I arrived at the Achat bar and drove around the back. Sure enough there was a large warehouse. It looked like it had been there forever. All closed up, it was impossible to see inside. So I parked my car and walked around the front. I was dressed for dirty work. Old crappy jeans, comfy shoes, a t-shirt and little makeup. I was wondering if Brandy would even recognize me after last night.
I walked around to the front of the bar and knocked on the carved door. Brandy had asked that I come by before the bar opened to get the key and check out the warehouse. The door opened and JD was standing there broom in hand. “Hi Christy. That was something to watch last night. Too bad the place got busted though.” He said motioning for me to come in.
“I had fun.” I said, taking off my sunglasses and walking in behind him and stopping for a moment to let my eyes adjust. “I just hope that you weren’t put in a bad place because of me.”
“Not at all!” JD replied. “We get busted every other week here. It’s how the local cops justify drinking on duty if you ask me. This may be different though. Not sure yet, but the chief and the managers have been summoned. We’re not worried about it though.”
I short laugh escaped my lips and I followed JD to the bar. He reached behind and produced a single old fashioned key. It was brass and about three inches long. Heavy for its size.
“Now please don’t lose that key. We only have the one. And I wouldn’t even know where to go looking for another if it was lost.” JD said. “Brandy said you would know where the door is.”
I nodded, said thanks, and walked to the pool room as JD got back to his sweeping. I opened the pool room door and stepped in. There on the wall were the restraints that had held Bear the previous evening. Now a reminder of an evening gone horribly wrong. Shaking my head for a moment, I began looking for this secret door. I had the lights on, but I still couldn’t see where this door was. Suddenly it caught my eye. On the back wall was a chair that doubled as a cue rack. On the floor though, one could just make out an outline of where the chair moved across it in an arc, like a door. I examined the whole thing as closely as I could before noticing that there was a small keyhole on the side of the rack.
I pushed the key into the hole and gave it a turn. I quiet clack came as the mechanism inside released and I noticed the chair move slightly. I took hold of the side of the chair and pulled the door open, revealing a long tunnel that disappeared into darkness about ten feet in. On the wall was an old fashioned light switch. I moved the switch up with my finger and with a loud click and a small spark from the switch the tunnel was illuminated. Still very dim, but none the less lit. I placed the key back in my pocket and stepped inside. On the inside of the door was a round wooden handle. I grabbed at it and pulled the door closed behind me, hearing it clack again as the mechanism re-engaged. Only worried for a moment I thought I now had no way out. But then I saw the small lever near the base of the door.
Turning I headed down the tunnel which slanted downward at a steep angle and then what must have been about a 500 foot walk till another steep walk uphill. This must have been under the parking lot behind the bar. Reaching the top I came to another door. This time it was just an ordinary door but when I opened it I was met with a metal wall. Not sure what I should do, I gave it a push and it swung open to reveal a small room with a metal desk at one end. A dirty glass window separated it from what must have been the rest of the warehouse. Stepping inside I realized that my metal wall was really a large book case covering the door. This one I left open and stepped inside. I quickly opened the outer door to this office and stepped into a cavernous space flanked on either side with many storage areas. All of them recently emptied by the looks of them.
“Jeez!” I thought, “Brandy really went to work for me here.” Looking down the space I noticed that all the lights had been left on. A thick layer of dust covered most everything that hadn’t had stuff stacked on it until today. The walls were dark and dirty as well. The lighting wasn’t really all that good. Most of the place was covered in dark shadows and the place smelled like and old warehouse should. Dirty. It was perfect. I was going to need help first to make this a reality. Time to do some recruiting.
A small piece of paper was taped to the wall at the far end, too new to be left over trash. I walked down to the end and read “The Ice House, enjoy your new space Christy. Hugs and Kisses, --Brandy”
My wicked smile spread across my face again.
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