The townhouse in Brooklyn Heights sat halfway down a tree-lined block where the brownstones all looked like they had something to prove. Tall iron railings framed the stoop, and the front door stood open behind a strip of yellow police tape that fluttered lazily in the morning breeze.
There were also a couple of uniforms posted around the place.
The trio went through the gate.
Ray ducked under the tape first and stepped into the foyer while Amy and Boyle followed close behind him. The smell inside the house carried a faint mix of perfume and polished wood.
They put on their gloves, then checked the lock and the door for any damage or signs of lockpicking, but found nothing wrong.
"Looks like whoever kidnapped Wuntch knew her. There is no sign of tampering with the lock or the door. So, she must have opened the door for our kidnapper, or our kidnapper had a key," Ray said after double-checking.
"Could be her boyfriend?" Charles said, looking very serious.
Both Ray and Amy gave him that look that said: Seriously?
"What? Even the devil needs to release some sexual tension from time to time," Charles said as he walked further in.
Amy looked around quickly and flipped open her notebook while she walked. "The responding officers said the driver arrived at six fifty-five and waited outside for about ten minutes before checking in, since Wuntch is never late, and found the scene."
Boyle stepped carefully around a cluster of glass shards on the tile floor and crouched beside a small side table that had been knocked onto its side. "The struggle definitely happened here. Look at the impact pattern on the wall. That table didn't just tip over; it was pushed."
Ray moved farther into the foyer and studied the room without touching anything. A tall mirror hung crooked beside the staircase and one of the lamps had shattered across the floor. A single black shoe rested near the base of the stairs like someone had kicked it loose during a fight.
Amy followed his gaze and wrote something down quickly. "That matches Holt's report. One of Wuntch's shoes was found at the scene."
Boyle leaned closer to the shoe and squinted at it like a museum curator examining a rare artifact. "You know what's fascinating about this situation is that Wuntch always wears heels with reinforced steel shanks for posture. If this came off during the struggle then whoever grabbed her must have pulled pretty hard."
Ray crouched beside the shoe and studied the floor around it while Boyle kept talking. The tile carried faint scuff marks that ran toward the front door and then stopped suddenly near the threshold.
Boyle looked up from the shoe with a thoughtful expression. "I'm just saying, if I were kidnapping a deputy chief of police, I would probably avoid grabbing someone wearing structural footwear."
Amy glanced toward the scuff marks near the doorway and crouched beside Ray. "Those drag lines weren't made by heels... It looks like they moved something else."
Ray nodded slowly while running his fingers a few inches above the floor without touching the marks. "They lifted her here."
Boyle stood and looked between them. "Lifted her?"
Ray straightened and gestured toward the doorway. "She fought near the stairs and their struggles dragged around this area." He pointed around the hall. "Whoever grabbed her dragged her toward the exit along with something else, as Amy said..." He pointed at the two scuff marks on the floor. One was deep and the other was faint. "Then picked her up once they reached the door." He pointed at the wooden extension outside the main door. "See, only one mark."
Amy looked toward the open doorway and frowned slightly while visualizing the sequence. "Which means they were confident enough to carry her outside in broad daylight."
"And they are strong enough to carry her, probably threw her over his or her shoulder while carrying that 'something else'... could be a briefcase or something similar," Ray explained. He then looked at Charles. "Charles, ask around and see if anyone saw a car leaving around 6 - 7 AM. And pull CCTV footage from the area." Then he looked toward Amy, "Amy, check the roof. Someone could've climbed and entered through there. I'll take the upstairs."
The three detectives split up without another word, the weight of the scene pressing them into motion. Charles headed back toward the front door to start knocking on neighboring brownstones and chase down any neighborhood cameras that might have caught something at dawn. Amy went to the roof, and Ray went to the master bedroom.
The high ceilings and heavy curtains made it feel quiet and expensive. He opened the door wider. There were no signs of chaos. Everything looked normal. The only thing out of place was the closet, with one door wide open.
He walked over and looked inside. A digital safe sat bolted to the floor between rows of tailored suits and neatly arranged shoe racks. It was open and empty. Ray crouched, scanned the interior for tool marks or scratches around the keypad, and found none. Whoever opened it had the combination or the override code, or had Wuntch open it by putting a gun to her head.
Ray straightened and moved to the bed next. He crouched and checked beneath it with a quick glance.
Clear.
He stood and walked toward the window. From here, he could see the backyard. His eyes went toward a small outdoor storehouse hunkered against the far wall, wooden siding weathered gray, padlock chain dangling loose and clearly snapped. The damage looked fresh, metal edges bright where the links had parted.
"Interesting. Now, why would anyone go inside a storage shed?"
Ray turned away from the window and started back toward the stairs, mind already shifting to that shed. Halfway down, he paused, eyes dropping to the drag marks visible from this angle. Two parallel lines etched into the polished wood, one deeper than the other, running from the foyer toward the front door. He had assumed they led outside. Now the direction felt suddenly reversible.
"What if someone brought something inside from outside instead of taking something from inside?" He mumbled to himself.
He descended the rest of the stairs faster, dropped to one knee beside the marks again. Leaned close, pressed his nose near the deeper groove, and inhaled. Sharp chemical bite hit his sinuses instantly, familiar and unmistakable. His pulse kicked up. For someone who had spent the majority of his time on the field could never mistake this scent.
"Explosives!"
The word slipped out under his breath while adrenaline slammed into his bloodstream.
He flattened his palm on the floorboards, then his ear, blocking out the distant murmur of street noise.
Then he heard it.
A faint rhythmic sound.
Beep.
A pause.
Another beep.
His eyes snapped open.
Ray shot to his feet and sprinted upstairs without hesitation while pulling his phone from his pocket. He called Holt.
Holt answered after one ring.
"Detective White."
Ray spoke quickly as he ran up.
"Captain, evacuate everyone out of the perimeter right now. They put explosives under the house floor. I have no idea if there are any outside. It looks like a time bomb. I've no idea how much time we have."
Holt's voice immediately sharpened. "I am initiating immediate evacuation procedures. Are you, Amy, and Charles safe?"
"Hopefully, I'll call you back after we clear the area," Ray cut the call and yelled, "AMY!"
Ray burst through the roof door and the cold air hit him in the face. Amy turned immediately at the sound of the door slamming open. She stood near the low brick wall at the edge of the roof with a small tool bag hanging from one hand.
Ray did not slow down.
"AMY!"
She blinked in surprise and stepped toward him. "What happened?"
Ray crossed the roof fast and pointed toward the two round metal staircases that spiraled down along both sides of the building. One led toward the front alley, and the other dropped straight into the backyard.
He grabbed the railing of the left one and leaned over the opening to look down the spiral. "There are explosives under the house. We need to move right now."
Amy's face went pale.
"Explosives?"
Ray pointed sharply down the spiral staircase.
"No time to explain. Go."
Amy hesitated for half a second. "What about you?"
Ray had already moved past her toward the other staircase.
"I'll catch up," he said while grabbing the railing. His eyes locked with hers for one brief second. "Run. NOW!"
"But!" She tried to argue.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE AND DON'T ARGUE," Ray raised his voice.
Amy did not argue again.
"I love you," She said in a low voice.
"I love you too," He said with a nod.
She slung the tool bag over her shoulder and rushed down the spiral staircase, boots clanging loudly against the metal steps as she descended toward the backyard.
Ray was already climbing down the other one at full speed.
The metal stairs rattled under his weight as he moved. His hand slid along the railing while he jumped three steps at a time.
As soon as he landed, he ran straight toward the storage house and kicked the door open. He quickly looked around and noticed a plastic covering half of the floor. He quickly removed it and saw a hidden hatch.
Luckily, there was no lock on it.
Ray opened it, and inside lay Wuntch, bound in rope and mouth taped. She looked up at him and wriggled.
"Kinky! BDSM play gone wrong?" He said casually before pulling her up. He ripped the tape off, but with the explosives that could go off at any moment, he didn't have the time to untie the ropes. So, he put her up on his shoulder and ran.
"Fuck you, White," Wuntch cursed with a little grunt.
"You wish," Ray said as he ran over to the front.
"This doesn't change what you've done to me," She said.
"Hey, don't blame me. It was your plan to infiltrate that sex cult and it was also your idea to have sex with me just for the entry test," Ray countered. "Now, shut up and put on your usual devil mask. And forget about the past. It was just a mission."
"You put it in the wrong hole, you bastard," Wuntch whispered.
"No wonder it was so tight and good," Ray said with a chuckle.
As soon as Ray ran out of the main gate, the bomb exploded... The shockwave threw them, crashing into a nearby car, but Ray somehow twisted his body to protect her.