by A. L Long
As I approached the turnoff to The Fish Shack, I had to chuckle to myself, wondering why of all places along the beach, Jonathan picked this spot. It wasn’t the most popular place that I knew of, although it seemed to be doing okay since it first opened some fifteen years ago, according to the establishment sign that hung above the door along with the maximum capacity of 250. I had only been here one other time, and the food was outstanding and a little underpriced as far as I was concerned.
Finding a spot near the entrance, I parked the rental and headed inside. Before opening the door, I looked around the semi-full parking lot and found that Jonathan’s car wasn’t among them. Not giving it another thought, I opened the door and headed inside. The place was just as I remembered. The theme was definitely that of a seafood place, with nets hanging from the ceiling, along with fake fiberglass fish intertwined between the ropes. There were a couple of large fish of various origins mounted on the walls as well. Whoever owned this place was an avid fisherman based on the plaques tacked to wood they were mounted on.
When the hostess walked up to the podium to grab me a menu and direct me to a table, I looked at her and said politely, “I’m waiting for another party. Mind if I look around to see if he has already arrived?”
The attractive young girl, who couldn’t have been older than legal age, smiled and said, “Mr. Evans is already here and waiting for you. If you could please follow me.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be concerned since this meeting was supposed to be unpublished. The fewer people who knew we were meeting the better it was for both of us. Shaking my head, I followed the girl past the dining area where all the seating was and down a small hallway. I wasn’t sure where she was taking me, but this didn’t feel right. It was when she opened a door to what looked like a private dining area that my mind was put at ease. Sitting at the small table was Jonathan. As I took a seat, the young girl handed me the menu and asked casually, “Is there anything that I can get you to drink while you decide on what to order?”
I was completely dumbfounded. Jonathan wasn’t making this meeting any easier by acting like this was nothing more than two friends having lunch together. His calmness was beyond me, especially given the fact that he was the one that Colin wanted dead.
Moving my menu aside, I looked towards the door to make sure the hostess was gone. Focusing my attention back on Jonathan, I said in a low, but very agitated voice. “Are you crazy letting the hostess know who you are? Do you know what kind of danger you could be putting her in?”
“Relax, London. I own this place and Shelby has been working for me since she was fifteen,” he stated mildly.
“Another one of your properties you’re keeping under the radar, I presume,” I replied sarcastically.
“Of course,” he responded, pausing for a minute while he took a drink of his water. “So, what is this about and why do you need to change the plan?”
“If I know Colin, he is going to want to watch your painful death himself. So, in order to make that happen, we need to devise a plan that would allow him to see you die, hypothetically speaking. Do you think you can get in touch with your friend and let him know we are going to need the cadaver a little sooner than we thought?” I asked.
“I can do that with no problem, but I at least need to know what you have planned.”
“In order for this to work, I am going to need a little help from you in gathering what we need to make this work. The biggest being the dead body and a self-driven car,” I asserted.
“Wait…. What? How the hell am I supposed to get my hands on a self-driven car? The technology is still months, maybe even years away.”
“Very true, but with your connections, I am sure you can find a way to get your hands on a test model.”
Jonathan was looking at me as though I was crazy, and he was probably right. This had to have been one of the craziest ideas I ever had. I knew that it was close to impossible and given the short amount of time we had to work with, it was going to be next to a miracle if we could pull it off.
~Eleven~
By the time I left The Fish Shack, we had a plan in place as well as a back-up plan just in case Jonathan was unable to get what we needed. I hated having to place most of the responsibility on him, but since I had only been a resident of LA for a short while and had no affiliation other than Colin, he had a better chance of getting what we needed.
As I pulled into the airport to return my rental, it hit me that Tessa didn’t know of our plans. Jonathan and I never discussed telling her about what we had planned, or even the fact that Colin wanted him dead. She needed to know the truth about everything; well, almost everything.
Just as every other day, the airport rental agency was super busy. All I wanted was to get my car returned and get back to my place unnoticed. Taking my place in line, I was beginning to get that paranoid feeling. It was one of those feelings of being watched. Looking around, it seemed that mostly everyone was carrying on with their own agenda; paying no attention to me or anyone else for that matter.
I knew I should have been concerned when I could feel the warmth of someone’s breath trickle down my neck. Before I could turn around to see who was, a familiar voice sounded. “London, what the hell are you doing here?” Kyle questioned. “You aren’t planning a trip, are you?”
Being in a state of shock, I was at a loss for words. I could only think to ask him the same thing. “Lincoln, funny seeing you here. Are you planning a trip?”
“Me? Hell no. I’m just here to check out a vehicle while my truck is being repaired,” he admitted. “But you still haven’t told me what you are doing here.”
“I’m on my way back from the coast. Thought it would be better to rent a car than to put wear and tear on my own.” It was a dumbass excuse, but the only one that I could come up with.
“I think you’re up and I need to head out,” Lincoln responded as he began heading to where the rentals were located to pick up his car. Turning to face me, he said, without warning. “Watch your back, London. You don’t want to get on Mr. Gates’ bad side.”
His last remark made me wonder if he knew more than what he let on. It didn’t make sense to me that he would come to the airport to pick up a rental when there were closer car rental places in LA. Kyle Lincoln was going to be someone that I needed to keep my eye on as well. I began to rethink our friendship
~*~*~*~
Having spent an hour and a half at the airport and another forty-five minutes driving home, I was glad to finally step foot in my apartment. I needed to get to work on what tomorrow would bring and make sure our back-up plan was arranged. No sooner than I placed my keys on the counter, there was a knock at the door. I hadn’t been expecting anyone and the last thing I needed was to be interrupted when I had such little time as it was.
Opening the door, it didn’t surprise me that Ginger was standing on the other side, and given the way she looked, I was pretty sure she was planning on staying for a while. Holding a bottle of champagne and a bottle of orange juice was also a dead giveaway. Stopping her before she offered her services. I bluntly said in the nicest way, “Baby, this is really a bad time. Nice dress though.”
“Aww… come on, handsome. Just one?” she pleaded in her sexiest voice, which was more of a whine than anything.
“No can do. I really need to get some work done. You understand. Right, baby?” I coaxed.
“Okay, maybe later than. We could have some real fun.”
Giving her a soft peck on the cheek, I smiled, leaving her with at least a hint of hope, even though what she had planned was never going to happen. God, I swear sometimes I can be such a douche. I should have told her right then that things between us were fun while it lasted, but like with everything, “all good things must come to an end.”
Closing the door, there were more important things on my mind than Ginger. Faking someone’s death was not new to me, and having faked my own, I was an expert on the subject. I just needed to come
up with a way that would make Colin believe that Jonathan was dead. As I sat at my desk, staring into space, a light came on and I began making my idea come to life. I began writing down all the things that I needed to do to make it look real. Looking back, the self-driving car was a bit of a stretch, but this plan would be more realistic, especially since I was going to make sure that Colin was there to witness it.
Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out my cell, ready to contact Jonathan, but remembered that I needed to be careful. I really needed to think about getting a new phone. Whether or not my calls were being traced was something I wasn’t about to risk.
Grabbing my keys from the counter, I hurried out the door before Ginger came back. The more I thought about it, keeping my current one could be used in my favor, especially if there was something that I wanted Colin to hear. I still wanted to know if my phone was being tapped and I was certain that a cell phone dealer would be able to find whatever spyware was being used quicker than I could.
While I was out, I decided that stopping by an electronics store to purchase an RF frequency detector wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Having a detector would at least let me know if there were any bugs in my apartment and where they were hidden. Once again, I would leave them in place, knowing that I could use them in my favor, making sure that Colin heard what I wanted him to hear.
Pulling up to the electronics store, I was in luck since they were also a cell phone dealer. Explaining my situation to the clerk, it came as no surprise that it wasn’t uncommon to have a phone checked for spyware. It turned out that my phone was clear of any suspicious spyware apps. At least that was a plus. His expertise in RF signal detectors was another story. About the only thing he knew was where to find them on the shelf. Finding a fellow employee, he directed me over to where the radio frequency detectors were while calling for assistance.
I never realized how many models of RF signal detectors there were. Picking up the most expensive model since they were usually the best, I began reading about all the features this particular one had. Getting my fill of knowledge, I heard a deep voice sound behind me. “That there is one of our best models. It will do everything from locating microphones to cameras. It is really easy to use. If your home is being bugged, whoever is doing it will have to be no more than 500 feet away in order to receive the signal. Being closer rather than farther would be ideal if they wanted better reception. Just a little information for you.” the clerk explained.
“That’s good enough for me. I’ll take it,” I replied. I knew if my condo was being bugged, this little gadget would certainly find it.
As I was driving down the highway, it occurred to me what the clerk at the electronics store said. If my apartment was bugged and if what the clerk said was true about the strength of the signal requiring the person bugging the place to be no more than 500 feet away, then that meant either someone in my building was behind bugging my penthouse or there was someone sitting outside the building keeping track of my every move. This was very unnerving, especially since I had always been extremely careful with the jobs I did for Colin. That shouldn’t have warranted any doubt on his part, at least, that was, until Jeffries.
~*~*~*~
As I got off the elevator, I scanned the hallway to make sure it was clear of a certain sex-crazed woman. With the coast clear, I headed to my apartment without being seen. Even though I knew she wasn’t the stalking type, I wouldn’t put it past her to be lurking in the hallway waiting to see who was getting off or on the elevator
When I reached my own place without being seen, I went to the fridge, pulled out a brew, and headed over to the couch to read the instructions on the RF signal detector. Just before I pulled the box out of the bag, it occurred to me that if there were cameras hidden in the living area, whoever was on the receiving end would be able to see what I was up to. Taking my brew and the bag with me, I headed to my room and entered my walk-in closet, knowing that was going to be the safest place at the moment. “Who in their right mind would bug a closet, after all?” I thought to myself.
Closing the door, I grabbed the flashlight on the top shelf and tore into the box. As I was reading the instruction, I began thinking how silly this was. A grown man hiding in a closet to read instructions in order not to be seen. I chuckled to myself as I shook my head at the irony of it. All I could think was, “This had better be worth it.”
~Twelve~
Waiting until it was dark, I swept my apartment, finding a total of seven bugs and eight cameras in the span of two hours. The person who bugged my place knew exactly where to hide them. I would have never thought to look for a camera hidden inside a throw pillow disguised as a button. Most of the other bugs, some of which were equally hidden, were found in the smoke alarms, doorbell, and of all places, on top of the shower door. A place I would have never thought to look. It was a comfort knowing where all the bugs were in case I wanted to remain unseen and unheard.
Feeling my exhaustion set in, I decided to call it a day and head to the comforts of my bed. Even though, I knew there was a camera along with a microphone hidden in a floor lamp, I knew exactly how to eliminate both of them without letting them know that I was on to them. Taking my shirt off, I threw it in the vicinity of the lamp, just enough to cause it to topple over. The light bulb shattered and the shade to the lamp ended up breaking in half. This was the effect I wanted.
After cleaning up the mess that I had created, I could finally go to sleep knowing that there weren’t any unwanted eyes on me. The minute my head hit the pillow, I thought for sure I would be out, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Thinking about what I had found, I couldn’t help but wonder how Colin was able to get inside my apartment to place the bugs. I knew he didn’t have a key and that the front security guard wouldn’t have let him in. There was also the fact that I had my security system as well. It would be impossible for him to deactivate it unless he knew the code for the two-step process to disable it.
Remembering what the gentleman at the electronics store stated, the person watching me would need to be close by, and the closer they were, the better the signal. There were only a handful of people that had ever been in my place and even then, I was always around. My best bet would be to start searching the building. If the person behind the surveillance was inside the building, I would find them.
~*~*~*~
It was crazy how quickly morning came as the sun began making its appearance through the blinds in my bedroom. It felt like I had only been asleep for a few minutes. Looking towards the clock on my nightstand, I got out of my bed and grabbed my cell before making my way to the closet. Closing the door behind me, I brought it to life and dialed Jonathan, hoping that he would be awake at this hour.
As I sat on the floor in the dark waiting for him to answer, it struck me that this was even sillier than reading the instructions to the detector. I felt stupid, especially since I eliminated the bug and microphone that was planted in my bedroom last night. Pushing to my feet, I left the closet and took a seat next to the mangled floor lamp as I waited for him to answer. I knew I wouldn’t be talking to Jonathan, since the call went straight to voice mail. Thinking that it might have been too early, I rose from the chair and headed to the kitchen for some much-needed coffee.
I really needed to get in touch with him, and I didn’t want to chance being followed. Staring at the black screen on my phone, there was really only one other option in getting in touch with Jonathan. Hesitating, I hit the green phone icon, hoping that I wasn’t making a mistake. Just hearing her voice say, “Xavier,” made me wish I was there instead of here.
“Hey, baby. How are you doing?” I asked, selfishly hoping she was lonely and missed me.
“I’m really good,” she began. “If I haven’t told you, thank you so much for introducing me to my dad.”
“It was just something that needed to be done, Tessa,” I answered. “Speaking of your father, is Jonathan there?”
“I believe so. Hold on, let m
e get him.”
Sitting on the bed, I took a sip of my coffee as I waited for her to find him. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it was taking a lot longer than it should have. It was beginning to worry me when her voice came back on the line.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, but I can’t find him, and Agnes hasn’t seen him since last night,” Tessa confessed. “Do I need to be worried, Xavier?”
“No, no, not at all. I’m sure he is around there somewhere. I will just try later. In the meantime, don’t worry.”