Deadly Testimony (Safeguard #2)(37)

“Huh. To be honest, I never noticed.” The security guard scratched his head and waved a hand toward the elevator. “Why don’t you go ahead and take a look?”

Lizzy looked up at Kyle with wide eyes and blinked a couple of times. “Do you mind, sweetie?”

Amusement twinkled in his eyes as he looked down at her. “Of course not.”

She gave them both the brightest smile she could flash and skipped over to the elevator.

It took a long minute or two to arrive. Slow elevator. All for the better, they’d be leaving quickly. When the elevator opened, she leaned in to get a look at the button panel and pressed the button for the top floor using the top of her knuckle.

“This one has a fourth floor.” She returned to them in a rush, letting out a breathless laugh.

“You might want to check out a few of the corporate buildings in Chinatown, miss.” The security guard smiled. “Might have a better chance of finding a building like that there.”

“Thank you.” Lizzy hooked her hand in the crook of Kyle’s arm and the two of them waved as they left.

“What was that about?” Kyle asked.

“Walk first. We’ll need to get a little distance.” She set the pace to match several other tourists heading toward Pike Place Market. “And did you put your hand on my ass as we were leaving? Seriously?”

Kyle shrugged, completely unrepentant. “It’s a habit. It would have appeared odd if I didn’t do it as we left. Our friend at the security desk would’ve been disappointed.”

“If you want to keep using that hand, don’t do it again without permission.” She closed her mouth with a click of her teeth, instantly regretting the phrasing.

Both his eyebrows went up. “Really? Well then, I promise not to do it again until you give me permission.”

“Not what I meant.”

“Perhaps not, but I will enjoy reminding you of the promise in any case.” He chuckled.

Fantastic.

“However, I do want to know what you did in the elevator. I thought you said it would be dangerous to go inside.” Kyle hadn’t forgotten his question.

And he’d be getting his answer in a minute or so. It was a damned slow elevator.

At that moment, there was a muffled boom. She let them both turn to look back the way they’d come like everyone else on the street. Then she tugged at Kyle to get him moving.

“I sent it up to the top floor.” She pulled them into a café and started to reach into her bag for pieces of clothing to change.

“Was that an explosion?” Kyle’s hand covered hers on the bag and he leaned in to whisper intensely. “Wait. You said it could be a trap of some kind. What if someone is hurt?”

Here was where she hoped her gut never led her wrong. “As a contingency, it wouldn’t be set to blow up and take the whole building down and it didn’t, as you saw. The sniper would just want enough of a delay to buy him or her time to escape. Most likely the elevator would be disabled, even fall back down to the ground floor with the intent to injure whoever was inside but not cause damage to any of the other floors or the people on them. The elevator was empty when I sent it up. No one should be hurt.”

Kyle was silent for a moment. “But why do it at all?”

“To disable it before someone goes up there to do real work.” Which was true but not her main motive. “And to bring some attention to that building. Here. Out of the suit. We’ll put you in jeans with a T-shirt and vest. Keep the other vest on.”

Kyle took the items without argument but he looked unsettled.

She didn’t blame him. Of course there were doubts. Especially in a heavily populated area like a city, she figured an operative good enough to hide the evidence of their presence the way they did would also be sure to limit collateral damage unless absolutely necessary. It was a gamble, but it was almost certain she was right.

And she needed the police to investigate that building. And the fact that it’d been an explosion and not just a broken elevator added to her suspicions.

Safeguard had crossed paths with another skilled sniper not too long ago, one with an added joy for setting up explosives. The presence of explosives right here in combination with the connection to Phoenix Biotech was starting to point to Edict.

And Jewel.

Which meant Lizzy needed to take steps to confirm or rule out the possibility. Gabe would need to know for certain if this was more of Jewel’s work. This was a lead, but it wasn’t irrefutable. Lizzy liked to dig until she had the clear picture.

She needed more pieces to the puzzle.

It took her just a minute to change, clip a few dyed hair extensions into her hair, then twist it into a bun. With a cute cap on and just the hair extensions falling in loose curls, her look was sufficiently changed. She also pulled on jeans over the tight dress she’d been wearing and threw on a jacket.

Done, she exited the bathroom and tapped on the men’s room door. Kyle emerged a few seconds later.

“I don’t think I want coffee after all. Let’s go. We’ll pick up a late lunch on the way back.” She took his hand in hers and they proceeded to stroll out onto the street.

Sirens announced the arrival of police cars and they stopped to stare along with everyone else before heading toward Pike Place Market.

“What’s next?” Kyle adjusted his hand in hers until their fingers were linked.