I let her cast it as I looked around, wondering what had drawn the young man in here. The filing cabinet was locked—a thief wouldn’t relock. The trash can was empty. While there was some minor untidiness, it didn’t look as if the office had been ransacked.

Paige headed for the interior door. I bit back a “be careful.”

As she reached for the door handle, she glanced over her shoulder and whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

I managed a wry smile.

She craned her head to look around, then shut the door again. “It’s the gallery.”

The young man certainly didn’t look like an art thief. What were the chances of us stumbling over supernaturals conducting a burglary unrelated to tonight’s events? In the very place Carlos had phoned from?

Griffin slipped into the gallery to search. He’d been gone for less than a minute when a crash sounded.

Paige peered through the door, but the noise hadn’t been Griffin. He stood in the middle of the room, looking up. The sound must have come from overhead.

I eased past her. The gallery was a single room with only two exits—through the office or the front door. A third door, tactfully hidden behind a partial screen, stood open, revealing a tiny bathroom.

Paige looked up. “Storage space maybe? If so, how do they get there? I don’t see a hatch and I didn’t notice any door outside. Was there even a second floor? Or just an attic?”

I mentally replayed our approach.

“It’s a complete floor, with barred windows. I believe there was a front door on the other side of this one. Leading to apartments, I would presume.”

We looked up. If there were inhabited apartments overhead, then noises would not be unexpected.

“The question remains,” I murmured. “Why come in here?”

My gaze traveled to the bathroom.

Griffin looked at me. “To take a leak? No offense, but…”

“Highly unlikely, I know.”

The bathroom was tiny, and awkwardly set up, the toilet and sink facing one another, with barely enough room for knees. A poor design, but necessary—there was a second door directly across from the entrance. A closet with a deadbolt.

I slid the bolt, and pulled open the door to see a narrow hall ending in a staircase.

WE EXTINGUISHED THE light balls. Without them, the stairwell was pitch-black. We had to move up the stairs by feel as Paige cast sensing spells. When we reached the top, and her spells found no one lying in wait, she relit her light.

We were on a landing flanked by doors. The one to the right was unlocked. As I reached for the handle, Griffin shouldered me aside. I reminded myself that this was his job. If I was injured, he’d take the blame.