by Bev Robitai
‘How will I get in there?’ Mike mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
‘I know, I’ll meet him at his apartment and make sure I’m last out when we go so that I can leave the door unlocked. How’s that?’
‘That could work. Good. I’ll need a couple of hours to do a thorough job. Can you keep him away for that long?’
She grinned. ‘Sure, no worries. I saw an advert in tonight’s paper for a terribly swanky new food and wine bar that’s only just opened – as a wanna-be trendsetter he won’t be able to resist being one of the first to try it out. What say I give him a call right now?’
They smiled and high-fived each other with the anticipation of success.
This time it all worked remarkably easily. When Robyn called Colwyn to suggest dinner the following evening, he was both free and agreeable. The plan moved into stage two.
Colwyn’s apartment door was left unlocked, and Mike was able to slip in unnoticed. He worked steadily on Colwyn’s computer, downloaded all the relevant files he could find to a flash-memory stick, then deleted the log that showed the transfer of information.
Meanwhile, Robyn and Colwyn sat in a candle-lit booth of the elegant new establishment that all of Toronto’s fashionistas were talking about. Overhead, long rolls of stainless steel shimmered and rolled gently, reflecting ever-changing patterns of light onto the diners below. The wait staff were entirely dressed in silver and white, placing white plates onto pure white tablecloths. Other than the clothing of the diners themselves, all colour came from the food and wine, making each item stand out as an eye-catching arrangement of vivid shapes and textures.
‘How’s your Pinot Gris, Robyn? The notes describe it as “bursting with sun-drenched fruit richness.” Does it measure up?’
‘Oh yes, it’s absolutely marvellous thanks. How’s your Merlot? It looks fabulous!’ She leaned back in her seat and looked around. ‘This is a jolly nice place, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, I’d read about it, of course. I’m so glad to have someone special to share it with tonight.’
‘Why thank you, Colwyn. I expect I’ll bring Daddy here when he comes over for my birthday party, he’ll be really impressed. I can’t imagine he’s been anywhere like this in England.’
The wine waiter who had been hovering in the background like an outsized hummingbird swooped down to top up their glasses. Colwyn nodded his thanks and eased back against the padded booth with studied casualness.
‘Do you have any idea of the size of your inheritance, Robyn? Was your Uncle Josh a generous man?’
‘Oh yes, he used to send my brother and me some wonderful presents at Christmas time. One year he sent us an inflatable swimming pool and we splashed about in it for weeks.’
‘Really? He must have been very special.’ He toyed with his glass for a moment, frowning slightly. ‘Wasn’t it a bit cold for swimming in December?’
‘Oh! Um, no - we, er, we had the pool indoors.’ She took a big gulp of her wine. ‘Hey, shall we have starters as well as mains tonight? I saw some absolutely yummy things on the menu. Would that be all right?’
He smiled tolerantly. ‘Of course, Robyn. Order whatever you like. But if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’m just going to find a quiet corner to check my messages. I’m expecting a couple that are rather urgent. ’
She drew breath to forestall him, but he had already pulled out his cell-phone and left the table. She pulled her own phone out of her purse and sent Mike a quick text message to let him know how things were going.
In the men’s room, Colwyn called Harry.
‘Can you go up to my apartment and check it please Harry? I’m getting an intruder alert message on my phone from my computer security alarm. There’s a possibility that someone may be in there using it. Deal with the situation, will you? Oh, and Harry? I’ll be bringing a girl back to my apartment shortly, and I want you to follow her when she leaves. Keep it low-key, just let me know where she goes afterwards. Thanks.’
He pursed his lips thoughtfully and his eyes grew cold.
Robyn looked up from her deep-fried Camembert as Colwyn came back to the table.
‘Your salad is here. I must say, you are very virtuous to choose something so healthy when there were all those other temptations available.’
He sat down and smiled at her.
‘There are some temptations I can resist, and some that I can’t. Food is easy, wine a little harder, but a beautiful woman is impossible to say no to.’ He lowered his head and gave her a direct look from his intense blue eyes. ‘So be careful what you ask for, Robyn - I’m entirely at your mercy.’
‘Y-es,’ she drawled. ‘Of course you are. All right, since you’ve offered, after dinner let’s go dancing. You can show me the big city night-life. I’m sure you know all the best places in Toronto where the rich and famous hang out, don’t you?’
It would give Mike that much more time to get away safely.
‘Well actually, Robyn, I was hoping that I could spend some quiet time with you, alone. Just the two of us. I don’t want to share you with the big city, I want you all to myself.’ He gave her a look full of soulful yearning. ‘Is that so hard to understand?’
She blinked. ‘No, of course not. But we could go dancing first, couldn’t we? Just for a little while? And you just said I’m impossible to say no to, didn’t you?’
He smiled ruefully. ‘Hoist with my own petard, alas. Very well, my lady, I shall take you dancing at the glitziest club in Toronto to show off that fabulous sparkling dress of yours to the whole city. And then I shall take you back to my private apartment where we can quietly and slowly find out more about each other. Is it a deal?’
‘Colwyn, you have a deal,’ said Robyn, confident that she would be able to make her excuses and go home as soon as they had been away long enough for Mike to have made his escape.
At that moment she would have promised Colwyn an oral sex marathon on top of the CN Tower if it would keep him where she wanted him.
Harry put down the phone and belched gently, tasting onion from the hamburgers his wife had cooked him for supper. He stretched and levered himself out of his swivel chair. He was pleased. Doing jobs for Colwyn Symons was a smart career move. Anyone could see that guy was going straight to the top, and Harry planned to be right there with him. He’d take care of all those tricky little jobs that needed doing. He was good at that.
He picked his teeth thoughtfully in the elevator, staring up at the tiny lens of the security camera and raising a middle finger salute to it as the doors opened at the top floor.
As he bustled along the corridor towards Colwyn’s apartment, anticipation stretched his blubbery lips in a grin. He fished a set of keys from his pocket and readied the one he needed.
The apartment door opened and a guy in grey coveralls came out, placing his toolbox on the floor while he checked that the door was locked behind him.
‘Who the hell are you?’ demanded Harry.
Mike spun around, almost losing his heavy spectacles.
‘Phone guy, sir. There was a report called in about a faulty line so I came right away. Are you Mr. Symons? Your phone is fine now sir - just had us a loose connection in the junction box. Fixed all them wires up real good so it won’t happen again.’
‘Lemme see some ID.’
‘Sure, here you go.’ He handed over a laminated card with a photograph and identity number, which Harry looked at closely. The thick glasses and out-dated hair-style seemed to match the nerd in front of him, and the card itself looked genuine.
‘How long have you been in there?’
‘Just long enough to do the job right, sir. Those false alarm signals can be hard to track down but I got it fixed OK. Is there anything else you need?’
‘No, that’s all…Michael.’ Harry handed back the ID card. ‘Make sure you sign out when you leave the building, all right?’
‘Sure thing, Mr. Symons. You have a good night now.’
Mike pushed his glasse
s further up on his nose, lifted his tool box, and clutched it under his arm as he moved towards the elevator.
Harry watched him leave then entered the apartment. Everything was tidy, except for a few wire clippings on the floor beneath the phone wall socket. He picked up the phone and looked at it suspiciously but could see nothing wrong.
He called Colwyn to let him know the line was working.
‘Your phone is fine, Mr. Symons.’ Loud music assaulted his ear as he struggled to hear Colwyn’s reply.
‘I said your phone is fine, it’s working now! No, there’s nobody here now. Nobody here! OK, bye!’
He rubbed his ear as he replaced the handset. Wherever Mr. Symons was, he’d be suffering a hearing loss if he didn’t get out of there soon.
The same thought had occurred to Robyn. While she enjoyed the way the dance-floor lights sparkled off her shimmering blue dress, there were limits to the level of noise she could endure and they had been exceeded for some time. When she saw Colwyn looking relieved after taking a call on his cell-phone, she guessed that there had been no messages about a break-in at his apartment so it would be safe for him to go back there. Alone.
She put her hand on his arm and nodded towards the door. He nodded back, and they made their way through the press on the dance-floor, between the closely-packed tables, and out into the cool fresh air in the street. Robyn sucked in great breaths and huffed out all the stale air in her lungs.
‘Phew! That was fun, but not quite what I was expecting. You were right, Colwyn, we should have gone straight back to your place - it would have been a lot easier on the ears.’
‘Well let’s make up for lost time then, shall we?’ He hailed a cab and ushered her into the back seat, using a little more force than she was expecting.
Knowing they only had a short distance to travel, she began to prepare her excuses.
‘Gosh, that music has given me quite a headache. How are you feeling, Colwyn?’
‘I’m very well, thank you. And don’t worry, I can fix that headache for you. I have some wonderful Chinese medicine that will get rid of it in minutes. As soon as I get you home I’ll give you a dose and you’ll feel like a box of birds in no time.’
‘Oh, that’s kind, thank you.’
She sat silently, racking her brain for another excuse to leave. Colwyn seemed different but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
There had been a light shower or two while they were at the club, and the cab tyres sang on the wet pavement. Neon signs reflected in the puddles, casting a kaleidoscope of colours across the car’s interior. Colwyn’s face appeared alternately warm then cold with each wash of light.
Robyn shivered.
The cab pulled up outside the apartment building. Colwyn paid the fare. Robyn sat unmoving for so long that he leaned back inside.
‘What are you doing, Robyn?’
‘Actually, I think I’d rather go straight up to my cousin’s apartment, if that’s all right. My headache is getting worse quite quickly and I’d feel better if I could just crawl into bed. Sorry to be a party pooper, but I really should be going.’
‘I can’t let you go home like this, Robyn. Not without giving that medicine a chance to fix you up. Come on up with me and I’ll make you feel better, I promise.’
He put an arm round her and pulled her out of the cab. She considered protesting and calling on the cab driver for assistance but he was already driving away looking for his next fare.
Despite her misgivings, she allowed Colwyn to take her up to his apartment.
‘Now sit yourself down on the couch and I’ll get you the magic potion.’
He disappeared into the bathroom, then went to the kitchen where she heard him running water and stirring something in a glass. He reappeared and handed her a small glass of brown liquid with bits of dried herbs spinning slowly through it.
‘Drink that down, and in ten minutes your headache will be all gone. Trust me.’
There was nowhere she could tip it. He stood over her watching every move.
She sniffed it cautiously and took a sip. It was not unpleasant, in fact the flavours were oddly familiar, she just couldn’t quite identify them. Colwyn stood there until she drained the glass, then he made her lie down and fetched a rug to put over her.
‘You stay there for a while, close your eyes, and I’ll be back when you’re all better. I just need to make a couple of phone-calls. Relax, OK? Comfy?’
She nodded. ‘Fine, thanks. You go ahead.’
He went into his bedroom and shut the door.
As soon as she heard the sound of his voice, she threw back the rug and tiptoed into the kitchen. She eased open one cupboard door after another, until she found what she was looking for. There all pushed together on the spice shelf were a foil sheet of soluble aspirin, a bottle of soy sauce and a packet of dried mint. She grinned. Not a bad attempt at Chinese medicine, but he should have used a less obvious herb for someone who’d grown up on roast lamb. At least he hadn’t fed her anything that would cause nasty side effects.
She closed the cupboard quietly and looked under the sink, searching for something to make his life miserable with. Cleaners? Soaps? Dishwasher powder? An idea presented itself.
She eased open the dishwasher and poured some liquid soap into the bottom, out of sight.
When she checked, Colwyn was still talking quietly in his bedroom so she ventured into his bathroom. The cabinet was slightly open, inviting her to peek inside. Her eyes gleamed. Top shelf, contact lens solution. Bottom shelf, toilet cleaner. She imagined the agony of caustic cleaner on his eyeballs, searing and burning as the optic nerve was destroyed - but she caught herself in time. He would know who had been in his bathroom with the opportunity to do such a thing. Her acts of revenge would have to be more subtle, more like an unfortunate twist of fate.
She unscrewed the top of his lens solution and poured in a few drops of shampoo. Nothing too noticeable, but enough to sting his eyes every time he used it. Then she took the top off his cologne, and marched purposefully towards the toilet. A little golden liquid poured away, a little golden liquid to top it up - he’d never know. But she would. And hey, maybe it would make it smell better. She recapped the bottle and put it back on the shelf.
The voice in the bedroom stopped.
Robyn flew back to the couch and lay down, pulling the rug over her just as Colwyn came in.
‘Are you feeling better now? Headache all gone?’
‘Almost. That stuff must be pretty amazing - where did you get it?’
‘There’s a Chinese emporium just off Spadina, it has all kinds of things imported direct from mainland China, and a special medical section where you can get something for whatever ails you. An old Chinese guy figures out what you need and makes it up specially for you. It’s quite expensive, but worth it when it works so well, don’t you think?’
‘Oh, absolutely. I’ve never had a headache go away so fast.’
‘That’s great.’ He sat on the couch beside her. ‘Now then, Miss Heverill. I think there’s something you haven’t been telling me, isn’t there?’ His eyes held hers, watching her expression to judge the truth of her reply.
‘Actually yes, you’re quite right.’
‘I am?’ He sat back in surprise. ‘Well perhaps you could share your secrets with me then. If we are to be partners - and I hope we are - then I don’t think we should hold back from each other.’
‘Oh no, you’re wrong there. I firmly believe that a woman needs an element of mystery to keep a man’s interest.’ She knew she was skating on thin ice, but hoped that some fancy footwork would keep him from seeing the cracks. ‘If you know everything too soon, there’s no incentive to keep on exploring, is there? Let’s just say that you don’t know all the details about me, but you can have fun trying to find out, OK?’ She did her level best to inject a flirtatious tone into her voice, and lowered her lashes prettily.
‘I’m not sure I can accept that. If we are going
to enter into a relationship, either business or personal, I need to know who I’m dealing with. I’ve been entirely up-front with you, Robyn. I’d appreciate it if you would do the same.’
‘I will, when the time is right, I promise you. You’ll hear the whole story in full. But until then, you’ll just have to keep guessing. And on that note, I think I’ll disappear into the night to maintain my aura of mystery.’
She dropped the rug across his legs and crossed swiftly to the door.
‘Goodnight, Colwyn, thank you for a lovely evening and for curing my headache. Until next time!’
She blew him a kiss from the doorway and made a quick exit.
Going down in the elevator she grinned to herself, but then shivered again. There was something about Colwyn that made her feel deeply uncomfortable, even though it was she who had the upper hand.
Down in the foyer, Harry was watching her all the way on the security camera’s video screen.
Once she had left the building he slipped out after her, just as Colwyn had ordered. He was half a block behind her as far as the subway station. He was in the next carriage on the train, watching her through the narrow windows at the end of the car as they rocked along the track. He was there in the shadows as she unlocked the door of Mike’s apartment and disappeared inside.
She never saw him.
Colwyn switched on his computer to check his e-mail. As the start-up screen flickered past, a figure caught his eye and he frowned. The log showed that the last time the computer had been used was earlier that evening, when he and Robyn had been across town sitting in a restaurant. He searched through his files with mounting agitation. Everything appeared to be intact, but the thought of someone gaining access to his data was extremely disturbing. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he felt uncomfortably short of breath. Even though his critical information was coded, it could be dangerous in the wrong hands. And any hands but his were the wrong hands.