Vintage Rob

Chapter 28 - An Intruder in Mark's Apartment

"Goodnight." Lynn closed her bedroom door. Rob pushed in her chair and turned off the kitchen light. A small bulb over the sink illuminated a few plates drying in the pink plastic rack. He filled a glass with water and stood in the dark.

Nothing stirred, except Lynn, behind her bedroom door. He sipped the water. Four more days in Boston, four days to figure out how to ensure Lynn's safety. With his finger, he traced an arc across the smooth tabletop. Whatever he did, he had to hide his concern for Lynn from Mark, or it would make her more of a target.

Lynn's bedroom door flew open. "I just called Julian. Mark hasn't returned his calls since that night."

"Good. You warned Julian about him, right?"

"Yup."

"Does Julian know Mark's address?"

"I assume so."

***

The next afternoon, Rob took a taxi to a neighborhood of well-maintained, single-family homes. One elegant stone building landscaped with shrubs contained apartments, including Mark's.

Surprising neighborhood for a lunatic. Rob looked up at the second floor windows and imagined breaking-in, tit for tat, just to check for his computer and cameras, but since Mark would retaliate, it would undermine his whole, peaceful, nonviolent goal to protect Lynn. So, he crossed the empty street and pushed the buzzer. When no one buzzed him in or spoke through the speaker, he punched in the four-digit code Julian had provided and entered the building's bare lobby. One flight of stairs brought him to a door with Mark's apartment number. He bowed at the peephole and waited, but Mark didn't come to the door.

More steps led to a landing between the second and third floors, so Rob followed them and sat down where he could see the bottom of Mark's door. The element of surprise had failed with Yukiko's parents, but if Mark showed up with a new Julian, Rob did not want to be around. Meeting him for coffee made more sense.

He took out his phone, but the hardwood stairs from the lobby creaked. Looking from where Rob sat on the stairs, polished black shoes and pin-striped pant legs appeared at Mark's door. Rob's vantage point did not allow him to see the man's face or upper body, but since Mark preferred green cowboy boots and black jeans, whoever was there probably wasn't Mark.

The man knocked loudly. Then his shoes shifted close to the door, rocking slightly. The door opened as if he had a key. After slipping into Mark's apartment, he closed the door.

***

Rob tiptoed down the stairs. He leaned against the wall, staying out of sight of the peephole. If he entered the apartment and confronted the man, he could glance around for his stolen stuff. The man, whoever he was, let himself into the building too. Maybe he and Mark were together, waiting to jump him.

Rob breathed evenly.

It could be a tryst.

Or the man was the same intruder who had entered Rob's apartment. A photograph might be valuable. Rob slid along the wall to the staircase. He stood on the first step going up and readied his phone's camera.

***

After a few minutes, the door opened. The man closed it without looking around. His red and blue silk tie looked too extravagant for most offices. The precise stitching and fabric of his long coat belonged to a head of state. Such expensive garments did not suit a thief or con man, except maybe a hustler who targeted the rich and swindled fortunes out of them.

The man was shorter and heavier than Mark. His brown wavy hair looked boyish. Rob doubted he was the person responsible for the break-ins at his apartment, unless Lynn's memory was off.

When the man looked straight at him, Rob pressed the button. His phone emitted an electronic crescendo. He snapped a series of photographs as the man dropped the key into his coat pocket. After that, the man's hands were empty. If he took anything from the apartment, it was small. He looked capable of defending himself, but his casual stance revealed no panic or hostility.

"The wallpaper behind you is perfect for my client's renovation," Rob said. "Excuse me for being rude." He smiled and took another picture, not caring if the man believed him. "By the way, your sartorial tastes are impeccable. Love the tie."

Without speaking, the man headed down the stairs. Rob stayed a few steps behind him. If being photographed did not bother him, what did? "Hey, lend me that key, will you? I want to see if Mark stole my computer and cameras. You know anything about that?" The man looked back, as if to ensure his own safety, and kept walking. In the lobby, he quickened his pace. Rob drew alongside him. "You're not FBI or CIA? Fat chance, right?" They pushed the outside door together. "A jilted lover perchance?" The man shoved him and leaped down the outside steps. He ran across the street. Rob stopped on the sidewalk. "Come on, who the hell are you? Throw me a bone. Friend or foe?" The man retreated down the sidewalk as Rob made one last attempt to engage him. "Mind if I share these photos with Mark?" The man turned a corner without looking back.

Rob sat down on a low stonewall in front of Mark's building and scrolled through the photographs of the stranger. They might disorient Mark, so if that became advantageous, he'd use them, but mostly Rob planned to stick to an agenda: laugh off the break-ins at his apartment, inform Mark that he was leaving Boston, thank him for his friendship, and hope Lynn lived in peace without further incident. He hit speed dial and waited. "Hello Mark, this is your ol' pal, Robert Pirone."

"What do you want?"

"Relax, I want to meet you for coffee."

"Why?"

"It tastes good." Rob laughed. "You didn't think that little punch would keep me away forever, did you?"

"I'm meeting someone."

"Oh? Does he wear $3000 suits and red and blue silk ties?"

The silence lasted long enough for Rob to know he does. "How do you know that?" Mark said.

"I'm outside your building right now and saw him exit your apartment. I have a picture of him if you're interested."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Should Rob care enough about the guy in the $3000 suit to look into it some more?

Thanks for reading LOUD!