The Darkness Knows Read Online Free

turned with a flourish. “I’ll see you in the studio,” he said to Vivian, giving Angelo a little salute before the doors closed again.
    Another few practiced jerks of the controls and they arrived at the twelfth floor. It seemed to have cleared out almost completely since Vivian retrieved her purse only thirty minutes earlier. She stuck her head tentatively out the elevator door and surveyed the hallway in both directions. No more than half of the hallway lights were illuminated.
    Angelo also poked his head out of the car to survey the atmosphere. He sniffed, as if testing the air. “Would you like me to walk with you, miss?”
    Vivian stepped out into the hall. Something felt wrong. Were the lights always turned off this early in the evening?
    â€œOh, no, Angelo,” she said, squinting into the semidarkness. “Thank you for the offer. I’m not going far.” She waved her hand toward the end of the hallway with a confidence she didn’t feel and headed toward the lounge, wincing as every step echoed on the marble floors. Vivian glanced at the closed doors of the studios she passed. Most of them were small and used for news broadcasts or lectures.
    The other half of the floor was occupied by rehearsal space and administrative offices, which were usually deserted by seven o’clock. Even Mr. Hart rarely worked later than that. She started to hum “Jeepers Creepers” in an effort to lighten the mood but stopped after a few bars. It was a poor choice of song. She increased her pace, heels clicking madly.
    Vivian walked quickly, breezing right past the closed lounge door, then stopped so abruptly that she lost her balance and stumbled, the flat side of her right heel scraping the slick floor. She righted herself, and as she bent over to rub out the offending scuff mark her shoe had made, she saw a sign pinned to the door.
    She leaned in to get a closer look, and the remaining hallway lights silently blinked to life. Vivian gasped and jumped backward. Her hand flew to her chest, and she felt her heart thumping beneath her open palm. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and when she finally turned back toward the elevator, she saw that Angelo had found the light switch. He stood just outside the elevator doors, watching her with an anxious expression on his face. She waved her thanks to him and sighed at her skittishness.
    She returned her attention to the note. On what appeared to be the blank side of a piece of a script was written “Closed for Cleaning” in large block letters. She pushed the door with the tips of her fingers. It wasn’t latched and swung open with more force than she had intended, hitting the wall with a bang.
    The interior room’s lack of windows made the darkness almost complete. She could see nothing but the soft yellow glow of the radio in the corner of the room, which was tuned to The Kraft Music Hall .
    Bing Crosby quietly crooned a love song as Vivian felt around the corner to flip the switch. She sighed with relief when light flooded the room. It looked just as it had a few hours earlier: dirty coffee cups scattered about, ashtrays overflowing. Her discarded carton of cigarettes still rested near the sink. Clearly, no one had been cleaning anything in here.
    She was sure her umbrella had fallen under a chair at one of the tables on the far side of the room where she’d had her lunch earlier in the day. As she approached, she thought she spied the tip of the black handle peeking out from underneath the table closest to the sink. Vivian sighed with relief and crouched down to retrieve it.
    Her eyes were drawn to the admonishing note pinned above the sink in front of her: “Please rinse out all cups PROMPTLY.” She rolled her eyes as her fingertips brushed the floor. Her hand closed around something soft, but when Vivian pulled, it didn’t budge. She wrinkled her brow and pressed the object with her fingertips. It gave