Back Track

by Jason Dean

  At some point, Addison would also grasp that although his face stung a little, it wasn’t actually falling off. Maybe he’d realize he’d been suckered with hot tap water. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Bishop didn’t really care. Right now, he had more important things to think about.

  THIRTEEN

  Vaughn Mayfield followed his two prospects into the elevator and then hit the button for nine. He smiled at them both as the doors silently eased shut, but kept his attention mostly on the woman. ‘Hot’ didn’t describe her adequately. Rhian Lerner was incredible-looking. He’d been captivated from the moment he met them outside the building.

  The black skin only helped. It really brought out her large eyes. Made them seem like they were boring right into his brain whenever she looked at him. Like right now, for instance. And that coy, enigmatic smile she was directing his way held more than just professional interest. He was sure of it. He’d met enough horny women in the real estate business to know the signs. She clearly wanted Vaughn as much as he wanted her.

  Her white boyfriend, Dennis Ackroyd, was oblivious. He just stood there in his suit, watching the numbers change. Which made a certain kind of sense. Vaughn knew he was some kind of accountant. A good one, evidently, if he could afford the rent on one of these apartments. They weren’t cheap. He was fairly tall, but stoop-shouldered, with thick glasses. Vaughn thought he looked completely out of her league. He was guessing she probably stayed with Dennis for his money and got her kicks elsewhere. Which was fine by Vaughn.

  ‘How come there’s no seven on the panel, Vaughn?’ Rhian asked. ‘Is it unlucky or something?’

  ‘Not at all. That whole floor belongs to the owner of this building and he’s very serious when it comes to his privacy.’

  ‘Oh. So he’s got his own private elevator, then?’

  ‘Exactly right. Here we are.’ The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. ‘After you, Rhian,’ Vaughn said. ‘Dennis.’

  He followed them out and then led them down the left-hand corridor.

  ‘This is it,’ he said, stopping outside 906. Shifting his thick binder to his other hand, he pulled a chain of keys from his pocket, found the right one and opened the door. ‘There are two empty apartments on this floor, but this one’s south-facing. I think you’ll like it.’

  ‘Let’s see, shall we?’ Rhian said and went in first. Mayfield watched that tight little butt wiggle underneath the jeans and then Dennis blocked the view as he followed her inside. Vaughn closed the door and joined them in the living room straight ahead.

  The next ten minutes he spent showing them round the large apartment, pointing out all the extra features, like the balconies outside the main rooms and the gym on the top floor. He emphasized the building’s security and told them he’d even throw in an extra parking slot in the underground car park for free. He really wanted Rhian to take the apartment.

  They were in the master bedroom when she said, ‘What do you think, Denny? From where I’m standing it all looks perfect.’

  ‘Yeah, it seems okay,’ Dennis said, looking out the window. He didn’t sound too excited or impressed. Vaughn guessed he was long accustomed to giving Rhian whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it. But then, most men would.

  Rhian turned to him. ‘It wouldn’t kill you to show some enthusiasm, you know. You were exactly the same when we . . . Hey, what’s wrong, baby? You feeling okay?’

  ‘Not really,’ Dennis said and turned with his hand pressed against his stomach. In the sunlight, Vaughn could see he looked a little pale. ‘Probably that seafood we had last night. I told you what happens when my system comes into contact with fish.’

  ‘Your system.’ Rhian rolled her eyes at Vaughn. ‘That’s all I ever hear about these days. Well, you better take yourself to the bathroom then.’

  Vaughn said, ‘You know where it is, don’t you, Dennis?’

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Dennis said and shuffled by Vaughn as he made his way out of the room.

  Rhian sat on the bed and patted the mattress. ‘This is a big old thing, isn’t it, Vaughn? Two people could get up to all kinds of mischief on here, I bet. Why don’t you take a load off? Dennis may be a while; he’s got a very weak stomach. Among other things.’

  Damn, she doesn’t waste any time, does she? Vaughn smiled, placed his keys and binder on the bed and sat down beside her. ‘So you like the apartment, Rhian?’

  ‘I sure do. How many others are available in this building?’

  He reached for his folder and opened it to the second page. ‘Well, we’ve got 904 also on this floor. Then there’s 1507 on the top floor and . . . let’s see, another one on the fourth floor’s just come on the market. That’s just a one-bedroom, though.’

  ‘But the other two are like this one?’

  ‘More or less. They’re both two bedrooms. One’s north-facing. The other’s on this side.’

  Rhian nodded. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got a floor plan, do you? So I can get a sense of where everything is in relation to each other. Like for the fire exits and elevators.’

  ‘Sure, I should have a few copies in here.’ He turned to the clear wallets at the back, flipped through to the ninth floor, then pulled out a folded sheet and handed it to her.

  ‘You got one for the fifteenth floor, too? That’s where the gym is, right?’

  ‘Oh, sure.’ He found the layout for the top floor and passed it over. At the same time, he angled himself so their thighs were touching. Rhian smiled, but didn’t move away. He watched her profile as she looked over the plans and said, ‘There are some great restaurants around here, Rhian. We could arrange a time and I could show you a few if you’d like. If Dennis didn’t mind.’

  She smiled at him. ‘Dennis wouldn’t have a say in the matter. I go where I please and do what I want.’

  ‘I can see that.’

  She looked at him and said, ‘We could do dinner next week, maybe. Why don’t you tell me about some of the hot spots around here. Maybe we can try some of them out, too.’

  Music to my ears. Vaughn smiled as he began listing the wildest nightspots in the area, all the while watching Rhian’s eyes sparkle in hedonistic anticipation. He was sure she’d be an absolute animal in bed and he couldn’t wait to give her a test drive. After a while, though, it dawned on him that he hadn’t heard from her boyfriend in some time.

  ‘Is Dennis okay, you think?’ he said. ‘He’s been gone awhile now.’

  Rhian frowned as she looked at her watch. ‘Hmm, well, I wouldn’t worry too much. Maybe you could just knock on the door and see if he’s okay.’

  ‘Right.’ Vaughn stood up and walked out. In the entrance hall, he knocked a couple of times on the bathroom door and said, ‘Everything okay in there, Dennis?’

  There was no response.

  ‘Dennis?’ Still no sound. He turned the handle. The door was unlocked. Vaughn poked his face round the door and saw an empty bathroom. No Dennis. What the hell?

  He turned to his right and saw the entrance door was unlatched. Which wasn’t good. Unauthorized people wandering around the building could reflect very badly on him. Vaughn jogged over and pulled it open. Then he heard a weird wheezing sound and stepped into the hallway. And there was Dennis, thank God, leaning against the wall. He was out of breath and sucking on an inhaler of some kind. He looked in a bad state.

  ‘Asthma attack,’ he said. ‘I get them . . . every now and then. I didn’t want you . . . to hear me choking. It’s kind of embarrassing. But I’ll be . . . okay now.’

  Man, what a pathetic wreck, Vaughn thought. No wonder Rhian likes to play the field. But he smiled and said, ‘Hey, no problem. You’ve seen everything, anyway. If you want to wait here, I’ll just go grab my keys and folder and see if Rhian’s ready to leave.’

  Dennis just nodded and Vaughn turned to go back inside. He was already thinking about which restaurant he’d take the guy’s girlfriend to next week. And for what he had in mind afterwards, it needed to be one fairly close to a
hotel.

  FOURTEEN

  On the busy sidewalk out front, Mayfield shook hands with them both and said, ‘Don’t forget, guys, you call me any time you got any questions, okay?’ He glanced quickly at the woman he knew as Rhian. ‘Any time at all.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Bishop said, still playing dumb.

  ‘We’ll definitely be in touch, Vaughn,’ Jenna Falstaff said, giving him a sultry smile.

  Vaughn grinned back, then turned and marched off down the street to wherever he’d parked his car.

  Bishop took off the glasses and rolled his shoulders, ironing out the kinks that came with stooping for so long. ‘So when’s the wedding?’

  ‘Not exactly subtle, is he?’ Jenna said with a sigh. ‘I think I need a long shower after all that. Boy, the things I do for you.’

  ‘Don’t give me that. You were enjoying yourself. I saw you.’

  ‘Well, maybe a little,’ she said. They began walking towards the narrow side street that bordered Equinox Tower’s west side. ‘So did you have enough time?’

  ‘Just about. He caught me out of breath but the inhaler explained it away.’ They stopped at the corner of the side street. It was more an alley really, but it allowed them to get clear of the lunchtime sidewalk traffic. ‘What about you? You get the floor plans?’

  ‘Naturally.’ She reached into her shoulder bag and handed them over. And a key. ‘For 1507,’ she said. ‘He’s sure to notice it’s missing before too long, though.’

  ‘Well, I should be safe enough for a few hours, at least. After that, it won’t matter.’

  ‘What if this Addison’s already gotten free? He’ll try to warn Gaspard, won’t he?’

  ‘Not if he wants to keep breathing. Admitting he gave Gaspard’s name to a complete stranger would be like signing his own death warrant, and I don’t think even he’s that dumb.’

  ‘Well, if you say so. But I think you’re taking a big risk.’

  Bishop shrugged and looked at Jenna for a moment. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. ‘Thanks for helping. I really appreciate it.’

  Which was something of an understatement. Last night, his internet research at Addison’s revealed the sole agent for Equinox was an outfit called Slocombe Realty. He’d then called Jenna and asked if she’d be willing to come down to Pennsylvania to help him out with something. She hadn’t been too happy about it, but she eventually agreed to pick up the few items he asked for and then drive straight down. He couldn’t think of anybody else who’d do the same.

  Jenna touched her lips with two fingers. ‘Wow, was that an actual kiss? From you? And just what else was I was gonna do, James? In case it’s escaped your attention, this is about the closest thing we’ve had to a date in months. It seems you’re always busy, or is it that you’ve got yourself a new squeeze and I’m just being slow?’

  ‘You know better than that.’

  ‘Do I? So what is it, then? Has the thrill gone already?’

  ‘Look, let’s not do this now, huh? Not here on the sidewalk. Not when I got a dozen other things on my mind.’

  ‘Seems to me you’ve always got something on your mind,’ Jenna said with a snort. ‘And as far as I’m concerned, now’s as good a time as any. Besides, what’s the big obsession about finding this Selina girl, anyway? I’m getting the impression she means a lot more to you than you’ve been making out.’

  ‘She’s just someone who needs help, that’s all,’ he said. He really didn’t want to get into all the whys and wherefores right now. Or his history with Laurette Chounan. It would take far too long.

  Jenna shook her head in obvious aggravation. ‘See what I mean? As talkative as ever. Well, let me tell you, I’ve had a lot of time to think about us over the last few months, and I’ve come to realize I might have made a big mistake. I know our relationship was all based around some pretty strange circumstances, but enough time’s passed that that’s no longer an excuse. Everything’s been kind of been one-way for a while now, and that’s not good enough. I don’t expect the earth, but a little honest commitment from you would sure go a long way.’

  ‘You’re right, Jenna,’ he said. ‘But I told you right from the start I’m not used to long-term relationships. Maybe I’m just not cut for them. I don’t know.’

  ‘Yeah, I remember. I didn’t really want to believe you then, but I’m starting to now. Look, James, I don’t wanna fall out with you, but this is really frustrating. We rarely talk these days, and even when we do nothing gets said. I’m thinking maybe we should just draw a line under this while we’re still on friendly terms.’ She gave a long sigh and said, ‘I don’t expect a decision from you right this second, but you need to decide what it is you really want and give me an answer. And soon. Because I won’t wait around forever.’

  ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘We’ll talk, I promise.’

  After a short silence, Jenna nodded and kissed him on the lips. To Bishop, it felt chaste. Like she’d already made her decision. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He pulled away and said, ‘I better go.’

  ‘Bet you say that to all the women,’ Jenna said with a half-smile.

  Then she turned and joined the rest of the pedestrians on Franklin without looking back. In less than a second, she was part of the crowd. Then she was gone.

  FIFTEEN

  For a brief moment, Bishop toyed with the idea of going after her. But the impulse passed quickly. He had work to do. Instead, he turned and continued deeper into the alley.

  The narrow cul-de-sac went on for about three hundred yards or so. He passed several vans parked on either side. On his left, a fat delivery guy was carrying large boxes from the rear of his van and handing them to another guy in a doorway. Neither man gave Bishop a glance. On the right was an unmarked trade entrance to Equinox Tower, but he wasn’t planning to gain entrance that way.

  Bishop kept walking and stopped at the fire exit door further down. It was solid steel and set flush against the wall. Almost. He also knew it was equipped with an AC powered alarm, set to go off any time the locking bar was pushed open from the other side.

  Jenna’s comment about ‘strange circumstances’ had been a reference to his prison escape last year and the ensuing fallout. But the time he’d spent inside for another man’s crime hadn’t been entirely wasted. His cellmate, for instance, had always been eager to show him different ways to get into buildings. And Bishop had always been a good listener.

  Earlier, while Jenna kept Vaughn distracted, Bishop had run down eight flights until he reached this door. He’d taken his tools from his jacket pocket and gone to work on the control panel located close by. After disconnecting it from the mains, he’d had to work fast before security noticed something was up. He quickly located the contact switch in the doorframe. Then he removed the two wires in the device, twisted them together and left them disconnected. After reassembling the device, he’d reconnected the control panel to the mains and pushed open the fire door. There had been no alarm. He knew the control system still received the same voltage whether the contact switch was open or closed. As far as it was concerned, everything was functioning correctly.

  He’d then inserted a small rubber wedge to keep the door from fully closing and sprinted back up the stairs. Out of breath, he’d reached the apartment about five seconds before Mayfield’s head appeared outside the door.

  Bishop stepped over to the grey dumpster a few feet beyond the fire exit and looked back. The delivery guy was locking the van’s doors and making ready to go. Bishop waited another minute as he got in, started her up and slowly pulled out into Franklin.

  After a final check, Bishop opened the dumpster lid. He reached in and moved a couple of black garbage bags out of the way at the back until he found the undisturbed attaché case he’d hidden this morning. He pulled it out and walked back to the door. Thanks to the wedge, about a centimetre of the door’s edge was jutting out of its steel frame. He moved to one side, used the fingers of both hands to get a purch
ase on it and carefully pulled the door open.

  He picked up the attaché case and slipped inside, closing the door fully behind him. He then took the floor plans from his pocket and looked from one to the other, memorizing every detail.

  Each floor shared the same basic layout, with nine apartments of varying sizes around the perimeter. The largest apartment was the one on the north-west corner. No. 901, according to the plans. On the fifteenth floor it was taken up by the gym. It took up most of the northern side, with a short hallway separating it from its much smaller neighbour on the north-east corner. Another hallway separated it from its immediate neighbour on the western perimeter. Which meant it was the only completely segregated apartment.

  No. 701 would be Gaspard’s room. Bishop was sure of it.

  That it wasn’t on the top floor already showed good sense on Gaspard’s part. Back in his close protection days, Bishop had always hated it when clients demanded the penthouse. They were showy and difficult to defend against. Somewhere in the middle was always better. 701 had easy access to the fire stairs without being too close. It was also right next to Gaspard’s private elevator. Had to be, since the only place for it was in that hallway between 701 and 702.

  Satisfied, Bishop pocketed the plans and continued walking down the empty hallway until he reached the stairwell. He listened for a moment, heard nothing, then began climbing.

  He saw nobody all the way to the seventh floor. Same as when he’d used the stairs earlier. In Bishop’s experience, fire stairs in the more expensive apartment blocks were rarely used by tenants. Those afraid of elevators could usually afford to find somewhere closer to the ground to live. Bishop just hoped that theory would hold true in this case.

  The stairway door was made of steel with a gap of about three or four millimetres at the bottom. More than enough. Bishop knelt down and opened the attaché case. He pulled out the gun, checked it and placed it in the back of his waistband. Some extra ammo went into his pocket. He then took out the Medit industrial fibre-optic scope he’d asked Jenna to get from her brother’s apartment. Boasting a tiny 1.0mm diameter insertion tube, it was the smallest scope on the market, and ridiculously expensive. The nature of Aleron’s business meant that clients seeking his particular talents occasionally offered to pay in black market merchandise rather than cash. Ali had mentioned once that he currently had a box of these things in his basement and was holding on till he found a buyer willing to pay the right price. Fortunately for Bishop, it seemed he was still waiting.