“This is a prime spot for it.” Logan glanced up at the ceiling. “The roof leaked, and the floor rotted near the front door.”
A moan sounded from what seemed like the basement. But they had to clear the first floor before moving downstairs.
They moved forward toward another choke point, a hallway that opened off the living room. Four doorways lined the corridor. The two bedrooms and single bath were empty. Tessa opened the last door. A set of stairs led down into a dank and dirty basement.
Tessa didn’t like it, not one bit.
As the officer with training, she went first.
Stairways were called fatal funnels for a reason. Once she and Logan started down, there would be no cover and no concealment. She went down with sure movements, keeping her back to the wall and quickly clearing each visible slice of the room before moving to the next step. Three-quarters of the way down the stairs, wood clunked, and fabric rustled.
Another human groan floated up to them. “Who’s there?” The voice from the basement was female.
Tessa froze. “Sheriff’s department.”
“Thank God,” the woman said. “I need help. I fell through the floor.”
The cracks hadn’t been gunshots but the sound of the porch boards breaking.
The voice was familiar. Tessa knew this woman. “Patsy? Patsy Taylor?” Patsy was Deputy Bruce Taylor’s mother, visiting from Oregon.
“Yes,” Patsy said.
“Bruce’s mom?” Logan asked.
Tessa nodded. “Patsy, are you alone?”
“Yes,” she said.
Tessa followed protocol and cleared the remainder of the basement. She was on the bottom step when she caught sight of Patsy lying in a pile of broken boards and dust. The rest of the basement was empty, except for large piles of debris.
Tessa picked her way across the debris and knelt at Patsy’s side. “Where are you hurt?”
“It feels like my ankle is broken, and my foot is stuck.” Patsy pointed at a large beam that rested across her ankle. “I hit my head too.”
“Let’s get that beam off your ankle.” Logan started removing boards and tossing them. He squatted and took hold of the beam, but it wouldn’t budge. “I’m going to remove your shoe. Maybe we can slide you out. This is probably going to hurt. I’m sorry.” He tugged on the laces and gently slipped the shoe from Patsy’s foot.
Tessa glanced around the basement. Dirt, trash, and leaves lay in deep piles. The smell was much stronger in the basement. Decomposition lay as thick as fog in the musty air. In the far corner, the buzzing of flies sounded like a lawn mower. She breathed through her mouth and fought her gag reflex.
Logan set aside Patsy’s shoe and sock. Tessa slid her hands under Patsy’s arms and tried to tug her free. She wouldn’t budge.
Patsy cried out in pain.
“This isn’t going to work,” Tessa said. “The fire department should be here any minute, and I’ll call Bruce.” Tessa straightened and checked her phone. Zero reception. “I need to go outside. I’ll be right back.” She hurried up the stairs, grateful for the fresh air flooding her nostrils. Outside, she called Bruce on her way to her vehicle.
“Tessa?” Bruce answered. “What’s up?”
“Your mom fell through the floor of an abandoned house.” Tessa summed up the situation.
“What? Where is she?” Bruce exclaimed.
“Number twenty-seven Mimosa Street.”
“That’s only a mile from my house. I’ll be right there.” Bruce ended the call.
Tessa removed a blanket, a bottle of water, and a first aid kit from her vehicle. Across the street, Gladys looked out the window. Tessa waved to her, and Gladys opened her front door.
“Everything is all right,” Tessa called. “Someone fell through the floor.”
“Thank you.” Gladys waved back.
Tessa went back into the house and down the stairs. That smell . . .
Logan crouched, pressing his fingers to the top of Patsy’s foot. Tessa already knew his combat experience had left him with excellent emergency first aid training.
“Her pedal pulse is good, so I don’t think the beam is cutting off her circulation.”
“That’s good.” Tessa wrapped the blanket around Patsy’s shoulders.
“Thank you.” Patsy clutched the edges of the blanket together.
Tessa opened the water bottle and handed it to her. Patsy took a small sip. Tessa opened the first aid kit and massaged an ice pack until it felt cold. She handed it to Logan, who placed it on Patsy’s foot.
Patsy flinched.
“I’m sorry,” Logan said. “But I’d like to control the swelling as much as possible.”
“Not your fault. This was all my doing.” Patsy licked her lips. Her voice was rough, but she waved a hand toward her injured limb. “I’ll be all right. I raised four kids. I hate that you had to bother the fire department. I’m conscious, I’m not hemorrhaging, and nothing is on fire. It’s not a real emergency.”
Tessa chuckled. Patsy was putting up a good front, but she was in pain. The ankle was either badly sprained or broken.
“Does anything else hurt?” Tessa asked.
“My head, but just a little. I’m sure I have a few cuts and bruises, but none feel major.”
“I want you to hold still anyway, just in case.” Tessa took Patsy’s pulse. It felt steady but maybe a little weak. “Did you lose consciousness?”
“I don’t think so.”
Think? Not good.
Emergencies could turn deadly fast on the island. Widow’s had one doctor, Henry Powers, who had upgraded his practice to a full-fledged urgent care center over the previous winter. Patsy could have a neck, spine, or other serious injury she wasn’t aware of. There was no hospital, and the closest thing they had to an ambulance was the funeral home’s hearse.
“I dropped my phone somewhere. I tried looking for it.” Patsy glanced around and winced. “But moving around turned out to be a bad idea.” She sniffed, and her face scrunched. “It’s probably a bad idea for other reasons. It smells like something died down here.”
“It does,” Tessa agreed.
“I’m going to check on the fire crew’s ETA.” Logan stood and hurried toward the stairs. He returned in less than a minute. “About two more minutes.”
The firemen needed to drive to the station before heading out on the call.
Patsy’s face was pale. Tessa shone the flashlight on her head. “Is your head bleeding?”
“I don’t think so.” Patsy didn’t sound sure.
Tessa didn’t like the fatigue in her voice. Normally, Patsy had a very strong personality.
“I’m going to check your head.”
“Okay.”
Tessa probed Patsy’s scalp. “The good news is I don’t feel any blood. The bad news is that I found a nice goose egg.”
“Do you need me to call Henry?” Logan asked.
Tessa scanned Patsy. She was moving her head and coherent, but Tessa was no doctor. If she asked Patsy, she’d undoubtedly say she was fine.
“Henry is the doctor, right?” Patsy said. She didn’t wait for an answer. “You don’t have to drag him all the way over here. Bruce can drive me to the clinic when he gets here.”