"You sure they're open this early?"
Clara stared out the window at the twisting industrial complex. Before she and Nicholas had started on the drive, she was sure she remembered where the storage facility had been located. Now that they were on the way, though, she realized how much she underestimated the repetitiveness of the area.
She turned to answer Nicholas. "I looked it up online," she said. "The place never closes. That's why they have a passcode system."
Nicholas took his eyes off the road and looked at her for a moment. "I wouldn't mind if we just headed to the bookstore now," he said. "That errand is less likely to make you lose your job. Or get us arrested."
Clara pointed to a side street. "Over there," she said. "It's at the end of this road."
Nicholas took the turn. As they passed an old shipping company, the storage facility popped into view.
"That's the place," Clara said.
Nicholas turned into the entrance and stopped in front of the gate. Clara got out of the car.
She held her hand over the keypad and paused, looking up.
"I thought you said you remembered it," Nicholas called out.
Clara glared at him. "It's coming to me..."
She pushed the first number – a seven. And as soon as she did that, the eight came to her. And then the three, then the one.
Nicholas gave her a concerned look – he was staring at something behind her. Clara turned and through the gate she saw the storage facility's manager. He stood next to a dinged-up golf cart outside the front office.
She ignored him and pressed the Enter key. The gate began sliding open.
Clara walked back toward Nicholas' car, but the manager called out behind her.
"You need help with something?" Clara bit her lip before turning to face the manager.
"I'm sorry!" she said, her voice higher than its usual pitch. "I've only been here once before with my boss. He gave me the code but I almost forgot it!"
The manager looked Clara over and smiled. "Oh, that's fine," he said. "I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I could do for you."
"Actually," Clara said, smiling and giving him a flirty look, "I left the key for our unit back at the office. I really don't want to tell my boss... do you have an extra?"
The manager looked at Nicholas, who stared back at him. He took two steps forward, blocking Nicholas' view of Clara.
"Yeah," he said. "I can do that for you, honey. Let me go get it."
Clara's stomach turned but she kept her smile in place. "Thank you!" she said. "You don't know how much I appreciate this!"
The storage facility manager stepped even closer to her. "Happy to help," he said in a greasy voice. Clara could smell baloney on his breath.
"Great!" said Clara, stepping quickly into the car. "We'll meet you at the unit. It's G-51." She couldn't wait to get away from him and his meaty stench.
She pulled the door shut, relaxing as she watched the manager head back into his office.
Nicholas stared at her in disbelief.
"What?" she asked.
"You," he said. "I didn't know you could do... that."
"Hey," Clara said, laying a hand on Nicholas' leg in mock-flirtation. "I can warm it up when I need to." She fluttered her eyes for full effect. "Now drive," she added, reverting to her normal voice.
Nicholas shook his head and started the car down the lanes.
###
The storage facility manager pulled the lock off Fogelsang's unit. His golf cart sat parked next to Nicholas' car.
"There ya go," he said, lifting it up.
"Thank you again," Clara said, walking into the unit. She didn't look at the man.
"No problem," the manager said. He sounded less friendly now. "Hey – what's the name of the company you work for again?"
Clara had already begun rooting through the files. "Fogelsang Engineers," she said. "They're right in town." Nicholas walked over to her and gave her a tap on the arm.
The manager grunted. "You know, just to make sure I don't have a problem later, I'm gonna call the number I have on file for them."
Clara looked at him, trying to hide her nervousness. "Oh, do you really have to do that? I'm... I actually forgot some work and I'm trying to make up for it now."
"Sorry honey," he said, stepping into his cart. "Gotta cover my ass." He drove off.
"Nice work," Nicholas said. "You had him hooked but you turned it off once he gave you what he wanted."
"I can't worry about that" Clara said, tossing a box aside. "I have more important things going on."
"Are you kidding?" Nicholas asked. "That job is the reason you came here."
"Yes, it was," Clara said, "and I'd hate to lose it. But if I have to trade in my summer internship to find out what happened to Aunt Maureen, then that's what I'll do. Now start looking for files on the Castle before that guy comes back."
He gave her a look of mock surprise. "What happened to warming it up?" Instead of answering him verbally, Clara lifted two file boxes and shoved them into Nicholas' arms before finding a different stack for herself.
Nicholas opened the first box and began flipping through the files inside. He only made it through a third of the box before his first sneeze.
"They're really dusty," Clara called out from the next row over.
"So I noticed," he said. "Maybe it's not a bad thing if you lose your job. Because this kind of sucks."
Clara laughed."Go check outside," she said. "Make sure the manager's not on his way back here."
"Sure, boss," Nicholas snapped. He disappeared outside. Clara opened three boxes in a row, moving them aside as soon as she saw that they were from the early 90s and wouldn't help her search. Anxiety started rising up inside her. She pushed it back down.
Nicholas ran back into the unit panting. "Didn't he keep that cart parked outside the front office?"
Clara turned. "Yes."
"Well, it's not there anymore," Nicholas said. "Come on, Clara – let's get the hell out of here."
Nicholas tugged on her arm. "No," she said. "I'm not leaving without those files." She pulled herself free.
"Well, I'm not planning on getting a criminal record today," he said, stepping out of the unit. "I'll be outside. And if I see that guy coming, I'm leaving – with or without you." He opened his car door and started the engine.
Clara ignored him and opened a fresh file box. She'd only just got the lid off when Nicholas called out, "Clara! He's coming!"
The folders inside the box were all green – except the last few, which had a faded orange color. Clara grabbed them and let the rest of the folders as well as the box itself drop to the ground.
"Please! Clara!" Nicholas called again.
She opened one of the folders and smiled, then tucked it under her arm as she ran out to the car.
"You didn't shut the door," Nicholas asked, pointing to the opened storage unit.
"Don't worry about it," Clara said. "Just go that way. We'll miss him." She pointed down the row of units, away from the main entrance.
Nicholas drove off and turned the corner into the center aisle. Clara held her hands up. "Wait... stop here."
Nicholas brought the car to a halt. Clara jumped out and peeked her head around the corner. She saw the manager's golf cart parked in front of the open storage unit. He stepped out a moment later, holding a cell phone to his ear while his free hand waved around above his head. Clara could hear him yelling something into the phone.
She got back into Nicholas' car and grabbed the file folder. "Get us out of here," she said. "He's talking to someone at my work. He knows."
Nicholas turned right and sped down the aisle that led to the front gate. He slid to a stop. Clara rushed to the keypad and typed in the code – this time, without hesitation.
She pressed the Enter key and the gate slowly began sliding aside. Clara ran back toward the car but a burly hand grabbed her arm and held her in place.
"What the hell are you two pullin'?" the manager screamed. His red face glistened with sweat.
Clara tried to get free, but his grasp on her was too strong. She let her arm go slack and felt the manager loosen up as well. "Now you can--" he started to say.
She gave him a hard push and leapt into the car. Nicholas drove through the gate before Clara even had a chance to shut her door. Tires squealed as he took a hard right turn onto the road. Clara stuck her head out and saw the figure of the manager standing on the shoulder, staring them down as they drove off.
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- Steve