Girl Undercover 1, 2 & 3: Three-Part Bundle Page 15

“Okay,” Ian said and we parted ways.

  ***

  The following day I walked over to Belinda Jones’s apartment building to ask the doorman for the name of the cleaning company that had been working the building. Because I couldn’t count on it being a different doorman and that the one who’d been there the night Ian and I had visited didn’t remember me, I had styled my hair in curls. I was also wearing lots of makeup as well as a revealing dress. Hopefully, this way, I’d seem like another person.

  It turned out I had gone through all of that effort in vain—another doorman was on duty after all. Well, looking a little sexy never hurt…

  I walked up to him with a smile on my face. I needed him to like me since I wasn’t a tenant in the building and had no business asking the kind of questions I was about to ask.

  He returned my smile with a big one of his own. Well, so far, my approach seemed to be working.

  “Hi, my name is Elsa,” I began. “How are you today?”

  “Hello, Elsa,” the grinning doorman said. “I’m fine. How about yourself?”

  “I’m fine, thank you very much. I was wondering if you know the name of the cleaning company that was working on this building in the last week. I live in the building next door and they were really loud. I want to talk to their manager.”

  The doorman looked confounded. “What cleaning company? This building hasn’t been cleaned since last summer.”

  “Are you sure about that? When I called Related Management, they told me several of the tenants here had been complaining about the company being too noisy.”

  “I’m very sure, miss. I know everything that goes on in this building and it only gets cleaned once a year. Related must have been referring to another building. I know there was one on 56th and West End that got cleaned last week.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. The last time someone was here to work on the building in any capacity was last fall.” There was a coolness to him now, the smile having shriveled. He was clearly not in the mood to talk to me any longer, so I thanked him and left.

  As soon as I was around the corner, I called Related Management again to talk to Patty. What was going on here? Why was I getting conflicting stories?

  As I waited for Patty Schmidt to pick up, I wondered if maybe this doorman was in on the rapes somehow. He had turned on me awfully fast.

  Patty was soon on the phone with me.

  Unfortunately, five minutes later, I had found out the doorman had been telling the truth all along—Patty had simply confused two buildings, exactly like he had suggested. There had been no company either cleaning or working at Belinda Jones’s building in the last several months.

  As I was walking along the sidewalk back toward my own apartment building, I was groveling. I was so not looking forward to the smug expression I was sure would spring forth as soon as I told Ian there had been no workers outside the building after all.

  I squeezed my fists in frustration.

  I of course still didn’t believe we were dealing with some freak who could climb skyscrapers like Spider-Man. Well, if I was lucky, by the time Ian and I were going through the latest police reports tonight, the NYPD had finally come up with some suspects.

  Chapter 6

  Ian lived in a brownstone on the Upper East Side, on the fifth floor. He buzzed me into his place only seconds after I had pressed his buzzer.

  He was leaning against his doorway as I finished climbing the stairs, waiting for me with his arms crossed over his chest. The stairs had been so steep and long that I was out of breath when I was standing before him finally. It was kind of embarrassing given that I was a trainer, so I tried my best to hide it.

  “Hey,” I pressed out in a somewhat normal voice.

  “Good evening, my dear.” Ian smiled and held the door for me so I could enter. “Sorry about the stairs. It takes a week or so before one gets used to them. They’re brutal.”

  “Yeah, they are. No wonder you’re in such a good shape already.”

  I walked past him, into his apartment. The dimly lit hallway had high ceilings and a long, slim mirror was attached to the wall. A quick glance in the mirror showed me I had a slight glow on my cheeks after that steep stair climb.

  We continued into a much bigger living area in which a crystal chandelier hung above a round coffee table. Oak panels covered one side of the room, an exposed brick wall the other. An oriental rug in rich colors lay over the shiny hardwood floors and a burgundy leather sofa sat before the coffee table. Speakers I couldn’t locate played soft classical music. A slim, gray cat was curled up atop a stuffed armchair. It gazed lazily at me before apparently deciding I was of no interest. Hmm. Who would have thought Ian was a cat person? The man never ceased to surprise me. I noticed then that something smelled good and my mouth watered.

  Instinctively, I turned toward the kitchen that was separated from the living room by a marble-topped island. Ian had convinced me that we might as well have dinner together while looking through the police reports and discussing the rapes.

  I had said okay, thinking it would be fine as long as I brought my gun with me. I had never expected him to cook dinner for me, though, just that we’d order take-out.

  What if he tries to poison me?

  I debated in my head what to do. Was I being too paranoid here? I decided that I was and that I would eat the food he had prepared. He wouldn’t kill me until I had gone through the membership at Nikkei, found some politicians for him. As much as he talked about that, it was clearly much too important to him.

  “You have a nice place here,” I said as I turned my head back to the living room. The big, flat screen TV in front of the fire place in the brick wall seemed out of place with the general old-fashioned feel of the place.

  “Thank you,” he replied. “Would you like red or white? Or maybe you’d prefer a beer?”

  I looked at him. “Is it a good idea for us to be drinking alcohol while we’re going through those reports?”

  He shrugged. “Why not? They’re kind of boring. You won’t learn much from them, I’m afraid.”

  “No, thanks, I’ll just have some water, please.” I was not so stupid that I was going to be even a little bit buzzed when alone with this guy. I wanted all of my brain cells to be working at capacity tonight. Of course, it would have been nice to be a little drunk when I told Ian no cleaning or construction companies had been servicing Belinda Jones’s building. It would soften the blow I’d experience when he got that smug look on his face.

  I was certain he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

  “Okay, then I’ll be having a glass of red on my own,” Ian said and walked into the kitchen. I noticed that he was walking kind of funny. “Please have a seat anywhere you like.”

  “Is there something wrong with your legs?” I asked.

  He glanced at me over the marble island while pulling out a couple of glasses from a cabinet above the sink, a wineglass and a water glass. “Yes, I’m sore from our workout yesterday.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Maybe try an Advil?” I bit the insides of my cheeks to stop myself from smiling.

  “I’ll be fine.” He grinned at me. “I kind of like it actually... Plain or sparkling?”

  “Plain is fine, thanks. I feel like I’m at a restaurant you have such a drink selection.”

  “Well, there isn’t such a selection for dinner. I hope you like Italian. You told me you eat meat, so I made a meat sauce with pasta and a salad.”

  “Sounds good to me. It smells great.”

  “It’ll be done in about fifteen minutes.” He came around the marble island to where I had plopped down on a barstool and handed me the water. He sat down on the barstool opposite me and held up his wineglass, giving me no choice but to clink my water glass to his.

  “To a great future,” he said as our glasses came together.

  I returned his smile and had a sip of my water. I didn’t like that this little dinner was b
eginning to feel more and more like a date, so I suggested he show me some of the police reports now.

  “Sure,” he said and placed his glass on the white marble top beside us. There was a slim laptop there that he opened and switched on.

  Within short, we were looking at the first couple of police reports. They weren’t very long and everything Ian had told me was in there. I had to admit that I was impressed he had managed to get into NYPD’s computer system. The next time I spoke with George, I had to ask him if he could do that too.

  “Why don’t you keep scrolling through the reports while I finish preparing our dinner?” Ian suggested.

  “Sure,” I said and moved on to the third report. It being pretty standard and me being a quick reader, I was able to absorb the contents quickly. I didn’t learn anything that Ian hadn’t already told me. There were still no suspects, but because the sperm found in all victims’ bodies was identical, it was clear the same perpetrator was behind all rapes. And since the authorities had his DNA now, we also knew we were dealing with a complete stranger, not someone who was already in the criminal system.

  Our man was definitely a bold one, I noted once again, raping these women without using a rubber. I had discarded the low intelligence notion. Anyone who was this good at evading the cops simply couldn’t be an idiot. For all we knew, this man might have been criminally active for quite a while.

  By the time I had finished reading the reports, there was a plate of food sitting next to me on the marble island as well as silverware and a folded linen napkin. I looked up and saw Ian about to take a seat on the stool opposite me again, holding a plate of steaming pasta and meat sauce in his hand.

  “Oh, wow, thanks for bringing all that,” I said as he took a seat, smiling at me. “I could have gotten it myself.”

  “I didn’t mind. Besides, you’re my guest.” He placed his plate on the marble top. “You were really immersed in those reports, weren’t you?”

  “I guess I was.” My eyes went to my plate that was filled with equal parts pasta, meat sauce and salad. I reached for the napkin and spread it over my lap. “The food looks great.”

  “Thanks, I hope it tastes as good as it looks. You okay with sitting here to eat?”

  “Yes, here’s perfect.” And much less formal, the way I had originally envisioned this night when Ian had suggested we discuss the case over a bite. Thankfully, he had turned off the classical music, letting silence accompany our meal instead.

  I pushed some food onto my fork and stuck it into my mouth. An exquisite blend of spices, tomato and cream melted on my tongue as I began to chew. Who would have thought a guy like Ian cooked like that? Well, after discovering that cat, nothing should really surprise me any longer. It was still sleeping on that chair. I returned my attention to Ian.

  “Mmmm,” I said and smiled at him.

  “So you approve?” Ian looked almost shy.

  I nodded as I kept chewing and finally swallowed. “You can say that again. You’re a great cook.”

  “Thanks. Though this is really all I know how to make.”

  “Well, you do it very well.”

  We ate in silence for another couple of minutes. Being the glutton that I was, I managed to finish half of what was on my plate in that time. Then I cleared my throat and said what had to be said eventually. “I was wrong about there being a company working on Belinda’s building. The lady at the management confused two buildings.”

  Ian looked up, appearing genuinely surprised, not smug at all. “Really? So now what?”

  “Well, after having read the reports, I agree it looks like the perp entered from the outside of the building.”

  “You accept the fact that we’re dealing with a hybrid human?”

  “Um, no. I still think the person in question is a regular human being. As regular as you can be when you perform such heinous acts of violence.”

  “If he didn’t climb the wall, how did he get into the building?”

  “I never said I didn’t think he climbed the wall. I’m sure he did—on his way down from the vic’s window. I believe he got into the apartment in one of the two following ways—he found a way to get from a nearby building using rope to move from one roof to the other, or he came down from a helicopter directly onto the vic’s building roof. In both cases where the vic was raped and killed in a tall building, he would have had to lower himself from the rooftop and then enter through the window. As I’m having a hard time believing the NYPD would have missed a helicopter in the area both those nights, the first option is most likely. But however he got in, it seems he then lowered himself back to the ground along the wall while attached to the rope. Hence the handprints.”

  Ian nodded slowly and had some wine. “Not bad thinking.”

  I gave him a cool glance. “But you don’t buy it.”

  “Only because my take is so much better.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. I should have known the smugness would come out one way or another. It was impossible for this guy to behave nicely for more than a few minutes.

  He put his wineglass on the marble island beside us and then grabbed my legs on the outside, right above the knees. An involuntary shiver of pleasure went through me at the same time as I was shocked by his audacity. He leaned toward me, gazing at me with eyes that were suddenly burning, the blue, green and brown in them making up equal parts.

  “Gabi, if you’d have seen what I’ve seen you wouldn’t think I was out of my mind and, to make matters worse, full of myself! I can tell from the way you’re staring at me that this is exactly how you feel. I’m telling you, there are laboratories packed with people in various stages of experiment all over the world. Some were started when the objects were only embryos and those people—if you can call them that—have never seen the light of day. This started decades ago, which means there are several adult human hybrids. How many I don’t know, but surely thousands. Don’t you see? Our perp is a hybrid that escaped from the lab somehow. One who’s evil and violent and so smart he can easily outwit the police because they don’t realize what they’re dealing with! It’s the only explanation.”

  “I’m primarily staring at you because of where your hands are at the moment.”

  I lowered my gaze to where Ian’s hands rested at the sides of my jeans-clad thighs, holding on for dear life. It seemed they had moved higher with each passionate sentence he’d cried out. He instantly jerked them away and straightened.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t realize I was doing that. I would never touch you anywhere inappropriate without your permission.”

  I so hope that is true, I thought.

  “So you’re telling me we’re dealing with a human monster then?” I asked, having decided that I would at least hear him out. The passion with which he was speaking was quite contagious. Contagious and convincing. Of course, that didn’t mean what he was saying was true outside of his head. “A sort of… Frankenstein?”

  “Something like that.” He sighed and shook his head, looking miserable. “There are so many of them in the making… And if you saw them, you’d never know they were anything but entirely human. Naturally, the idea is not to create monsters, only genetically superior people to improve the world. I told you that before. But something must have gone wrong with this one and he got away somehow. More will go wrong with others. It’ll be the end of the world as we know it. We, the regular humans, will end up fighting these monsters.”

  “Let’s assume what you’re telling me is the truth. Why would the government be doing this if it was so easy for things to go wrong?”

  Ian exhaled and passed a hand through his mop of blond hair. “Who knows? I can only assume it’s because they think they can contain all the hybrids. Find a way for them to coexist with the rest of humanity. You do realize that will never happen, either, right?”