CHAPTER 71 - Rita

CHAPTER 71RitaWE’VE JUST CLEARED ANOTHER BASEMENT WITH NO LUCK. WITH each house, we’ve entered the front door anxious and on alert, only to be let down. My ankle is throbbing. I’d turned it maneuvering through debris, catching my foot on a kid’s rusted bicycle, but I suck it up. I’m going to see this through. I’ll find Mrs. Bradley or break my leg trying.Outside, the air’s frigid, and the smells of the city surround us in the early-morning haze. Joe and I huddle against a wall as the team leader reports back on his radio. We’ve got one more house to search to clear this block. I try to push away the doubts that threaten to crawl into my mind.But I can’t help whispering to Joe, “What do you think? What if she’s not here?” As if he’s got a better plan.He shakes his head. “We keep moving, Rita.” He rubs his large hand over his chin, the scar disappearing underneath his fingers. “We keep going until we find her, wherever she is.”I glance across the street, one that’s already been cleared, and hope that we’ve got this right. What if Ferris dumped his cell phone in the area and took off? What if we’ve just wasted the last hour climbing through abandoned homes, across rotted floorboards, searching trash-filled basements for nothing? The officer leading our team looks up and motions us forward. I fall into line behind Joe, and we move out along the broken sidewalk and advance up the next set of stairs and into another decaying foyer. We fan out, clearing the first-floor rooms. Then we gather up in the back hallway, listen. There’s noise, movement below, and my heartbeat ratchets up. Our team leader raises a hand and signals for quiet. A man’s voice. He’s here. We creep forward toward the basement door, weapons raised.