Chapter 4 - TRACES IN THE DUST
When Miller reached the basement threshold, he found Vance standing over the spilled contents of the handbag, shining his flashlight against the inner wall of the storage corridor.
“Look at the breaker panel,” Vance whispered, pointing his light toward the gray metal electrical box mounted against the brick wall.
Miller stepped closer. The master panel, which controlled the electricity for the entire eastern wing of the building, had its main housing door forced open. Inside, a heavy padlock lay sheared in half on the floor. More importantly, the specific breaker switch labeled Unit 3B had been manually flipped down, cutting power to Lily’s apartment while leaving the rest of the floor illuminated.
“Someone didn't just cause a blackout,” Miller said grimly. “They targeted them specifically. They wanted the lights out in that apartment.”
“And look at this,” Vance added, picking up a heavy iron crowbar resting against a nearby storage cage. Fresh silver metal shavings clung to its claw, matching the gouge marks on the basement door upstairs.
“Whose keys open this basement?” Miller asked.
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Vance’s expression darkened. “Only two people. The property management office downtown... and Arthur Pendelton, the resident building superintendent whose apartment is directly across the courtyard.”
A cold realization settled over the two officers. Pendelton. The quiet, gray-haired man who had lived in the building for twelve years, who always waved politely from his doorway, and whose television had been flickering through the blinds across the courtyard when they first arrived.
