The man backed down the ladder with Elvira following close behind him.
“Thank you for helping us,” Carlita said.
“Yeah.” Elvira swiped at her pant legs. “Thanks. You’re a real life saver.”
Carlita shifted her gaze from Elvira to the fire escape. “What in the world were you doing?”
“I was trying to reach the second story window. I almost cleared the landing when a chunk of it broke off and fell to the ground.” Elvira pointed to a section of rusted ladder nearby. “I almost went down with it.”
“I need to get back to work.” The worker snapped the ladder together and picked it up.
“Wait!” Elvira grabbed his arm. “Do you mind if I borrow the ladder for a few more minutes? I wanna go back up.”
“Are you crazy?” Carlita gasped.
Judging by the look on the worker’s face, he had the same thought.
“The fire escape is dangerous. What if the other section breaks off and you aren’t as lucky this time?” Carlita asked.
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
“Suit yourself. Bring it back when you’re done.” The worker returned to the restaurant. When he reached the doorway, he looked back and shook his head before disappearing into the building.
Carlita faced her former tenant. “I thought the upper level of your building was empty.”
“It was. I mean it is empty…at least I thought it was until the other night. There’s something strange going on over here.”
Chapter 6
Elvira unfolded the ladder and adjusted the legs. “I keep hearing funny noises at night and now during the day, so I thought it was time to check it out.” She scampered to the top and then gingerly stepped onto what was left of the landing.
“You sure you wanna do this?” Carlita shaded her eyes and gazed up. “What if that thing gives way like the rest of the fire escape?”
“Then I’m going to sue the city. There has to be some sort of safety code about making sure fire escapes are operational and safe.” Elvira bounced on the tips of her toes and the fire escape creaked under her weight.
Carlita stumbled backward. “You’re crazy.”
“Eh. I’ve been called worse.” She swiped her hand across the grimy windowpane and then stuck her forehead against it. “Can’t see anything but a bunch of storage boxes.”
She grasped the bottom of the sash and gave it a tug. It refused to budge. “I figured this was going to happen.”
Carlita rolled her eyes. “It’s locked for a reason.”
Elvira ignored Carlita’s comment as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small metal tool. She jammed the tool in the windowsill, and began wiggling it back and forth. “It’s going to…”
There was a faint popping sound. “Perfect.” Elvira slid the tool into her back pocket, lifted the window and stuck her leg inside before turning back. “Call the cops if I’m not out in ten minutes.”
She eased through the open window and disappeared from sight.
Carlita stood there for what seemed like forever, listening to muffled banging sounds.
“Elvira” Carlita cupped her hands to her mouth. “What’s going on?”
The only answer was another dull banging noise.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Carlita gingerly stepped on the bottom rung of the ladder. “I should leave her there.”
Common sense told her to leave Elvira to her own devices, but Carlita knew she couldn’t - not if she thought her former pain-in-the-rear tenant might be injured.
With each rung Carlita climbed, she called Elvira’s name.
When she reached the top of the ladder, she leaned forward in an attempt to peer inside the open window. The only thing visible was stacks of storage boxes.
Carlita grabbed hold of the base of the fire escape and wiggled it. Small chunks of rust fell to the ground, but the escape stayed put.
“I must be as cuckoo as she is,” Carlita muttered under her breath before she tentatively stepped onto the escape.
It let out a sharp snapping sound. Carlita quickly scrambled across the metal bars and vaulted through the window. In her haste to reach safety, she kicked the ladder. It teetered back and forth before falling over. The ladder made a loud clatter as it hit the ground.
“What was that?” Elvira hurried to the window.
“The ladder. I accidentally knocked it over when I was crawling through the window.”
The women peered down at the ladder, lying on its side. “Great. Now how are we going to get out of here?”
“There has to be a stairway leading down to the first floor,” Carlita said.
“There is.” Elvira motioned Carlita to follow her. The women zigzagged past several stacks of boxes before stepping into a narrow hall. It reminded Carlita of the layout of her own apartment building.
Inside the hall were several doors, all of them closed. “Don’t bother trying to get into the other rooms. They’re all locked.” Elvira pointed to the other end of the hall. “There’s the stairs to the lower level.”
“Great.” Carlita took a step forward.
“You’re wasting your time. The exit is sealed off.”
Sure enough, there was a wall at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’ll give Mercedes a call. She can come over and set the ladder back up.”
Elvira followed Carlita to the open window. “Good idea. I would call Dernice, but she’s working and I’m the only one home, which is why it seemed like the perfect opportunity to see what was going on around here.”
Carlita started to text her daughter and then stopped. “Crud. I just remembered. She’s not home. I’ll have to try Tony.”
She texted her son and he promptly replied he was with a customer and it would be a couple of minutes. She sent a reply, thanking him and then slipped the phone into her pocket. “Did you find anything?”
“Find what?” Elvira asked
“That someone
