Black is My Heart (Humorous Thriller, Completed)

Chapter 6

I slouched down in the seat of my Ford Focus, waiting for a cue to move. Twenty minutes ago, Clements had strolled into one of his buildings, a sixteen-storey apartment block called The Wainscott. They all had pretentious names. Oppidan, King's Rest, Granville Place...

"Got a possible," Mack said from her position on the first floor of the parking garage. Usually, she stayed in the office, but we'd convinced her to come out and join in the fun tonight. "Brunette in a cherry-red Peugeot convertible. Pretty. I'm running the plates now."

Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up... With Clements's assistant parked on the third floor and Dan waiting in place one floor below in a Honda that had seen better days, we only had seconds to make a decision. Was this our target?

Fortunately, Mack didn't waste any time. "Hit it."

A moment later, I heard the crunch of metal and plastic that could only have been a minor car accident. When we assigned roles, Dan was the obvious choice for that part on account of she'd had so much practice at crashing.

Her voice came through loud and clear with just the right amount of panic. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry."

A stranger spoke, young-sounding and justifiably peeved. The call girl, no doubt. "Did you even look before you pulled out?"

"I thought I did, but my cat died this morning, and then my credit card got cloned, and my landlord's being a complete dick about the pipe that burst in my apartment, and I guess with all that I just got distracted."

A car engine purred, and I pictured Snow pulling out of her parking spot a few spaces along from Dan. Driving up the ramp. Slotting in neatly beside the assistant's Mercedes. Climbing out and putting her purse in the trunk. Standing slightly pissed while Perkins patted her down or wanded her or whatever he did to check she wasn't wearing a wire, then climbing into the passenger seat for the short trip to The Wainscott.

Confirmation came from one of our watchers two minutes later. "Snow's on the move."

Which meant it was time for me to get my arse in gear too. I slipped out of the car and strode down the street, walking with purpose because tourists rarely visited that part of Richmond. Earlier in the day, one of my team had wedged the fire door with a folded-up flyer, so I should be able to—

Dammit.

Either the fire escape got used as a thoroughfare, or the building supervisor did his job and checked on things properly. None of which boded well for me, since I wanted to sneak inside without getting caught on candid camera in the lobby. Ah well, I still had fifteen minutes. Plenty of time to find another way in before Snow arrived, right?

"Slight technical hitch," I muttered into the microphone hidden in the button on my lapel.

"Oh?" Mack said.

"The fire door's a no-go."

"Do you need backup? Heidi's taking Dan out for coffee, but I could get Dan to make an excuse."

"Heidi?"

"The call girl. When Perkins wasn't there, she and Dan got talking. Shall I radio through?"

"No, no, it's fine."

A teenager walked past with a dog, and I pretended to check my phone. This was the moment I needed a little divine inspiration, and when I glanced towards the sky, by some miracle, I got it. An open balcony door on the third floor, and the window next to it was steamed up. Somebody was in the shower, and since all the units on that floor were one-bedroom, the odds of being able to shortcut through their apartment unnoticed were reasonable.