Sin pulled up the list of properties Frank owned. “There’s a lot to cover on here.”
Anson was scanning the casino floor. Maybe hoping to catch a glimpse of Frank? “We can rule out any of the places that are going concerns. Like that coffee bar he owns. Too public. Is there anything that looks like a warehouse or a building that’s for sale?”
Sin scanned the list. Knowing Birdie, she’d made annotations for that sort of thing. “Here’s something. A nightclub near Fremont.” He looked up. “It’s not operational, as it’s currently for sale.”
Anson’s brows lifted slightly. “Asking price?”
“Two point two million. But there’s also a house listed for sale. Must have been an investment property because it’s only twenty-two hundred square feet. Too small for a guy with Frank’s money and status.”
“Where’s the house?” Anson asked.
“Skye Canyon. Looks like it’s about thirty minutes away.”
“No,” Anson said. “He wouldn’t keep her there. It’s too far away. He’d want something he could easily access. And if the house is for sale, it could be shown anytime.”
I tipped my head to one side as I thought about that. “But isn’t the same true for the nightclub?”
“Less likely,” Anson said. “At that asking price, buyers would have to be pre-qualified. Frank would know if someone was going to look at it, and it’s close enough that he could get there first.” He took a breath. “That could absolutely be where he’s keeping her. Especially because a lot of nightclubs have soundproofing. Even if she yelled for help, no one would hear her.”
Sin put his phone away. “Then that’s where we’re headed.”
It took us almost twenty minutes to get there because of traffic. Jack called to say there was still no movement from Tony, which I relayed to Sin and Anson while I kept him on the phone.
“Tell them to go back to the house,” Anson said. “Or go out to eat or play tourist or anything else they might want to do. If Lila’s not at the nightclub, we’re out of options.”
That made my heart hurt, but he was kind of right. We’d exhausted all possibilities at this point. And what I needed Birdie for could wait. “Jack? Anson said to call it. He also said you and Birdie should go back to the house or go do whatever you want to do because we’re pretty much out of options.”
Jack sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Me, too.”
“I’ll let Birdie know. We’ll stay in touch. I think there’s something she wants to do anyway.”
“Okay, sounds good. Thanks.” I hung up and tucked my phone away, pretty much feeling like I was on the verge of a good cry. We couldn’t be at the end of this search. We hadn’t found Lila yet. Giving up wasn’t an option.
But we were sort of out of places to look if the nightclub didn’t pan out. Sure, there were more properties to check, but Sin would have said something if another one of them looked like a good option.
My heart sank.
Sin parked outside the nightclub. The place looked like it hadn’t been in operation for some time. We got out and took a better look. I left my purse in the car, sticking my phone in my back pocket. Sin shook his head. “We need to find a side entrance. Or a back one. A place we can get into without having the cops called on us.”
“I agree, but…” I pointed up at a security camera. “If there’s one out front, there will probably be one out back, too.”
Anson let out a little grunt. “Child’s play.” His gaze narrowed, the air shimmered, and a second later, he gave me a nod. “Taken care of.”
“Perfect. Let’s find that back entrance.”
We did, too, down a little side alley and around a corner where there were a couple of dumpsters. Sin looked back toward where we were parked. “I’m going to move the car around here. Just in case we need a quick exit.”
“Okay,” I said.
He jogged off, leaving Anson and me.
Anson smiled gently. “I know about your ability to enter places. If you’d rather I didn’t watch—”
“No, it’s fine. What’s a little Santa Claus magic amongst family, right?”
His smile grew, and he nodded. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.”
“Well, prepare to be underwhelmed because all you’re going to see is a little ice vapor.” As tricks went, his were much more entertaining. The Saint Nick slide was boring on purpose. Anything else might draw attention, and that was the last thing my uncle needed on Christmas Eve.
“Still interesting.”
“Once I’m in, I’ll unlock the door as soon as I get in and get my bearings. Takes my head a few seconds to stop spinning.”
“Sounds good. Be careful. We’re assuming she’s in there alone, but he could have someone watching her.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll do my best to stay quiet.” The back door was a standard metal security door with a push bar lever. “Um, one more thing before I go in. When you did whatever you did to the cameras, did that also deactivate any security system that might have been in place?”
“No, but good thinking. I can do that too.” He took a moment and sent a little shiver of magic at the building. “All right, should be good to go now.”
“Thanks.” I did the Saint Nick slide and went under. Once inside, I leaned against the door while I waited for everything to stop whirling around. Without the benefit of the security lights or windows, the place was pretty dark inside. Typical nightclub, I imagined. The air was stale and stuffy, like it hadn’t been circulated for a while.
While I stood there, I listened. Nothing. I made a decision. “Lila?” Worth a shot, I thought, and if Frank did have someone watching her and he came for me, I’d freeze him in place. But there was no answer. Not even a muffled response.
That could be a very bad thing.
I opened the door to let Anson in and saw Sin getting out of the car. They both came inside. As soon as the door shut, we were plunged into darkness again.
“I called her name,” I said. “No answer. Not from her or one of Frank’s henchmen.”
“She could be tied up and gagged,” Anson said. “Or in a room where she couldn’t hear you.”
“True.” I got my phone out and turned on the flashlight. They followed suit. Amazing what that small amount of light did in such a dark, cavernous place. “Split up?”
Anson nodded. “Sin, go check out the front of the house with Jayne. I’ll search through the backstage area and the DJ booth.”
I didn’t think the behind-the-scenes section of a nightclub was really called backstage, but I knew what he meant.
“And remember,” he said. “Don’t just look for her. Look for signs she’d been here.”
I nodded, but as we parted ways, I nudged Sin. “What kinds of signs did he mean exactly?”
Sin took a breath. “My mom’s day-to-day routine involves a serious vitamin regime and a lot of heavy-duty moisturizers, balms, and lotions. Living in the desert is hard on everyone’s skin, but when you’re a zombie, it’s a lot worse. She hasn’t had the benefit of that routine in twenty-four hours. There’s a good chance she’s…you know.”