Back Track (7 page)

‘And how do you fit into his operation?’

‘I’m just a middleman, that’s all. I collect cash from his senior lieutenants on a semi-regular basis and deliver it personally to him. He prefers using professional people like me who aren’t about to be stopped and questioned by the police. But all his people know that I’m not to be touched.’

‘A man of respect, huh? Okay, go on. He called you into his office, then what?’

‘Well, he said he’d spent a lot of money to make sure he stayed in the shadows. Only a handful of people know he even exists and that’s the way he likes it. He told me he didn’t care that Sonja was my wife, he just wanted her gone now she knew his name. He said I had to take care of it personally, or he’d take care of me.’

‘So you
were
planning on killing her.’

‘I didn’t know
what
I was going to do, and that’s the truth. I swear to you. But it didn’t make any difference, because a couple of weeks later she was dead anyway.’

Bishop said nothing, but he was thinking how fortunate his timing had been. If he’d left it another week or two to extract Selina, he might well have been too late. Addison would have put it off and put it off, but Bishop had no doubt he would have ended up justifying her murder to himself. The guy was pond scum from his soles on up. But at least now Bishop had another lead. And he also had a plausible reason to ask for more information on this Gaspard without raising Addison’s suspicions.

He said, ‘So it didn’t occur to you that this Gaspard could have arranged the loan store robbery as a way of taking your wife out? If they hadn’t swerved to avoid that truck, the robber could have had orders to kill her and then disappear.’

‘Sure, it crossed my mind, but I couldn’t exactly ask him, could I? What would be the point anyway? What was done was done.’

‘I’ll have to ask him myself, then.’

Addison made a face. ‘Believe me, you’ve got no idea what you’d be up against.’

‘Why don’t you fill me in? You can start with his address.’

Addison sighed. ‘It’s a place called Equinox Tower. A fifteen-storey apartment block on 5th and Franklin, in the central business district. He owns the whole building. He keeps the seventh floor for himself and his men and rents the others out to tenants to keep it respectable. He operates all his business from there and rarely goes out himself.’

‘Why not the penthouse?’

‘The word is, he doesn’t like heights much. Nobody knows for sure. Maybe the seventh floor is as high as he can go without bringing up his lunch.’

‘You’ve been in there and know the layout,’ Bishop said.

‘I’ve been in there, but only as far as the first apartment. The one you see on the left as soon as you come out of his private elevator. That’s where he has his office. Sometimes I hand the money to him, sometimes it’s one of his men. I know he’s knocked some of the walls through so most of the other apartments are kind of connected. I couldn’t tell you which one’s his, but it’s probably one of those they left alone.’

Great
, thought Bishop.
So much for accurate intel
. ‘What about building security?’

‘Well, you need a special key card to get into the place, and there are cameras all over the lobby. I always use his private elevator at the rear and it’s guarded round the clock. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. There’s probably not much more, though. His men say he keeps everything pretty low-key to avoid drawing attention to himself.’

Bishop thought that sounded about right. If the place also doubled as a normal residential apartment block, Gaspard couldn’t exactly treat it like a fortress. Tenants wouldn’t stand for it. Besides, that’s what his bodyguards were for. ‘So what’s he look like?’

‘He’s about five-eight or -nine, I guess. Stocky. Early thirties, but his hair’s already turning grey. He keeps it long and ties it back. Small, deep-set eyes, and he’s got a small star tattoo on his throat. Whenever I’ve seen him, he’s always been wearing a tracksuit.’

‘And his bodyguards. Tell me about them.’

‘Black suits and black ties. Shaved heads. Fairly big. The usual.’

‘Uh huh. And when you make deliveries, what kind of bags do you use?’

‘No bags. Black Samsonite attaché cases every time. Gaspard says he likes how they smell when they’re packed with money. He claims it’s the best smell in the world.’

Bishop nodded. He remembered seeing three empty ones in Addison’s bedroom cupboard.

He then reached down behind the table and pulled out a black nylon holdall he’d brought along. Inside was a police-issue M26 Taser gun and five spare cartridges he’d found in Addison’s study. When you’ve got friends on the force, you get all the best stuff. And there was also the $50,000 brick he’d placed in there while Addison was unconscious. Well, $45,000 to be precise. The one he’d destroyed had simply been four hundred and fifty sheets of newspaper carefully cut to the same size and surrounded at each end by twenty-five hundred-dollar bills. He wasn’t about to destroy a small fortune just to make a point. He wasn’t stupid. This money belonged to Selina. If anyone had earned it, she had.

He transferred the rest of the cash into the bag. The 9mm, too. It might come in handy in the future. He zipped the bag closed and stood up. ‘Well, that’s it, then.’

Addison stared at Bishop. ‘You . . . you’re going to let me go?’

‘That’s the question, isn’t it?’ Bishop said. ‘Thing is, I been trying to get your wife’s acid scars out of my mind and I just can’t do it. She suffered a lot of pain at your hands, both physical and mental. I’m thinking that you’ll just find somebody else and do the same thing all over again.’ Bishop turned and picked up the full beaker. It still felt warm to the touch. ‘Unless I teach you a lesson.’

Addison started fighting against the ropes again. ‘Whatever you’re thinking,’ he said, his voice rising, ‘don’t do it. I’m begging you.’

‘Are they the same words your wife used on you? When she begged you to stop burning her arms, was she crying? I imagine she was. That’s how people like you get your rocks off, isn’t it?’

Addison was struggling frantically now. ‘You’ve got it all wrong. I’ve got a bad temper, that’s all. Sometimes it gets out of hand, but I’d never have used acid on her face. That was all show. Look, please. Doing this to me won’t bring her back.’

‘You’re absolutely right,’ Bishop said. ‘It won’t.’

Then he threw the contents of the beaker in the man’s face.

Addison’s screams were deafening in the enclosed space. He jerked his body back with enough force to topple the chair. Bishop watched him land on his back and thought he sounded like an animal with its fur on fire. He kept thrashing around like a man possessed, screaming incomprehensible words at Bishop.

Bishop just smiled. He picked up the bag and walked over to the stairs and began climbing. The bonds would probably take at least a day to get through. If not, one of his co-workers was sure to find him.

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.

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.