Jimmy gave a snort and stirred in his chair waking from a sound sleep. He yawned and scratched his chest then levered the recliner upright. His neck was stiff, having fallen asleep in front of the TV as he so often did. Rubbing the protesting muscles, he stared at the screen watching the woman on the shopping network extol the virtues of a scarf that could be worn a dozen different ways.
“Yeah, like I need one of those.” He clicked the remote to turn off the TV and pushed himself to his feet.
The drone of the fan mixed with the faint sound of the aquarium water. He tapped the glass and his goldfish swam closer knowing the sound meant feeding time. They darted back and forth as he dropped the food flakes into the water.
“Greedy little beggars.” He set the can of fish food back on the shelf. “Enjoy your dinner. I’m going to get another beer.”
He shuffled to the fridge and found a can, popped it open and took a long drink, idly looking out the window. There was a car in the alley, which wasn’t that unusual. Turning to go back to his chair, he looked at the vehicle again.
The sun was setting but there was still ample light to see. The car was an older model in pretty bad shape with a dent in the hood and rusty fenders. He noted the licence plate; an old habit from his cop days. Yeah, he’d been a good cop, given a commendation after only one year on the force. Ha! He’d still been wet behind the ears and thinking he’d save the world…
His gaze grew distant as he remembered his glory days. He’d been so proud of that badge and uniform. Yep, those were the days. Nothing like that happened anymore. He was retired now, had been for what? Twenty years? Maybe more. He couldn’t really remember. All he knew was his pension cheques didn’t stretch as far as they used to. Good thing he had this job as a building superintendent. It helped make ends meet. Well, that and a few carefully-placed bets. He took another drink and then belched before looking at the car again.
It seemed to be rocking about. Probably dumb kids making out in the back seat. He remembered when he’d been nimble enough to do that. Chuckling, he considered going out there and banging on the hood. Scare the shit out of them. That would be fun. Of course, kids today could just as likely pull a knife on you and he didn’t want to get carved up like a ham.
Yeah, he’d stay inside, find a game to watch or maybe a rerun of a cop show. He liked to watch those and find all the discrepancies. Real police work was nothing like what they showed on TV.
He was wandering back towards his chair when the sound of someone entering the building caught his attention. His apartment door was partially open so he could watch the comings and goings of the building’s occupants. As the building super, it was his job to keep an eye on things after all.
“Who are you?” He studied the woman who was about to mount the stairs. Short, sharp features, reddish hair; he mentally noted her appearance.
“I’m here to see Lou.” She smiled at him and took a step forward.
“Nope. She ain’t home.” He shook his head. “She and her friends left for dinner.”
“Well, I’ll wait for her outside her apartment.” Once again, the woman moved to climb the stairs.
“No can do. It’s against the rules. No loitering.” He shook his head. “No one can hang out in the hallway.” That was his job. Enforce the rules. Like when he’d been a cop.
“But…” Her smile had vanished and there was a hard, impatient look about her now.
He pushed off from the doorframe, drawing on his background to inject a firmness to his tone. “Rules are rules. Gotta follow them. You’ll have to wait outside until they get home.”
The woman huffed and then stormed out of the building. He gave a satisfied nod and stood there watching to ensure she didn’t return. Yeah, he was still as good a cop as he’d always been; he wasn’t too old, regardless of what anyone said.
He cocked his head at the sound of a car starting. It came from the alley. Had those kids been making out in the woman’s car? He laughed at the idea. That would put an extra twist in her sour expression!
Well, he’d better go patrol the halls. Roxi had said there’d been trouble in the neighbourhood. Couldn’t leave his tenants unprotected. Yeah, he took good care of the building. Just the other day, he’d helped put that new window in. Giving himself a congratulatory toast, he took another swig of beer and began to do his rounds.
Chapter 18
The car finally stopped. Lou heard the door slam as Kathy exited the vehicle. She assumed they were back at the diner now as they’d already made one stop, likely at the apartment. Kathy hadn’t been gone long but Lou had done her best to draw attention to the car by kicking and yelling through the gag. It hadn’t done any good.
Now they were probably in the alley behind the King’s Plate. Kathy must have the memory stick by now. Would they check it to verify the contents? And if they did, would they realize the data was useless? Various scenarios raced through her mind. She could tell them the information had been replaced but she knew where the real stuff was; it would give her something to bargain with.
But what if they didn’t check the memory stick? Should she tell them when they came to get her? Or was that if they came to get her? Perhaps she’d be left in the stuffy trunk until she died of heat and dehydration. The thought sent her into a panic and she was about to start kicking at the side of the car again when Jeff spoke from somewhere nearby.
“Did you find it?”
“No, damn it.”
Lou listened intently, hoping they would say something that would give her a hint as to what was going on and how she might possibly save herself.
“What happened?”
“The building superintendent wouldn’t let me in.”
Lou sent silent thanks to Jimmy. His moment of vigilance might have spared her for a few more hours.
“Fuck.” Jeff must have leaned against the car for his voice sounded like it was right over her head when the trunk dipped suddenly. “If we can’t get past the security, all of this was for nothing.”
“You think I don’t know that? This is our chance to gain the upper hand, to make them listen to us. If they don’t, we bring them down.”
Lou tried to make sense of what they were saying. This didn’t sound like industrial espionage, or at least not the kind she’d imagined. Didn’t that usually involve stealing the plans for the latest gadget or marketing campaign?
The car’s suspension creaked as the trunk righted. It was probably Jeff removing his weight from the car as he stood. “Maybe we can get another copy of the codes?”
Kathy snorted. “Don’t be an idiot. Do you know how much we paid out already? And it’s not like the director’s just going to hand over another copy for free!” The soft skittering of loose bits of stone combined with the ebb and flow of her voice indicated she was pacing. “Okay, let’s assume they’re on their own with no back up. I don’t think the bear has—”
Jeff interrupted her. “Be careful what you say, we have company here, remember?” There was a thumping sound as Jeff patted the metal surface over her head.
“Does it matter what she hears? It’s not like she’ll be walking away from this.”
“I suppose not. Though a missing person report could draw attention we don’t need.”
Lou silently cheered for Jeff. She’d always liked him.
Kathy gave a derisive snort. “So we make it look like she had an accident.”
“Hmm... She was drinking a lot tonight. Maybe she wandered off and fell in the river.”
Lou frowned. Or maybe Jeff wasn’t so great after all.
“We can decide later,” Kathy spoke again. “Right now we’re going to use her as leverage to get those codes back, tell her roommate and boyfriend we’ll trade her for the USB.”
“Except they’ll want to see her first as proof she’s still alive. And it increases the chances of us being seen.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“And then we’ll have to get rid of them.
”
“Right. We can’t leave potential witnesses.”
“But the bodies—”
“We’ll dump them all in the river. What’s the matter with you? Feeling squeamish?”
“No, but it’s getting complicated. The more people involved, the greater the chance something will go wrong.”
“Suck it up, coyote. You knew there were risks. Besides, we’ll be long gone before anyone finds them.”
Coyote? That was a weird nickname.
“Okay, fox. But in the meantime, what do you want me to do with her? We can’t leave her in the trunk; someone might come by and hear her moving about.”
Had he called Kathy foxy? She hadn’t even known they were a couple!
“Shove her in the utility room for safe keeping. The cleaning crew is done with the diner for the night and the sound of the bowling alley will drown out any noise she makes. Just be quick about it. We need to contact the others, make sure everyone is in place. With any luck, we’ll get the codes to them before the end of the night.”
Armand ran up the stairs to Lucy’s apartment, cursing himself for letting her out of his sight. He’d known she was in danger and yet he’d let his guard down. If something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. Why hadn’t he learned his lesson? The first time she’d come to Chicago, she’d been injured. Now it was happening all over again.
He rounded one of the landings and pounded up the next set of stairs. While there could be other explanations for Lucy’s disappearance, his gut was telling him the USB would be the key to getting her back, the only bargaining chip the kidnapper would care about. Of course, they’d need to figure out who the kidnapper was. All he knew was the individual had been at the restaurant earlier in the day.
Roxi knew more than she was saying about this, he was sure of it. The problem was deciding how far to trust her. Lucy might be her friend but Roxi also appeared to put her own self-interest first. Or maybe it was a façade. The woman was even more confusing than most of her kind.
“What’s the hurry, young fella?”
He slowed his pace, seeing Jimmy, the building’s superintendent, standing at the top of the stairs.
“Lucy—”
Jimmy didn’t let him speak. “Same as I told the woman who was looking for her; she ain’t home.”
About to brush past the man, Armand paused. “A woman was looking for Lucy?”
“Yep. She was just here. Wanted to see Lou. That girl is getting right popular.”
“Um, yes. Yes, she is.” His thoughts raced. It was too much of a coincidence that someone else would come looking for Lucy right now. The woman had to be connected to Lucy’s disappearance. “Who was this woman?”
“No idea.” He shrugged. “Short, reddish hair. Pointy features. Seemed nice at first then got an attitude when she didn’t get her own way. I put her in her place though. Told her no hanging around the building.”
Damn, not much to go on. “Did you see her leave? Which direction she went?”
“Nope. Heard her though. Old car, pretty beat up.” He rattled off the plate number.
Armand could have hugged the man. A plate number was a solid lead. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yep. It was parked right outside my place. Kids making out in the back from the way it was bouncing about.”
Kids making out? That didn’t make sense. Maybe this wasn’t a lead after all. Unless… Lucy might have been in the car, tied up and trying to escape. It was a long shot but it was all he had to go on.
His bear grumbled in frustration. If we had been a few minutes earlier, we might have been able to save her.
He agreed, but now wasn’t the time for playing ‘what if’.
“Jimmy, can you give me the plate number again, I want to write it down.” He pulled out his phone to make a note. “I think it might have something to do with the person who broke in earlier this week.”
“Really? Then sure! I haven’t been on a case in years.” Jimmy’s level of alertness suddenly spiked, the befuddled look leaving his eyes as he rattled off the plate number again. “But don’t get too excited, only the police or the DMV can trace that.”
“Oh.” He narrowed his eyes, considering possible work-arounds. No doubt Ryne would be able to find a way—
“I can do it for you, though.” Jimmy rocked back on his heels looking pleased with himself. “I still got a few connections downtown…or I did last time I checked.”
“Thank you, I’d greatly appreciate it.” That would be faster than going through Ryne.
“You’re not doing anything illegal, are you?” Jimmy cocked his head.
“No. Not at all. We just want to check if the owner of the car is who we think it is.”
“And then you’ll tell the cops?”
“If they are indeed guilty of something, the proper authorities will be informed.” It was close to the truth.
Satisfied, Jimmy gave a mock salute and shuffled down the stairs. “Hot damn, this evening might not be so boring after all. Just like the old days...”
Armand watched the super for a moment before continuing on to Lucy’s apartment and then her bedroom to find the USB drive. Standing in the doorway, he let her scent wrap itself around him, noting the still rumpled bed, her robe thrown over the back of a chair, her hairbrush on the dresser and…the USB. He picked it up, weighing it in his palm before pulling out an almost identical one from a hidden pocket on the inside of his belt. He’d purchased the twin and used it to store the original files Daniel had sent him, believing it was important to have an ace up his sleeve. While he hoped not to need it, he’d trade Lucy’s life for the real data and deal with the fallout afterwards.
He shoved the USB with the bogus data in his pocket, then once again stored the real one in its hiding spot before heading downstairs to check on Jimmy’s progress.
The older gentleman was just hanging up the phone as Roxi came running into the building. She skidded to a halt upon seeing him lounging in Jimmy’s doorway.
“Oh hey, Armand. Jimmy.” She shot a look between the two men. “What are you up to?”
“Jimmy’s been helping me find the person we suspect of breaking into Lucy’s apartment. Once we confirm the identity, we’ll contact the proper authorities.” He gave her a meaningful stare.
“Oh. Right.” She nodded. “Yep, that’s our plan.”
“And here you go.” Jimmy handed over the piece of paper he’d been writing on. “The car belongs to a Jeff Tinley. Here’s his address.”
“Jeff?” Roxi’s brows shot upward and then she clamped her lips tightly shut.
Armand knew how she must feel. Lucy had spoken fondly of the man.
“Yep,” Jimmy nodded. “Though the woman that was here didn’t look like a Jeff to me. Mind you, these days who knows? People name their kids anything. The other day, I heard on the news—”
“Well, thank you for the information,” Armand interrupted the man, not having time to listen to a dissertation on the state of modern society.
“Yeah, thanks Jimmy.” Roxi gave him a smile. “I owe you one. Next time I get a tip on a horse, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“You’re a good girl, Roxi.” Jimmy gave her a wink and then headed back into his apartment.
Armand pressed a finger to his lips and nodded towards the stairs. They could exchange information in Lucy’s apartment. Jimmy appeared harmless but at this point he wasn’t about to trust anyone, not when Lucy’s life might be on the line.
As soon as they were both in the apartment, Roxi slammed the door shut.
“Jeff the chef, I can’t believe it! When Lucy described him, he sounded nothing like a shifter!”
“Not all of us fit the stereotypical image.” Armand pointed out.
“And what about this woman Jimmy mentioned?”
Armand relayed the story.
Roxi pursed her lips. “It could be someone Lulu works with—I don’t really know what they look like—or maybe Je
ff has a partner in crime who isn’t even connected with the diner.”
“Today was the first time I noticed the scent of shifters at the diner. Jeff and his accomplice must be using that mask you were talking about.” He paused as he recalled something. “I was sneezing at the diner. And in the alley, I was having the same reaction. Perhaps I’m allergic to a compound in the mask.”
“Could be.” She went into the kitchen and rummaged about the cupboards as she spoke. “According to my source, the scent mask is lilac infused—”
“Lilac?” He nodded as he paced the small apartment. “It produces an allergic reaction in me.”
“Really? Well, the lilac infused scent mask was a prototype that was stolen years ago. It’s available on the black market now.” There was a box of cereal at the back and she snagged it. All of this excitement was making her hungry. She dug out a handful of cereal and popped it into her mouth before continuing. “The most recent version of scent masking technology has no discernible odour, but the new formula is kept under heavy security.”
“Interesting.” He stopped by the window and peered outside. “However, it doesn’t tell us how to get around the masking effects in order for me to track Lucy.”
“I guess we’ll have to drive around the city and wait for you to start sneezing and then we’ll find the bad guys.”
Armand turned to look at her, not even the hint of a smile on his face. “I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
“Sorry, just trying to lighten the atmosphere.” She shrugged. “Anyway, according to my source, there’s no antidote for the scent mask. You have to wait for it to wear off. After a couple of hours, it dissipates, and the original scent can be detected again albeit diluted due to the lapse in time. If we head back to the Pasta Palace and wait around a while, you might be able to pick up the scent eventually.”
“That means at least an hour of inaction, if not more.” He turned to look out the window again, his hands gripping the frame so tightly she was surprised it didn’t crack. “We have this Jeff’s address, we could go to his house, though it’s doubtful he would take Lucy there. Someplace neutral is more likely, but where?”
Wolves, Witches and Bears...Oh My! Page 91