The opportunity to explore the building presented itself several days latter when Sarah was making a shopping list in preparation for her trip to Fayetteville and asked Lisa if she wanted to go along. Giddon had barely left the yard on Diablo and Lisa instantly recognized it as a chance to investigate the building. She sighed.
"No, I need to finish the Laundry. It's almost dry and I hate it when it gets all wrinkled."
Sarah shook her head. "Suit yourself, but personally, I think it would be good for you to get out a little."
"I like it here. I'll see enough of the city when I go back to college. I plan to grab every moment I can in the country."
Without further argument, Sarah and Tammy left, and Lisa was alone. She hung the last garment and changed into jeans and tennis shoes before leaving the house. After one last look around to see if she was being watched, she started into the woods. Her plan was to approach building from the back. No one was around, so she could probably use the path, but if Giddon suddenly returned, it would be obvious where she was going. If he caught her in the woods, she could say she was looking for wild flowers.
She searched around for a landmark that could be seen over the trees, but nothing was tall enough. Deciding to use the sun to orient herself, she detoured around several dense patches of blackberry bushes. Dodging cobwebs by the dozens, she pushed on until deciding she had reached a point behind the building. Pushing through some sumac that she thought bordered the clearing where the building stood, she squinted up at the sun. It was hard to tell, but there were no trees ahead, so it must be the clearing. At any rate, Giddon would be back soon. It was now or never. She stepped through the last of the brush.
The ground gave way under her foot, and with a sickening lurch of her heart, she plunged downward. She screamed as she wind milled her arms in the hot air. Her fall was brutally interrupted by a rock ledge about five feet down. She lit with one foot underneath her body, and the momentum of her fall threw her forward - over the ledge. She screamed again as she tumbled down a steep hill. Frantically, she grabbed at the five-leaf ivy that covered the ground. Again her fall was briefly interrupted - until the roots released their grip in the loose gravel. Then she was falling again. One second she was falling head over heels, the next rolling on her side. She finally reached the bottom of the embankment and fell headlong into a bunch of blackberry bushes.