floor and the obviously hidden stairwell illuminated now by one softly glowing light. Checking his pocket, Blue felt the .38 still in place and carefully made his way down the stairs, praying none of the creaked and gave away his presence just yet. Reaching the midpoint of the staircase, he leaned down trying to get a visual of the room and who might have been inside it. He could only see a couple of chairs from his perch and continued down the rest of the stairs in front of him. Reaching the bottom finally, he saw Lauren. She was on her knees, back to him, clutching something and sobbing hysterically. Not wanting to startle her, and knowing how deadly Lauren could be, Blue made his way directly behind her, reaching out and putting both arms around her, holding her tightly so she couldn’t swing on him. Lauren immediately began to struggle as he spoke in her ear.
    “ It’s just me baby, calm down,” Blue told her gently. “I didn’t want to scare you,” he added as she recognized his voice and stopped fighting.
    Letting her go, she turned to him asking why he was there.
    “ I followed you from school,” he told her