Jack smiled. “Good morning. I was wondering if you could help me. I’m looking for the living room.”
“I’m not sure. I just arrived here myself yesterday afternoon.”
“I’m thinking I should’ve worn my jogging shoes. What is it? A 5K to get from one end of the house to the other?”
She laughed. “It’s a big house.” She held out her hand. “I’m Nancy Bell.”
“Jack Stratton.”
“Are you new at corporate?” She eyed him up and down.
“No. I’m here helping out a friend.”
“Oh, well. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Stratton.”
Jack nodded politely and then continued on his way while Nancy went up the stairs. At the end of the hall, he reached a huge stainless-steel kitchen. A woman dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit with short red hair was busy washing coffee pots.
“Hi.” Jack stopped and looked around. “I’m sort of lost.”
She looked him up and down and smiled. “Where’re you headed?”
“The living room?”
“Which one?” She winked.
“Seriously?” Jack chuckled. “All Phillip said was it’s downstairs.”
“Phillip’s right through that door.” She turned and pointed to the back of the kitchen.
“Thanks. I’m Jack.”
“Sophia.” She smiled and held up a soapy hand. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“How do you like it?”
“Black.”
“I’ll be a few minutes.”
“Take your time, and thanks for the directions.”
Jack walked into the living room and paused. The entire back wall had a breathtaking view of the lake.
“Awesome view, huh?” Phillip climbed down a stepladder.
Jack just stared.
“Waking up to that every morning has to be tough, huh?” Phillip held his arms out to the lake. “Who wouldn’t love living this life?”
“Yeah.”
Phillip leaned toward Jack slightly. He pointed at the table and chairs out on the patio. “I’d bring my laptop outside.”
Jack scanned around the living room and shrugged. “Where do we start?”
“Here’s what I need a hand with...”
Jack helped Phillip all morning. Phillip would ask him for one thing or another, and Jack would get him tools. Once Jack asked him some computer geek questions, he warmed right up. Phillip started to talk and he didn’t stop. He went on about everything: news, movies, sports, and the weather.
Sometime after one, Sophia came in with a tray of sandwiches and soda. Bruce followed closely behind her.
“I made an assortment.” She set the tray down on the table.
Bruce grabbed a roast beef with each hand and grinned.
“My girlfriend’s downstairs and—” Jack started to say.
“Alice? I already took food to them.”
“Thanks,” Jack muttered as he took out his phone.
“Did you get your sandwich?” Replacement asked when she answered.
“Yeah. Aren’t you coming up to eat with me?”
“Ah...Pierce and I were going to eat while we worked. The configuration’s going slow. I had to make some new cables and that set us back an hour. Do you mind?”
Jack exhaled. “No. Do what you have to do. I’ve got it covered here.”
“Are they coming up?” Bruce asked.
“Nope,” Jack grumbled. “It’s just us.”
“Great. More sandwiches for me.” Bruce grabbed a tuna fish and another soda.
Jack stared up at the AP hanging by wires from the ceiling.
“Aren’t you taking lunch?” Phillip asked.
“I just want to finish putting the plate in. I have to trim back the wood around it.”
“Use the Dremel,” Phillip said.
“It can wait until after lunch,” Bruce mumbled with a mouthful of food.
Jack walked over to the tool bag.
“Can you imagine living like this?” Phillip sat down on the couch and faced the pond.
Bruce flopped down next to him and put his feet up on the coffee table. “Pierce is beyond loaded. This place is a palace.”
Jack grabbed the extension cord but the Dremel’s power connector didn’t fit.
“If it were my house, I’d put in a movie theatre.” Phillip sipped his soda.
“Totally. If this place were mine, I’d live in the bathroom. Did you see the whirlpool tub?” Bruce took a huge bite of his sandwich. “What would you do, Jack?”
“I’d tell you to get your feet off my table.” Jack held up the Dremel. “This is a European connector.”
Bruce frowned, but he put his feet on the floor.
“There’s a convertor in the bag. I can do that after lunch,” Phillip offered.
“I’m good.” Jack found the connector and hurried up the ladder.
“Seriously, what a life. Pierce has it made. Money, this house. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a wife,” Bruce said.
“He has to have his pick of girls. Any girl he wants. He could just snap,” Phillip said.
The Dremel whirled up and sawdust fell like snow as Jack cut the slot for the plate.
Bruce whistled. “They’d come running. And look.” He thrust out a hand toward the window. “Look at that yard.”
Phillip sat up straighter and peered out. “I’d have like a dozen kids.”
Bruce laughed. “I’d have a dozen wives.”
Jack forced the plate into place. “How long do you think this will take?”
“We’re almost done with this one. We have six more. This place is huge. It’s like wiring up a whole office building.”
Jack interlaced his fingers behind his head and stretched his back.
“Man, Pierce never has to work. Yeah, he has a company, but really he doesn’t have to do anything. I’d be on vacation all the time. Think about it. You could wake up and just say, ‘Where do I want to go?’”
“I’d go to Hawaii,” Phillip said.
“No way. Tahiti. Or Fiji.” Bruce held up a water bottle. “Have you ever been?”
Phillip shook his head. “I’ve never been out of the States. What about you, Jack?”
“Right now I’m only thinking about wrapping up this job and putting a bow on it. Let me know when you’re ready to start again.”
Phillip and Bruce did all of the talking during lunch. After they ate, Bruce went back to the basement. Phillip and Jack finished with that AP and did three more. Phillip’s constant talking never ebbed. He was still going strong at six when they finished the third one.
“I’m going to talk to Alice.”
“Are we calling it a day?” Phillip asked.
“No. I’m just…I’ll be back.”
Jack headed downstairs. He rubbed his face and wished he had a cup of coffee. At the bottom of the stairs, he headed left for the server room. He knocked and waited.
Jack huffed and knocked louder.
Sophia walked down the hallway toward him with an empty tray. “Are you looking for Alice?”
“Have you seen her?”
“I just brought her and Pierce some drinks. They’re in the small study.” She pointed down the hall.
Jack marched down the hallway until he heard laughter. The door ahead was partly open.
Replacement and Pierce sat on a couch with a laptop on a coffee table. Replacement typed while Pierce looked over her shoulder. She stopped typing and pointed at the screen. Jack couldn’t see what she said but, when Pierce put his hand on her shoulder, her face lit up.
Jack knocked loudly.
Replacement jumped up and her smile broadened. “Hey!”
Jack tipped his head to the side. “Hey. I was just checking on how you’re holding up.”
“Great.” She squeezed her body tightly like a cheerleader getting ready to jump. “We’re getting so much done.”
“Great. I, uh… Do
you need a hand?”
“Nope. Are you and Phillip done?”
“We just finished another one but we still have a couple to go.”
“Pierce invited us all to stay for dinner.”
“Okay.” Jack looked around the stately library. Deep mahogany bookshelves circled the room and thick carpet cover the floor. The small windows and dark wood created a private, almost intimate atmosphere. “I thought you were configuring the server?”
“We are.” She pointed back to the laptop. “Remotely. We can’t drink in the server room.”
Jack’s jaw tightened. He wanted to ask her where she had lunch while she worked on the server, but he held his tongue.
Sophia appeared in the doorway. “The dinner is being served on the pool deck.”
Pierce stood up. “Thank you.” He walked over next to Replacement. “Shall we?”
Chapter 26
~
He’s My Guy
A catered dinner with silver chafing trays and candlelit tables had been expertly arranged on the blue slate patio. White tablecloths reflected the orange hue of the sunset. There were two circular tables. Jack, Replacement, Bruce, and Phillip sat at one. Pierce, Leon, Mrs. Maier, Nancy, and Roger took the other. Jack glanced over at the gate. Manuel stood guard.
Pierce stood up and the conversations stopped. “I thought I’d take a moment to make introductions.”
“This is quaint,” Roger muttered softly.
“Mrs. Maier is my executive assistant. She’s been with Weston since the company began.”
Mrs. Maier nodded and smiled.
“Roger Braxton is the assistant vice president of marketing. He’s the creator of our new campaign ‘VE-Life is now.’”
Roger held up his drink. Jack expected to see fumes coming from the cup with how strong the smell of gin was. “Thank you, Mr. Weston, for inviting us all to your absolutely breathtaking new home.” Roger smiled to each and every person present in turn.
“Thank you all for coming,” Pierce continued. “Leon Bagwell is the head of Weston security.”
Pierce nodded to a tall man in his mid-fifties who wore a black suit. Gray, buzzed-cut hair, square jaw and steel eyes, Leon sat at the table but his upper body remained at attention—feet planted flat on the floor, back ramrod straight, hands in his lap and his elbows close to his sides. He nodded crisply.
“Nancy Bell is our vice president of human resources. She recently came to us from Rutland Systems.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nancy gave one of those waves where you hold up your hand and bend your fingers rapidly.
“Spearheading the re-networking of the estate is Alice Campbell.” Pierce looked at Replacement. “She’s been invaluable in keeping things moving.” He held out his hand to Replacement and sat down.
Jack saw Replacement’s eyes go wide. He gave her leg a little squeeze under the table.
Replacement stood up and cleared her throat. “Hi. Uh… This is Bruce Atwood. He’s our…wireless guy. And this is Phillip Miller. He’s our AP guy. And this is Jack Stratton.” Replacement grinned. “He’s my guy.”
Everyone laughed.
“What do you think they have?” Bruce whispered to Jack as he eyed the steaming chafing dishes.
Jack shrugged.
“Whatever it is,” Bruce continued, “it smells great and they have lots of it.” He grabbed another hunk of bread.
“Mr. Weston.” Leon’s voice rumbled low and gravelly. “My apologies, sir, but do you have a moment?”
Pierce rose and they walked over to the corner of the patio.
Replacement, Bruce, and Phillip fell into tech talk and Jack found himself staring at his water glass. It was impossible not to overhear the conversation at the next table even if he didn’t want to.
“He didn’t cancel the board meeting.” Mrs. Maier stirred her coffee. “He asked that I postpone it to the end of the week.”
“Mini-vacation.” Roger grinned.
Mrs. Maier scowled. “Roger, Mr. Weston is not to be disturbed. He needs a break.”
“That’s what I’m good at, helping people relax.” He drew out the last word and flashed his white teeth.
Nancy pulled out her phone. “I’m going to need the day to try to reschedule my week.” She groaned.
Roger took a long swig of his drink. “Just do what I do, Nancy.”
“And what’s that?”
“Have my secretary do it.” He laughed.
Mrs. Maier’s eyes narrowed. “Roger, do try to apply a filter.”
“What’s that all about?” Roger tipped his head toward Pierce and Leon.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Mrs. Maier said.
Sophia set a cup of tea down in front of Nancy.
“Thank you.” Nancy smiled. “I don’t know why the head of security’s here in the first place.”
Mrs. Maier frowned. “Mr. Weston requested he be at the meeting too. The security group’s part of the testing.”
Roger sat back. “Yeah, but something else is going on. I bet Leon’s looking for whoever spilled the information that we blew by our earning estimates.”
“It’s a good thing it’s not our job to speculate.” Mrs. Maier moved in front of both of them and glowered.
Jack was surprised that Mrs. Maier’s words didn’t freeze her tea before she took a sip.
A minute later, Pierce walked back over and the conversations stopped.
Phillip and Bruce looked hesitantly at Replacement as they waited for the okay to eat. Phillip pulled out his cigarettes and started to light one. Replacement’s eyes went wide and she shook her head.
Phillip’s shoulders slumped.
“Can we go over near the pool?” Bruce asked as he stood up.
“I’m sure that the food will be right out,” Replacement whispered.
Pierce walked over to the table and Bruce sat back down.
“Do you mind?” Pierce pointed to the cigarette pack.
“I thought you quit?” Replacement shook her hand over the cigarettes as if she were warding Pierce away.
Pierce cleared his throat. “I’m in the process of quitting. But I can’t find my e-cigarette case.”
“Have you lost something, sir?” Sophia asked.
Pierce’s smile seemed forced as all eyes turned to him. “My e-cigarette case. It’s a silver metal case about as big as a cell phone. Have you seen it?”
Sophia shook her head. “No, sir.”
Pierce strummed his fingers on the table while he looked at Bruce’s pack. “I really could use one. I don’t remember where I left it.”
Bruce quietly slid the pack off the table and onto his lap.
“Why quit?” Roger strolled over and handed Pierce a drink.
“Roger,” Mrs. Maier piped up. “It’s good he wants to break that nasty habit.”
“It’s silver?” Replacement asked. “Does it have a USB plug?”
“It does. So you can recharge it. Have you seen it?”
Replacement made a face. “It’s at my house.”
Roger raised his eyebrows and smirked.
Jack scowled.
“Gerald must have picked it up,” Replacement continued. “They gave it to me at the hospital with his belongings.”
“That’s right. I gave him my backup one yesterday.”
“I can bring it tomorrow.”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll buy another one.”
The servers walked out to the patio and moved behind the table with the chafing dishes.
Pierce held up his hand. “Well, shall we eat?”
Chapter 27
~
Did You Leave the Lights On?
Later that night, as Jack turned onto his street, they saw police lights reflecting off the trees in the back parking lot. His training kicked in. The familiar surge of adrenaline washed through him. His eyes scanned the area as he pulled in. Two police cruisers were parked at odd angles out back. Their lights flashed but no one was inside them
.
Replacement sat up straighter. She spoke slowly when she asked, “Did you leave the lights on in the apartment?”
Jack’s throat tightened. He threw the Charger into park and then ran to the rear entrance.
On the wall along the stairs was a long blood smear. Jack took the steps three at a time, followed closely by Replacement. At the top of the landing, he froze. His door was partially open, and he could hear someone walking inside his apartment. His hand instinctively went for his gun but clutched empty air.
Damn.
Jack looked back at Replacement and held up his palm.
She nodded and crouched low.
Jack knew odds were the police were now in his apartment, but he also knew it only took letting your guard down once to get yourself killed. Jack pressed his back against the wall and moved toward the door. “This is Jack Stratton.” His voice boomed in the narrow hallway. “You are in my apartment. Identify yourself.”
“Jack, it’s me, Kendra.” Kendra stepped out of the door with her hands out, her shotgun in her right hand. “You made me jump a mile. You should’ve been a drill instructor.”
“Lady!” Jack rushed by her.
“Jack, you shouldn’t come in.”
“Lady! Lady!” Replacement called out as she raced after him.
“Guys, your dog’s okay. She’s fine. She’s downstairs with your landlady.”
Jack looked around the apartment and ran his hand through his hair. The little hall table lay on its side. Broken glass and change covered the floor. Blood was smeared on a broken lamp.
Replacement glared down and groaned. “What a mess.”
Jack exhaled. “What happened?”
“We got two calls fifteen minutes ago. One was from your landlady, who said that someone was breaking into your apartment. Another was from a man who said a werewolf was chasing a car down the street.”
“He had to mean Lady. I have to go see her.” Replacement dashed out the door.
Jack and Kendra followed her out. They ran down to Mrs. Stevens’s apartment. Her door was open, and he heard voices inside.
As Jack walked in, Kendra blurted out, “Wait. I need to tell you—”
DATA JACK Page 12
