Fireproof

wall, about six inches wide and almost twelve inches above the water. Maggie stepped up onto it. Pressed her back against the wall and ignored dirt and concrete crumbing down into her collar. She could still feel the sting and pull of the stitches on her neck.
    The popping sound stopped. She was sure it had been lightbulbs. She could see the tunnel she had just come from had become dark. Someone had smashed the bulbs as he came up behind her.
    How the hell was he able to backtrack?
    It didn’t make sense that the tunnels would wind in a circle. And now she couldn’t hear any footsteps. Only water gushing through the pipes. A drip started over her head. She didn’t move. Tried to focus on the sounds beyond the pitter-plat. Within seconds the familiar throb began at her temple. That’s when she saw his shadow. He had stopped to listen for her. Just around the last corner, unaware that she could see a piece of his shadow.
    She held her breath, trying to quiet the pounding in her head and in her chest. She readjusted her grip on the revolver. It didn’tmatter. She couldn’t fire down here. The bullets would ricochet. He had to know that. Probably counted on it.
    She watched the shadow inch forward and she pressed tighter against the wall. The drip found her forehead. Damn! It wasn’t just water. She could smell it now. With a slow, smooth motion she switched her grip on the revolver, slipping her fingers down around the barrel, converting it from gun to club.
    “O’Dell, where the hell are you?” Racine’s voice echoed through the tunnel, almost making Maggie fall off her ledge.
    The shadow bobbed and ducked back out of sight. She heard a shuffle, a swish of water, and retreating footsteps. Maggie jumped off the ledge, jogged, and sloshed to the corner.
    He was gone.
    She tried to listen while her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. He had to have escaped down one of the dark tunnels. He could be standing halfway down in the pitch black, staring right at her, and she’d never see him. She felt a shiver. It didn’t help matters that her feet were soaked and her hair damp.
    “O’Dell?”
    “I’m here.” She finally yelled when she saw a flashlight beam dancing along the wall.
    She sidestepped her way to Racine, keeping an eye on the black mouths of the tunnels. Now she realized that to catch him down here would be impossible. He obviously knew his way around. But he was still there in the dark. She could feel him. Almost certain she could smell him. But there was nothing she could do.

CHAPTER 26

    “What the hell did you think you were doing?”
    Safely back aboveground, Maggie let Racine lecture her. A bit ironic—Racine was usually the one doing something reckless, running off half cocked. It didn’t matter. All Maggie could think about was that her feet were freezing. And even in the fresh cold air, she could tell she smelled bad.
    “Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to follow him down there?”
    “He probably knows his way around,” Tully said, holding his arm tight against his side.
    Maggie had asked about his arm when she first came out of the manhole. He had looked at her like she was ridiculous, considering she was the one coming up out of a hole in the ground. But he had assured her that nothing was broken. She wasn’t so sure about that from the pale look on his face.
    “You don’t want to go down there if you don’t know where you’re going,” Racine continued her lecture.
    “You’ve been down there?”
    “No, but I’ve heard stories. The tunnels go all over the place.You need higher security clearance these days to work in the sewers than to work in the Pentagon.”
    “You think he’s our firefly?” Tully asked the obvious.
    “Why else run?”
    “Did you see him?” He wanted to know.
    She shook her head. It was true. She hadn’t seen him. Now she wondered if she had really seen his shadow or heard footsteps. It didn’t make sense. Maybe she’d talk to Tully about it later. She wasn’t going to talk about it with Racine. That would be another lecture.
    “He could just be some homeless guy,” Racine offered. “He was probably scavenging around after the fire and we scared the shit out of him.”
    “What’s in the backpack?” Maggie asked Tully, just realizing that he had it with him.
    “I don’t think it’s his. He may have found it. Or stolen it,” Tully told them as he lowered then dropped the bag from his shoulder. The whole time Maggie could see