by G. K. Parks
“Fine, I get your point.”
“Maybe Landau dressed like a construction worker. Ooh, and we saw the footage of Summers and Buffy entering the hotel room. Maybe he was supposed to be dressed like a cop. A motorcycle cop, of course.”
“Forget I asked.” A strange look came over O’Connell’s face. “At least they weren’t dressed as vampire slayers.”
“What?”
“You get every other TV and movie reference and not that one. Wonders never cease.”
I stopped reading. “The descriptions are worthless until you narrow down suspects. Then you’ll be in business. But for the record, you hired me to consult. I’m not doing any mole checks, so don’t even ask. Now what are you going to do with this?”
“I’ll put the descriptions together with the hotel surveillance footage and have a sketch artist sit down with both of them and see what he can come up with while I convince a judge Summers is a suspect and we should be allowed to search his business records.”
“Good luck.” I opened the car door and stepped onto the sidewalk. “Anything else you need from me?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to meet me at the precinct? You can watch how a real detective works.”
“Where would I find one of those?” I smiled. “Actually, I have some work to get done on another case. Cross didn’t give us that intel for free. He expects me to sing for my supper.” Another thought occurred to me. “Hey, while you’re at it, you should request a search warrant for Summers’s house, car, and office, just to make sure he doesn’t have any poisonous plants or syringes stockpiled.”
“Already done.”
“Okay, that’s my two cents. Call if you need anything else, and if something shakes loose on my end, I’ll let you know.”
“Do you need help on whatever it is you’re doing?” O’Connell asked, concern in his voice.
“Not yet, but if I get arrested, I’ll have the officers call you to bail me out.”
“Be careful and don’t do anything stupid. Try to stay on the right side of the law, please.”
“Always. Night, Nick.” I closed the car door and headed upstairs to my office.
Sixteen
“How’d it go?” Cross asked, startling me. Automatically, I pulled my gun and aimed. My vision blurred, zeroing in on the target. Not a target, I realized. He eyed the weapon curiously. “Gunfire will attract building security.”
“I’m not going to shoot you this time.” I shoved the gun back into my shoulder holster, annoyed and embarrassed. “But stop sneaking up on me. This is my office. The door was closed. Do I need to add a second lock?”
“You’re jumpy. I suppose you have every reason to be. I apologize for the intrusion. But even if you add another lock, I’d still have the master key. That would defeat the purpose.”
“What happened to allowing me to operate autonomously?”
“I don’t know, Alex. You came to me for help. Did Detective O’Connell hurry home to bake my brownies?”
“How did you get Ritch Summers’s name?”
“I have my ways.”
“Which are?”
“Trade secrets.” He glanced into the corridor. “I don’t know how helpful he’ll be to the police investigation. He’s an attorney, so I’m sure he’s more than capable of protecting his secrets.”
“He was there. Did you know that?”
“Where?”
“In the room where Victor Landau was killed.”
Something flickered across my boss’s face. “I did not know that, but that’s wonderful news. The police now have a valuable person of interest. They should be able to handle the case without further assistance from us.”
“You mean me.”
“I mean us.” Cross approached my desk and put down a file folder. “Andre North phoned again while you were out with the information on Eve’s current workload and clients. He e-mailed you copies of her work details. I took the liberty of having someone determine the venues she’ll be visiting and the vendors she’s been contacting. I also analyzed her phone records and browser history. No dating sites. No unknown numbers or suggestive text or voice messages.”
“Thanks.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I didn’t expect you to do my work for me.”
Cross snorted. “That’s all I’ve done today.” He headed for the door. “Andre mentioned Eve might be returning home sooner than expected. Originally, she thought her trip would be extended. Now it appears it may be shortened. Assuming you plan to search her apartment, I’d make that a priority.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
He nodded. “Good night, Alex. Try to stay on track tomorrow.”
Grumbling to myself, I went into the break room and made some coffee while I searched the fridge and cabinets for something to eat. When I found several boxes of leftover pizza in the employee fridge with Cross’s name on the order, I knew those had been for everyone. So I grabbed two slices and my coffee and went back to finish updating my Eve Wyndham itinerary.
Afterward, I set out to visit a few of the clubs and hotspots on her list of locations. The high-end nightclubs wouldn’t have let me inside dressed like I was, but my business card got me in the door. Scouting locations for potential security issues for our clients made my presence welcomed, and since Cross Security was known to protect celebrities, none of this seemed out of the ordinary. But I didn’t know what I hoped to find.
With Eve out of the country, I had no way of knowing much of anything. For all I knew, she could have found a lover while walking down the street. So why had I started my recon here?
While I pondered that question, I finished scouting a few other venues and drove to Eve Wyndham’s apartment. She and Andre spent most of their time together at his house, but she had kept her place. According to Andre, she planned to sell it once they were married, but he was hoping she’d let him convert it into a rental.
Even though the city was more than just a vacation hotspot, plenty of tourists visited every week. However, the cynical part of my mind thought she might have kept the apartment to conceal her adulterous ways. Then again, I’d kept my apartment as long as possible, and if it hadn’t burned to the ground, I might still have it. But that wasn’t about cheating. Honestly, that was fear and insecurity. Mine, not Martin’s. Of course, Martin had gotten us an apartment in addition to his estate, thinking that’d be a good compromise. But that was different. It wasn’t mine. Instead, I had to get used to the idea that he was mine.
I found a parking spot three blocks from Eve’s apartment. After a few minutes of scoping out the neighborhood, I slipped into the hooded sweatshirt I kept in the back seat, pulled up the hood, put my leather jacket on over it, made sure my lock picks were easily accessible, and set out down the street. Don’t get arrested or O’Connell will kill you, I reminded myself.
Eve’s building had a doorman, so I ducked my head and kept walking. If nothing else, the exercise loosened my sore muscles. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how I’d get inside the building undetected.
At the end of the block, I turned the corner and found an alleyway that ran directly behind the apartment building. It was just wide enough to fit a garbage truck. Since this is where the dumpsters were kept, there had to be a rear door. I just had to find it.
Except it was locked. A security camera posted near the door told me picking it would be frowned upon by building security who’d likely call the authorities. So sneaking in through the back was no longer an option. I opened the dumpster lid and pretended to toss something from my pocket into the garbage. Sure, that made walking down a dark alley seem reasonable.
I continued back the way I came, considering methods of short circuiting the camera, but this wasn’t a secret spy mission. If it was, I’d have one of those masks that perfectly mimicked someone else’s face. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about the cameras or getting caught.
I considered my options. The building didn’t ha
ve a fire escape. It might have roof access, but again, I wasn’t a spy with all the cool tech toys. Perhaps, I’d talk to Lucien about that in the morning, but for tonight, I’d have to come up with a better plan.
Andre North could probably get inside the building, but since he already had concerns about surveilling his bride-to-be, asking the client for assistance was a bad idea. From the way he’d talked about Eve’s apartment, it sounded like he didn’t spend that much time here. Did he even have a key?
“Think, Parker.” I’d broken into plenty of apartments. This was no different. Maneuvering to the side of the building that allowed me to watch the front door, I kept my eyes peeled for movement. As the minutes ticked by, I knew my chances of making a stealthy entrance were diminishing.
I was reconsidering trying my luck with the back door when a man stepped out of the building. He spun his keychain around his finger and whistled. He didn’t speak to the doorman, but leaving wouldn’t require an exchange or answering any questions. Only arriving would draw unwanted scrutiny.
With no better plan in mind, I headed down the street in the same direction as the man. Except I was ahead of him, and following someone from the front took skills, willpower, and great visual acuity. At the moment, I lacked all three.
Instead, I played up my limp, hobbling slowly along the sidewalk. The man passed me within a few minutes, unaware of my presence. If he’d been the chivalrous type, that would have complicated matters. Thankfully, he wasn’t.
Picking up the pace, I followed him another two blocks to a twenty-four hour pharmacy. Once inside, I took off my hood, fluffed my hair, and kept an eye on him. He picked up a bag of cheese doodles and a box of microwave popcorn before heading to the checkout. Beside the register was a cooler with drinks. He grabbed a twenty ounce soda.
I came up beside him with a bag of nacho cheese tortilla chips and a package of chocolate candies. “Leave that open, please.” I used my shoulder to hold the cooler door while I shuffled the chocolates to the other hand and reached for a cherry cola.
He turned when I spoke and smiled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one on a junk food run.”
I laughed. “Movie night?”
“Nah, I just needed to grab some snacks.”
“Me too. I’m binge watching one of those cooking competitions, and they make me hungry.”
“You must live nearby.”
“Yep.” I squinted at him. “Haven’t I seen you in the building?”
“Maybe?” He rattled off the street address.
“Guess that must be why you look so familiar.”
“14J.” He patted his chest after placing the items on the counter.
“17C.” That was Eve Wyndham’s apartment. I just hoped he didn’t know her.
He didn’t act like the apartment number meant anything to him. “Do you live with your husband?”
I held up my naked hand, relieved that I had left Martin’s ring at the office. “Nope.”
“Partner?”
“No. What about you? Wife? Girlfriend?”
“Daisy.” But that didn’t stop him from flirting. Too bad he wasn’t my mark. I’d have this assignment completed in no time.
“Ah, lucky girl.”
“She’ll think so when I come home with cheese doodles.”
“That is the way to a woman’s heart.”
He continued to smile as he paid the cashier and grabbed his bag. “She thinks so. She’ll probably sit up and beg.”
I gave him a strange look. “Okay.”
“She’s a French bulldog.”
“I bet she’s adorable. I’d love to meet her sometime.” I made my purchases and picked up my bag.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Nothing.”
“Want to come over, watch some TV, and chow down on junk food? Or is that too forward? Since we live in the same building, you can go home at any time. I’m not trying to pick you up or anything.”
“Good, because after eating all this crap, I’m probably too heavy.”
His eyes swept up and down my body. “You don’t look that heavy. Can I at least walk you home? After all, we’re going to the same place.”
“Only if you introduce me to Daisy.”
“Deal.”
We were half a block from the apartment when he said, “I’m TJ, by the way.”
“Allison.” If he pushed me on the apartment number, I’d stick with the same story, but I regretted giving him Eve’s address. I could always say I was staying with my cousin or housesitting while she was away, but I hoped it wouldn’t come down to that. The fewer lies I had to tell, the better.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
We made it to the apartment building, and the doorman pushed open the door. He spotted the FOB in TJ’s hand and nodded to him, probably recalling he had only left twenty minutes ago.
“Ladies first,” TJ said, gesturing that I enter.
I gave him my most flirtatious smile, hoping the doorman wouldn’t inquire as to who the gentleman’s guest was for the evening, and I stepped into the lobby. TJ followed at my heels. Now that I was inside, I asked TJ how he and Daisy met, hoping to distract him while I noted the security cameras and exits.
The hard part was over. All I had to do was follow TJ to his place, come up with an excuse to leave, and continue on to Eve’s apartment. What could be easier?
TJ pressed the button for the elevator, filling me in on how he found Daisy in a cardboard box at the side of the road. It could have been true, but something told me it wasn’t. I made the appropriate aww sounds.
Once we were alone in the elevator, TJ moved a little closer. “Do you have any pets?”
“No, I’m not great at feeding myself.” I held up the bag. “I always have this fear they’d starve.”
“You look like you might be starving.”
“That’s why I have junk food.”
“Which apartment did you say was yours? I could bring you dinner sometime. I have this terrible habit of ordering too much food. Was it 17E?”
“You do that too? No wonder the delivery guys always give me that look. It’s not because I order too much. It’s because they’re probably tired of both of us ordering.” I didn’t want to answer the apartment question. I hoped he thought I had said E because the last thing I needed was him knocking on Eve’s door, especially if I was in the midst of snooping.
The elevator opened on the fourteenth floor. “Here we are.” He stepped out, and I followed. The stairs were at the end of the hallway. Security cameras caught sight of me since I had to lose the hood when I approached TJ inside the pharmacy, but that wouldn’t matter. It wasn’t illegal to go home with a strange man, though it typically wasn’t the best plan either.
He unlocked the door but didn’t turn the knob. “Be warned, you’re about to be attacked by twenty-two pounds of pure bulldog with separation anxiety issues. If it gets too intense, I’ll intervene with the cheese doodles.”
“Thanks.”
He opened the door and a tiny short-haired mass raced toward him. It made whimpering noises before jumping up and down and pawing at his leg. He knelt down to pet her, and she shook her butt and spun in circles. Mid-turn, she spotted me, let out an excited bark, and ran headfirst into my leg.
At least she didn’t knock me to the ground. “Hey, Daisy.” I squatted down, afraid I might not have the strength to get back up unassisted. I tried to pet her, but she was too excited to do much but let out snorting gasps and lick my hand.
“This is the lady in my life.” TJ pointed at a dog bed on the floor. “Daisy, go lie down.”
She ran to her bed, circled it, and turned to stare at TJ to make sure he entered the apartment. I grabbed the doorjamb and hoisted myself up while his back was to me. I definitely needed to work out more. Daisy raced back across the room, circling TJ’s legs as he put the bag down on a snack tray. He took off his jacket and plopped onto the couch. He patte
d the cushion beside him. “Sit down. We can hang out for a while.”
Daisy took that as her cue and hopped onto the couch and crawled onto his lap.
“I guess I can stay for a few minutes.” I checked my phone, working out excuses in my head. Not that I needed one, but I didn’t want to give this guy the wrong idea or risk having him follow me or report me to building security. So I could play along for a little while.
Twelve minutes later, the alarm I set on my phone when TJ went into the bathroom went off. It sounded like my ringer, and I apologized, said it was my mother, and told him this would be a long conversation. “She never shuts up, and she’ll keep calling until I talk to her. I’m sorry. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again sometime soon.”
“I hope so,” TJ said. “We should do this again. Maybe make plans. Can I have your number?”
The chime on my phone sounded again. “I’ll drop by tomorrow night and hand deliver it, okay?” I tucked the hair behind my ear, implying that I might be open to other possibilities.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“See ya.” I waved to TJ and spotted Daisy cuddled up beside him, stretching her neck as far as she could to try to get her nose into the opened bag of cheese doodles. “Night, Daisy.”
At the sound of her name, she cocked her head, causing her tongue to loll out the side of her mouth.
I went out the door and dashed toward the stairwell, afraid if I waited too long TJ might follow me out. I regretted telling him the floor number, but once I made the trek up the three flights of stairs with a little help from the handrail, I knew the coast was clear. Now it was time to get to work.
Seventeen
I put my hood up before stepping foot on to the seventeenth floor. With the lockpicks in my jacket pocket and the plastic bag slung over my arm, I made my way down the hall. No one would think anything of a woman coming home with a bag of snacks. I stopped in front of 17C and knocked. The last thing I needed was to break in only to find Eve’s side piece inside. When no one came to the door, I withdrew the picks in one fluid motion and used my body to shield what I was doing from the security cameras.
