And just in time!
The second her hands were back on her lap, she looked up to see a fourth man—slight in build with dark hair greased straight back—at the passenger window, looking in.
Henry Van Peridon.
Rosa didn’t think Henry would recognize her. She’d only ever seen him from a distance, but as a precaution, she kept her gaze averted and her head turned. He seemed more concerned with the handcuffs on her wrists, and moments later, slapped the roof before walking away.
Joining his brother, Henry and Thomas conferred with Miguel and Detective Sanchez for several minutes, far enough from the police vehicle that Rosa couldn’t hear what they were saying. Miguel regularly motioned toward the building, and the two men responded with shaking heads. It wasn’t difficult to understand the nature of the conversation. Soon Miguel motioned in the other direction where Rosa now saw a path that likely led to the back of the building. A flat metal blade angling through some trees was just visible from her point of view and looked like it could be a part of an airplane.
The moment the men rounded the corner of the building, Rosa grabbed the car door handle, carefully opened the door, and then closed it behind her. She stared back at Diego through the window, his little face with his big golden eyes staring up with a look of betrayal.
“Sorry, Diego. I’ve got to go alone this time. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Keeping low to the ground, Rosa crept away from the police car toward the building. The overhang of the low-slanted roof shadowed the front entrance. Not until she neared the glass doors did she see a bored-looking security guard wearing brown pants and a tan shirt stretched over a round belly.
She pressed against the building then snuck in the opposite direction from where the men had gone. Several metal, windowless doors lined the side of the building, but they were all locked, and for all Rosa knew, they could have been guarded on the other side. Reaching the backside of the building, she came to a cliff front. Rosa now understood why they had built the research center here. Only three sides could be breached.
Directly above her, where the building protruded out over the cliff, was a large balcony. It had wall-to-wall windows and a glass door out onto it. Rosa was glad she’d chosen to wear capri pants rather than a dress, as some climbing would be required. She scanned the rock face under the balcony for the best place to find hold, slipped out of her sandals, and heaved herself onto a wooden crossbar. Like her mother, Rosa was stronger than she looked. As she hoisted herself up and found her footing, she thought back to the times while on duty that she’d climbed fire escapes or alley fences to catch a running suspect. The same adrenaline ran through her veins now.
It wasn’t a tall building, and she only had to make less than fifteen feet. Hand over hand, and ignoring the weight of the handcuff hanging from her left arm, she climbed the braces of the overhang one by one. When she reached the railing, she carefully maneuvered over it and found herself on solid footing.
The sunshine beat down on the window and made it difficult to see through. For a split second, Rosa thought she was looking into a mirror rather than through a plate of glass. Reflected was a slender woman with brown hair, but this one wasn’t wearing capri pants. This one wore a blue dress.
“Pauline!” Rosa yelled through the glass. “I just want to ask—” But she stopped because Pauline had already spun and raced out a door behind her.
22
The balcony door was open with only a screen door blocking Rosa’s way. With more strength than was necessary, Rosa whipped it open and stepped inside.
The family office? Three large mahogany desks were covered with everything from paperwork to wires and knobs and steel plates. Rosa approached the first one and noted a framed black-and-white photograph of a man dressed in a suit with baggy pants and a double-breasted jacket, and a fedora hat styled from the war years. An inscription plate attached to the frame read, Robert Van Peridon, 1901-1945. He stood proudly by an old wartime airplane.
An item sitting close to the photo stopped Rosa in her tracks. A cylindrical piece of red rubber, with a jagged open slice down one side, sat on the ledge beside the photo as though it were a trophy. A shiver went down Rosa’s spine.
The lever for the roller coaster’s brake.
Rosa raced to the office door and opened it a sliver to peek at what was on the other side. A grouping of glass-paneled rooms as far as the eye could see. Workers in lab coats filled the spaces, and there were walls upon walls of buttons and interconnected wires and flashing lights. A female figure gestured madly at a security guard.
Rosa hesitated. If she scaled back down the balcony trestles, she would never catch Pauline, but if she went the faster way, down the stairs and out the front door, the security guard was sure to stop her.
Or try to.
Keeping her eyes peeled for anything that might assist her, Rosa raced from the office and down the hall toward the stairs. The researchers paid her no attention, which was helpful. As she passed the third glass-walled room, she saw exactly what she needed hanging from a hook by the door. A spare lab coat!
It was big on her, which would help conceal the handcuffs still dangling from her left wrist. Nobody seemed to notice her grab the smock or race for the stairs while slipping her arms inside.
She didn’t look the part of a tidy researcher. Her hair had fallen slightly forward and her feet were bare, but she hoped that if she strode
