Smoky Mountain Investigation Read Online Free

making it hard to breathe. Was he close by? Could he be watching her?
    Calm down. She forced her breathing to slow. She’d watched too many old episodes of The Twilight Zone with her sister.
    A jolt, then emergency lights flickered on, casting a dull glow around her. The elevator started to rise, steadily ascending, passing the third floor, then the fourth. Kylie stared at the glowing numbers, willing the car to stop. It didn’t matter where, she was getting off.
    Halfway between the fifth and sixth floors, the elevator stalled.
    Patience evaporated, Kylie slammed her fingers into the buttons on the panel. The elevator inched upward.
    Please, Lord, help me get out of here.
    She pressed her back into the corner of the car, bracing herself and whispering prayers as her fingers white-knuckled the wooden handrail. She held her breath. A second passed. A pulley squealed. The elevator made a rapid descent, whizzing down the shaft. She closed her eyes, teeth gritted, her pulse thumping steadily in her ears.
    Just when she thought all hope was gone, the car stopped and bounced. A scream caught in her throat, shock and fear rising as she lurched forward.
    For a frozen moment, Kylie regained her breath and flipped the emergency switch again. Lights flashed for a half second before darkness shrouded her.
    “Help!” She startled at the shrill echo of her voice.
    Stay calm. Short breaths billowed from her lungs. One moment. Two—not working. “Help me!” She pounded on the wall. “Somebody get me out of here!”
    Lights flickered on. The elevator started to ascend. She slumped against the wall again and watched as the blinking numbers above the door rose. Two. Three. Four. The lumbering machine finally ground to a jittery stop. As the heavy doors screeched open, she burst out and collided with a broad uniformed chest.
    After a stunned moment, Kylie grasped the situation. She inched back and lifted her gaze. A pair of amused blue eyes stared back at her.
    “Hello, Kylie. Are you okay?”
    “The elevator.” She gestured behind her before slapping a trembling hand against her rapidly beating chest. “I was trapped. No lights. The elevator stalled, then fell—” She ran out of breath before finishing.
    A wrinkle formed between Detective Dave Michelson’s eyes. “Security called about someone stuck between floors. You must have been the one screaming.”
    Several other officers stood around him. With shrugs and mumbles, the group dispersed.
    Half embarrassed, half relieved, Kylie nodded, and a breath flitted between her teeth.
    “I’ve never been trapped in an elevator before,” she mumbled, for a lack of anything better to say.
    “It happens sometimes.” Dave scratched beside his nose. “Probably just an electrical malfunction. The maintenance crew is already looking into it.”
    Just a malfunction? She forced a nod, her heart still racing.
    The day was not shaping up as she’d hoped.

THREE
    I nside the municipal building, Nick trekked up the last flight of stairs and stepped onto the fourth floor. As he wandered down the hall toward the police department, the sound of a woman’s anxious tone quickened his steps.
    A few weeks ago, he’d left the military and vowed to leave his training behind, live a peaceful life and mind his own business.
    Too late. His heart rate sped up and his thoughts churned into full investigative mode.
    He rounded the corner, his rapid steps heavy against the wood floor as he entered the elevator lobby. To his surprise, Kylie stood in plain view in front of the elevator. Her glossy dark hair, tied in a ponytail, bounced against her slender neck as she pivoted to look at him.
    “Nick.”
    He wagged his brows. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
    An uncertain smile quivered up at him. An unexpected heat filled his chest. She was getting to him, all right.
    “Nick Bentley,” the tall, burly officer greeted him, redirecting his thoughts.
    Nick shook Dave’s outstretched hand. “It’s