rest of the building, you know.”
“Duh. I designed it, remember?”
“Right. And if Senator McBlimp can’t get your bill passed, you’re going to end up with nothing more than a building and a bunch of useless computer equipment.”
“Right... right, right. And if my aunt had a dick, she’d be my uncle. Look, you worry too much. Everything is on schedule and running smoothly as long as this Fairchild guy doesn’t gum it up. So how much did McGinty leak to you guys? Is Perez going to be a problem, too?”
“Perez is not the problem here, Freddie, you are. Quit getting so excited about Fairchild. Tripping over yourself trying to frame him for something one of your thick-necked security clowns did isn’t going to work. And if you send more of your idiots to scare him, I’ll be sending you the repair bill, since he’s driving one of my vehicles now. Listen. I know this guy. He plays by the rules. I know what he’s doing every minute of the day. I’m tracking him everywhere he goes. He’s a little hung up on a friendly voice from one of your Call Center girls, but he can’t get through our security unless I let him through. I have a feeling he’ll be forgetting his fantasy girl in the very near future.”
“I hope for your friend’s sake you’re right,” said Fredrick, tossing his empty Perrier bottle into the nearby hedge.
Chapter Fifteen
Randy sat bolt upright in his bed, covered in sweat. He had been dreaming about walking along a beach, but not with Michelle from the previous day. He was with a woman, someone with whom he could place neither a name nor a face. As the dream stubbornly faded from his memory, he started planning his day.
There were several loose ends he wanted to follow up on this morning. The warm water of his shower stung the top of Randy’s head. Damn, I must have been out in the sun too long yesterday, he thought. He and Detective Miller had walked quite a distance along the shore under a partly cloudy sky before turning back to where they had left their vehicles. The slightly warm breeze and the salty smell of the ocean had worked their magic on them both. It had been a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. He had sensed an attraction from Michelle, but Randy could not get the innocent, yet alluring sound of Alli’s voice out of his mind. He found himself thinking about what she must be like, and wondering when she would call again.
Randy’s cell phone erupted as he was leaving the apartment.
“Randy, its Michelle. I am at a crime scene you may want to see. Are you available?”
“Of course, sure- where are you?”
After receiving the address information, Randy made his way through the Washington morning rush hour. The address led to a brick and glass nine story apartment building on Pomeroy Road. When Randy pulled up, there were several DC police cruisers, plenty of crime scene tape, and an ambulance idling outside.
Michelle met him as he approached. “I think we found your Jessica Cooper. Looks like she’s been dead a couple of days.” Randy was allowed into the apartment, accompanied by Detective Miller. She offered him a bottle of Vicks Vapo-rub before they entered.
“If it’s only two days, it can’t be too bad yet,” he said. “I’ve probably smelled worse.” After entering the apartment, he wished he had accepted her offer. A little Vicks in the nose is better than what awaited him. The body had not had enough time to really start producing that foul, putrid odor, but it had released waste matter right after death. Good thing the air conditioning was left running, Randy thought.
The apartment looked as if it had been tastefully decorated, but now showed the obvious signs of a struggle and a thorough ransacking. The body was crumpled in a heap at the foot of the stairs. There was a large black stain in the carpet below the victim’s head.
“Looks like a struggle and a blunt instrument trauma to the head,” said one of the officers in the
“Duh. I designed it, remember?”
“Right. And if Senator McBlimp can’t get your bill passed, you’re going to end up with nothing more than a building and a bunch of useless computer equipment.”
“Right... right, right. And if my aunt had a dick, she’d be my uncle. Look, you worry too much. Everything is on schedule and running smoothly as long as this Fairchild guy doesn’t gum it up. So how much did McGinty leak to you guys? Is Perez going to be a problem, too?”
“Perez is not the problem here, Freddie, you are. Quit getting so excited about Fairchild. Tripping over yourself trying to frame him for something one of your thick-necked security clowns did isn’t going to work. And if you send more of your idiots to scare him, I’ll be sending you the repair bill, since he’s driving one of my vehicles now. Listen. I know this guy. He plays by the rules. I know what he’s doing every minute of the day. I’m tracking him everywhere he goes. He’s a little hung up on a friendly voice from one of your Call Center girls, but he can’t get through our security unless I let him through. I have a feeling he’ll be forgetting his fantasy girl in the very near future.”
“I hope for your friend’s sake you’re right,” said Fredrick, tossing his empty Perrier bottle into the nearby hedge.
Chapter Fifteen
Randy sat bolt upright in his bed, covered in sweat. He had been dreaming about walking along a beach, but not with Michelle from the previous day. He was with a woman, someone with whom he could place neither a name nor a face. As the dream stubbornly faded from his memory, he started planning his day.
There were several loose ends he wanted to follow up on this morning. The warm water of his shower stung the top of Randy’s head. Damn, I must have been out in the sun too long yesterday, he thought. He and Detective Miller had walked quite a distance along the shore under a partly cloudy sky before turning back to where they had left their vehicles. The slightly warm breeze and the salty smell of the ocean had worked their magic on them both. It had been a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. He had sensed an attraction from Michelle, but Randy could not get the innocent, yet alluring sound of Alli’s voice out of his mind. He found himself thinking about what she must be like, and wondering when she would call again.
Randy’s cell phone erupted as he was leaving the apartment.
“Randy, its Michelle. I am at a crime scene you may want to see. Are you available?”
“Of course, sure- where are you?”
After receiving the address information, Randy made his way through the Washington morning rush hour. The address led to a brick and glass nine story apartment building on Pomeroy Road. When Randy pulled up, there were several DC police cruisers, plenty of crime scene tape, and an ambulance idling outside.
Michelle met him as he approached. “I think we found your Jessica Cooper. Looks like she’s been dead a couple of days.” Randy was allowed into the apartment, accompanied by Detective Miller. She offered him a bottle of Vicks Vapo-rub before they entered.
“If it’s only two days, it can’t be too bad yet,” he said. “I’ve probably smelled worse.” After entering the apartment, he wished he had accepted her offer. A little Vicks in the nose is better than what awaited him. The body had not had enough time to really start producing that foul, putrid odor, but it had released waste matter right after death. Good thing the air conditioning was left running, Randy thought.
The apartment looked as if it had been tastefully decorated, but now showed the obvious signs of a struggle and a thorough ransacking. The body was crumpled in a heap at the foot of the stairs. There was a large black stain in the carpet below the victim’s head.
“Looks like a struggle and a blunt instrument trauma to the head,” said one of the officers in the
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