Both Nakamura and Heather were struck dumb when they opened the door to Michelle's apartment. They didn't need to turn on the lights; the devastation was clear from the light spilling in from the hallway.
It was a serendipitous situation both were speechless. Instead of exclaiming over the wreckage, they were able to hear strange guttural noises spewing from the bedroom. A rough, raspy, male sound.
There were several loud, feline, screaming wails, like an animal in the throws of pain or extreme panic. It was so quiet in the next few moments they could hear hissing, spitting and growling. The man had the cat cornered.
Then there was a loud yell.
Heather glanced at Nakamura and saw him shaking his head, his finger over his mouth.
"She might be in there," Heather whispered. Omar had taken Lucifer from Michelle just last night. Why was the cat back in her apartment?
"I don't think so."
"She loves that cat. We can't let him kill it."
"He's going to take it to Omar."
Heather nodded, understanding. It was the giant, Omar's minion in the bedroom, trying to catch Lucifer. All they had to do was follow him; he was never far from Omar.
Heather and Nakamura had discussed the terrible suspicion that Omar might now have Michelle on the drive to the condominium. They went to Heather's apartment first so she could change out of the nursing costume. Then Heather had grabbed Michelle's key and they went to her apartment.
Now, they heard Samson changing his tactics. His humming voice was deviously sweet and gutturally seductive. The dulcimer sounds went on and on. Heather and Nakamura looked at each other in wide eyed surprise. Samson had a beautiful baritone, even without a tongue.
Heather had to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter. The giant might never catch the cat, who was undoubtedly smarter than the giant, and much faster. She glanced at Nakamura and saw him smiling.
A loud, angry yell. The cat had scratched him again.
They both backed out of the apartment silently and let the door close on the mess and the animals inside. Samson Stoker seemed more beast than human. They walked quickly and silently down the hallway to the stairwell and stood with the door slightly ajar, so they could follow the man when he finally caught Lucifer.
Both figured they were in for a long wait. They were wrong. Samson was backing out of Michelle's apartment a few moments later. He was topless and held his shirt carefully away from his body. The cat, trapped inside, was trying desperately to escape. It appeared as though the shirt held many fanatic beasts with hundreds of limbs poking for a hole, as the cat noisily struggled.
Heather and Nakamura looked at each other. The man would never take the shrieking, struggling cat up in the elevator. He might meet tenants who would wonder if he was torturing animals. They glanced back just once to see Samson trotting down the hallway toward the stairwell where they had hidden.
"Up or down?" Heather whispered.
"Up. We'll go in the next hall. Make sure he goes past."
They started up the stairs.