by Dale Mayer
As he walked toward her, he said, “How many floors in this building? Four?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you have access to the roof?”
She frowned at him, her gaze going to the windows and then back to him. “I don’t know, but we can take a look.”
He glanced around. “I’ll look. You keep your cell phone with you.”
He held out a hand, and she stared at it for a moment. “What is it you want?”
“Your keys. I want to lock up from the outside as I leave.”
She winced, reached into her purse and pulled out the keys, giving them to him. As he walked toward the entrance, she knew she would get hit with questions from her staff.
Tommy turned to her. “Did he just lock us in?”
She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “Funny, it was locked when I arrived.”
He stared at her in surprise. “Really?”
“Really.”
*
Tyson smiled as he heard the conversation through his earpiece. The other piece was attached to Kai’s shirt. He hadn’t told her about it when he had placed it there. He’d planned to, but then they found out the office was locked, and things had gone downhill from there. He could hear in real time and was also connected to a recording unit he’d left in the office with his jacket. No way in hell they would take any chances with her life.
He quickly scoped out the stairwell and the elevator. Standard office issue, nothing surprising in any of it. The elevator could use a little maintenance. It squeaked, and he hated to hear that. He checked out the rooftop exit door and found no warning signs or alarms. Outside was a hot summer day, and the heat pounded on the roof. It was too bad people didn’t make better use of the space up here. It could be an easy garden rooftop deck, a place for the office building people to come to. But it was all about making money, leasing to people who would pay on time. It had nothing to do with making the workers’ lives as comfortable as possible.
He did a full scope of the building, stood approximately above her desk and looked over the edge. There was no sign of anybody being here recently. And there was no sign anybody was even contemplating approaching from this position.
But he’d be derelict in his duties if he didn’t check it out. Other office buildings were close by. Some higher up. And he imagined at least one had a bird’s eye view of her office. That was a concern. He took several aerial views, making sure he took them from all sides of the building. He sent those to Ice for further diagnostics. He walked back downstairs and headed for the office.
The elevator doors closed just as he approached. Instinct prodded him to head into the stairwell and go down. He didn’t trust Warren one bit. Anytime money was involved, people did strange things. On the second floor, he burst through the stairwell just as the side door opened to the outdoor parking area. He could see the elevator door closing as he passed it.
He watched as Warren headed to his vehicle. As he walked past, he was talking angrily into his phone. Tyson watched as he got into a sports car, turned on the engine and drove off. Tyson memorized the license plate, then headed back up to Kai’s office while he keyed in the plate number for Ice to trace too.
As he walked in, he saw the four staff members clustered around her. He listened as the men asked questions, obviously looking for reassurances.
“Look. I can’t tell you much more. Obviously Warren and I are going to talk, and it’ll involve lawyers. Are your jobs safe? I can’t tell you that,” she said simply. “So let’s just leave all the negative thinking until we can settle our differences.”
“Easy for you to say,” Tommy said. “You have money.”
“No, I don’t. I put it into this company, remember?”
That had them all sitting back.
“I work, just like you. Long, hard days. I worked in the military for years and didn’t get paid very much there either, and the only money I had to put in here was the inheritance my grandparents left me, even after all my years of hard labor.” She stood, dropped stacks of files on the table and said, “So how about we make sure this company’s successful in order to not have it go down the pipes, and I lose everything and you lose your jobs?”
Tyson leaned against one of the walls as he studied the four employees. Tommy, he’d figured out; the other three he wanted names for. He wasn’t getting any vibes off them. But that didn’t mean much. They were all close enough to do whatever they needed to do. They were all smart enough in the IT world to do exactly what had already been done in Kai’s stalker case.
Kai glanced up, saw him and smiled. He hated that instinctively his heart warmed and his stomach melted. She’d always been special. Tracy had tortured him with all Kai’s virtues day after day. Finally he told her, laughingly, that he liked Kai well enough, for Tracy to stop trying to sell Kai to him, or he might take her over Tracy. At that Tracy had shut up. And he realized what a mistake he had made a day or two later when she had asked him if he’d been serious. He shook his head at the memory.
As he approached, Kai asked, “You’re shaking your head. What’s wrong?”
He gave her a crooked smile and said, “Memories.”
The smile fell away, and she nodded. “They hit at the wrong time, don’t they?”
“For a long time, they hit every moment of the day, not just the wrong ones, so this is much easier.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said warmly. “It’s been a tough couple years.”
He motioned to the men around him. “I need their names.”
She winced. “Yeah, I know. I’d love Warren to be the stalker, but I doubt it.”
“Not likely. He likes shiny toys. In his mind you could be tarnished.”
That brought a laugh out of her. But she nodded. “It’s an interesting take, but unfortunately I think you’re right.”
“Unfortunately.”
Chapter 7
Kai sat down in the chair and worked her way through a stack of paperwork and emails. Beside her Tyson worked on his phone. She didn’t particularly like working on a small screen herself. She used a tablet for a lot of her work when she was not at her desk.
Finally she glanced at her watch and said, “It’s four-thirty. You ready to leave?”
“Anytime you are.”
She stood and shut down the rest of the computer monitors. “Okay, guys, we’re heading out,” she yelled out her office door to her employees in the nearby bullpen.
“We are too,” Tommy said.
She glanced up to see the others standing. Waiting. Tommy gave a small shrug and said, “We felt kind of foolish when we realized somebody is really after you. If Tyson is here to watch over you, well, we should’ve been doing it all along.”
She gave the fresh-faced kid a big smile and said, “Thank you.”
“We can’t have a second boss dying on us,” Jerome said. “That would leave us with only Warren.” He gave a mock shudder.
At that she laughed. “That wouldn’t be so bad. He’s just not a people person.”
Nathan, the fourth member of the group, said, “Not real sure he’s either. And how come he needed you to come on board?”
“Good point. I came on board because he was broke. Mark was a good friend of mine. The company was already in the first stages of bankruptcy,” she said calmly. “But I highly doubt Warren let you guys know that.”
“We didn’t know.” They stared at her in shock and looked at each other.
“Mark was a friend for a long time. He’d suggested the investment to me, knowing where I was in life and knowing my background. I was a weapons instructor in the military, as you know. We’ve spoken about it before. But because of that experience, I was always looking for ways to improve my methods. Mark and I discussed it, and I approached them with a deal. I knew Mark was in favor before I talked to Warren, and happily Warren was on board too. Then Mark passed away. Now possibly Warren is thinking it’s a bad deal. And he might just want to change
the situation.”
“That’s not cool.”
She shrugged. “It’s business.” She opened the door and let everybody out. While they waited, she locked up tight. “Okay, hopefully we’re good until morning.”
“You don’t keep anything vital on the premises do you? Tommy has it all secured and locked away, right?” Tyson asked.
“Yes, he does. We have not only backup but we have the cloud service off-site. We can’t take the chance of this type of R&D work being stolen.”
Tyson nodded. “I hear you there.”
Outside he walked to her car, leaned against the hood and said, “Pretend you’re talking to me. I want all the vehicles to leave first so we’re the last ones.”
She nodded in surprise. “Fine, but then can we at least talk about dinner? I know I ate lunch, but I’m not sure I enjoyed it. And I don’t remember eating much of it. My stomach thinks it’s empty.”
He grinned. “I know a seafood place here. They have a franchise in California. Would that be up your alley?”
“Codfather’s?” Her face lit up. “I love that place.”
He laughed. “I think Tracy introduced me to it. We went to the California one all the time.”
“I’m the one who introduced her to that restaurant.”
His face changed, and his gaze swept the empty parking lot. “Okay, that’s the last vehicle. Do other offices in the building stay open late?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea about the other businesses.”
“Have you considered moving the business? You need more R&D space.”
“I know. I’m not sure we have the funds for it.”
“Right.” He studied the layout of the building, took some more pictures and said, “I want to keep watch.”
“You think we are being followed?” She unlocked the doors and slid into the driver’s seat.
“I think your new boyfriend already knows you have a man in your life. His next concern will be how involved I am.”
She gave him a startled look as she pulled from the parking lot. “You think he already knows you’re here beside me?”
“Without a doubt.”
*
Tyson counted on the stalker knowing about Tyson’s presence. What he didn’t know was what the asshole wanted from Kai. There was a lot of research on stalkers, but that didn’t mean everyone followed the same pattern. In truth, most were under the impression that, for whatever reason, this woman was meant to be with them. And they often believed she knew it, but for some reason was either playing hard to get or rejecting him. Both scenarios were bad news for the victim.
If this was a vengeance type stalker, that was an entirely different story. Those he could handle. Those were just pissed-off, angry men who would sooner shoot her in the parking lot than use psychological torture. He could be wrong though, and he couldn’t afford to be wrong. He certainly wasn’t a psychologist who specialized in stalkers.
“Any idea if you’ve had an intruder in your apartment?”
She gave him a startled look. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Would you know if someone went through it?”
She drove onto the main road thinking about it.
He appreciated that. The last thing he wanted was for her to dismiss his questions as not being relevant.
“No, I wouldn’t know. I’m busy, and I don’t have any special security on my door. I certainly haven’t set traps to see if somebody’s broken in. I’m not home very much, and, when I do come in, I’m so tired that generally I just have a shower and crash. I haven’t cooked a meal in my own kitchen in months, and, even then, it was a case of eat fast and leave.”
“Anything missing?”
She frowned but again didn’t toss off his question as being wasted time. “I haven’t had the time to really take a look.”
“So will we do that before our meal or after?”
She glanced at her watch, checked where they were in terms of traffic and said, “We’ll do a check first. It’s closer. But afterward we’ll eat. Now that you brought up Codfather’s, I want seafood fettuccine with a bowl of clam chowder.”
As she drove, she kept a wary eye to see if anybody was watching. The change in direction may have confused the stalker. But maybe not. She pulled into the parking lot and parked. “What about the vehicle?”
He smiled and pointed to the vehicle in the parking spot beside hers. “Yours will stay here. We’re taking that one on the way out.”
“Nice. I didn’t know that was yours.”
“It’s a company vehicle,” Tyson said. “Besides, we can’t afford not to have vehicles in prime operating condition when we need them.”
“Just like in the military?”
He snorted. “With the military, we had rigs with mechanics overhauling them.” He shook his head. “They were constantly in and out of the shop. But then we ran them into the ground out of necessity.”
“I understand that. Everyone at Levi’s company all come from the same background and history as you. I don’t imagine he runs the place quite as tight as when you were in the military, but I imagine he’s always ready for the next job.”
“He is,” Tyson said. “As far as I can tell. But I haven’t been there long enough to know. I came because Michael told me to get my ass down here. He’s kept an eye on me for the last couple years and knew it was time to move in a new direction. Michael is a good judge of character, and I trust his judgment. Besides I knew Levi somewhat, and he’s a good man.”
She chuckled. “Michael’s anything but fancy. That man is hard inside and out.”
“Not true. Mercy’s made a huge difference in his life. We all react differently to pain, betrayal and disillusionment. In Michael’s case, he just took it a little bit harder than many. But any time a call for help went out, he was one of the first to answer.”
“I think you all would, depending on the circumstances.”
He kept watch as they walked to the elevator, glanced inside and stepped out. “There’s nothing wrong with this but I prefer the stairs.”
“Sure. I need the exercise anyway.”
He glanced over at her. “I doubt that. You appear to be in pretty fine shape.”
“Ice almost beat me,” Kai said with a big grin. “I was damn glad we stopped when we did. I’m also pretty sure she went easy on me.”
“Some competition is healthy. A lot, on the other hand, is not.”
No graffiti was in the stairwell. Also no carpet. The building seemed to be stuck in the mid-80s. It had an old, sad look, but it was still respectable. She could’ve done worse. He presumed investing in the company had stopped her from getting a better place. On the other hand, she would have been used to living on a base. Maybe this was a step up for her. “Do you like living here?”
As they walked down the hall, she thought about her answer. “It’s fine. I’m too busy to care most of the time, but I hadn’t expected such a big adjustment to private life. Still, I don’t really give a damn about my surroundings as long as it’s functional.”
“Functional doesn’t mean much in terms of comforts.”
“No.” She unlocked the door, pushed it open and stepped inside.
He walked in and stopped. He raised his head and just took in the impersonal atmosphere to her apartment. As if she hadn’t fully moved in. This place said so much about Kai herself. He understood how bare a military lifestyle sometimes was. But most had families to go home to after being deployed. In Kai’s case, she didn’t have that. And, once Tracy was gone, she hadn’t had that friend base either.
“I didn’t know how to fully own the space,” Kai said. “So I didn’t bother trying.”
She’d been so busy with the company, with adjusting to life, that her apartment must not have come into the equation in any other way than a room to lay her head down. Then that’s what she was used to. And staying busy would have helped her get over losing Tracy. The two had been like sisters. She’d always lit up wh
en she was around her best friend. The two always tried to outdo the other with bigger, wilder antics. And then all that stopped with Tracy’s death. Losing her best friend had changed Kai. She was no longer so daring, outrageous in her actions or so unrestrained. He’d certainly changed, so he couldn’t imagine it had been any less for her either.
He did his usual walk through the apartment, checking every closet, door, under the bed and windows as she traipsed behind him and watched.
When he finally turned to her, she asked, “Does it pass your inspection?”
“Not particularly. Not if we’re trying to keep you safe. There’s no security, and the fire escape is eight feet from your window. You don’t have any way to get down if somebody cuts off your exit. Steve Rossi lives across from you, according to what you said earlier, but the name has been removed on the directory downstairs. So chances are good that he’s moved, and you didn’t notice.” He quirked an eyebrow at her and continued as her jaw dropped, and she turned in the direction of the front door. “That means nobody is in the apartment across from you, which means you can’t call to them for help. This leaves you fairly isolated and contained.” Immediately he felt bad as the color washed out of her face.
She reached up and rubbed her temple. “I forgot what you were like. Could this be much worse?”
“Absolutely.” He shrugged. “You at least have a dead bolt on the front door. You do have a fire escape you could hook onto and make your way down, but that would require breaking your living room window and opening yourself up to other injuries. You have neighbors on either side who potentially could hear something if you called out. You have underground parking, which offers a small measure of security. You have both elevators and stairs, which is standard, but there’s only one elevator, not two,” he corrected. “In other words it’s a standard apartment building with not a whole lot of security benefits.”
“Right.”
He studied her. “Now can you check to see if anything’s missing?”
She waved her arm around the living room. “Well, I didn’t have anything in here. And those boxes over in the far corner aren’t unpacked because they’re not really important.”