be.” He yawned again. “So how did the night go?”
Cole gave him a rundown.
During the recitation, Razor dressed and filled a travel mug with coffee. “I think dying has found an untapped sadist in you. You’re really getting into this haunting business.”
Cole considered. Tormenting Flaxx had been a pleasure. “It has its moments. Now I’ll go ruin their day.”
24
Not knowing which people were going to arrive when, what opportunities he would have for working on everyone, or how much time he had for recharging along the way, Cole worked traffic on the Embarcadero three times longer than he had before. Fortunately, there seemed no limit to how much heat he could pull in. How long it lasted remained to be seen.
From the intersection, he zipped to the Flaxx reception area to wait…using as little energy as possible and hoping it was a short wait.
He had his wish. Irah arrived in minutes. From his seat against Gina’s desk, Cole watched her lean down to unlock the doors. And he watched the appreciation on the face of Antoine Farrell coming up behind her. The skirt of her suit rivaled any of Gina’s in brevity. She spotted Farrell but made no attempt to pull her skirt down, apparently unconcerned about what he saw.
“Have a good day, Antoine,” she said as they came in and, leaving him in the reception area, headed down the hallway.
Cole wanted to catch Lamper coming in, but after a moment of debate, followed Irah. Behind him, Farrell grinned as he uncapped the coffee he had brought with him, murmuring, “It’s starting pretty good.”
Irah headed to her office, where she dumped her shoulder bag in a desk drawer, then pulled a little portable TV from the file drawer in the desk. The receiver for her spy cameras? She confirmed that by turning it on and running through the channels. Each one showed an overhead view of an office. Lamper’s he expected, but seeing Flaxx’s surprised him.
So she was spying on big brother, too. Sweet. He would make sure Flaxx knew. The cameras had to be eliminated since it would be bad if she caught Flaxx and Lamper talking to thin air. But the cameras gave him good ammunition again her and ratting Irah out would be such a pleasure.
Returning up front, he found Farrell sitting at Gina’s desk. Probably he did that every morning until Gina came in, so the doors could remain unlocked for arriving employees. While Farrell sipped his coffee, Cole studied him, memorizing his appearance from all angles. Now, if Gina would just arrive before Lamper, so Farrell would be out of sight in the Security office.
No such luck. Lamper walked in with Farrell still watching the doors. To Cole’s satisfaction, Lamper showed strain around his eyes and wore a preoccupied expression. He barely nodded to Farrell as he came through the reception area.
Cole followed him. He would just have to go ahead and do this. When Lamper unlocked Bookkeeping’s door and went in, Cole materialized as Farrell. “Mr. Lamper, excuse me.”
Lamper turned in surprise. “Yes?”
Cole lowered his voice. “I need to tell you about something I saw in Miss Carrasco’s office yesterday when I carried some stuff there for her.”
Lamper frowned. “What was that?”
“Promise you won’t say anything to her. She’ll know where you heard it and I don’t want her for an enemy.” His conscience did not need Farrell suffering for this impersonation.
Lamper’s frown went wary. “What did you see?”
“Well…she had this little portable TV on her desk, and…your office was showing on it.”
Lamper sent a startled glance toward his office. “My office?”
Cole edged closer and lowered his voice still more. “I don’t know why, but she’s got a spy camera in there.”
Lamper’s eyes widened. “Really,” he said in a flat voice. “Thank you for telling me.”
“What do are going to do about it?”
“Nothing.” Lamper gave him a thin smile. “I have nothing to hide.”
Walking out and letting go, Cole grimaced. That was a surprise. He expected…hoped for…outrage that would sent Lamper storming to Flaxx. He needed to do a better job of reading Flaxx and Irah if he wanted to pull this off.
And he better read Flaxx correctly right now, he saw, looking up toward the reception area. The man himself had just walked in. Gina had not arrived, though, and Farrell still manned the reception desk.
Cole took stock of the energy in himself. Did he still have enough to go again? Maybe.
He let Flaxx almost reach his office door before materializing behind him as Farrell again. “Mr. Flaxx, can I talk to you?”
Flaxx turned, frowning. “Shouldn’t you be up front?”
His mood had not improved since breakfast. Excellent. “Do you know there’s a spy camera in your office?”
Flaxx stiffened. “What!”
Cole gave him the same story he had Lamper, repeating the plea not to give away who revealed about the camera. “I thought at first maybe you set it up in case that motherfucker from yesterday comes back, but it’s aimed at your desk, not the office door or washroom, and Miss Carrasco acted like she didn’t want me to see. So I thought I’d better tell you.”
Flaxx scowled down the side hall. “You did the right thing.” The next moment he was stalking toward Irah’s office.
Cole let go of Farrell and followed.
Flaxx cranked the knob and looked shocked when it failed to turn. He pounded the door. “Irah! I want to talk to you!”
Seconds later she opened the door and eyed him. “Something wrong?”
He pushed past her into the room and wheeled on her. “Where the
Her brows rose. She closed the door. “A camera in your office?”
He reddened. “Don’t play innocent! I want it
She smiled. “Then it’s gone.”
Cole blinked. What? Instant capitulation?
It astonished Flaxx, too, deflating him. His mouth opened and hung there.
“I’ll be right there. Let me get a ladder from the custodian’s closet.”
Five minutes later she was up on the ladder unhooking the grid over the lights. “You know, I’m just following your orders, looking for whoever was outside the washroom yesterday.”
“By spying on
“To learn what Earl is up to.” She picked at tape securing the tiny camera in the light fixture. “You trust him too much. I planted cameras on both of you so I can monitor the bullshit he’s feeding you.”
Talk about bullshit. Despite how busy her hands looked, suspicion scratched at Cole. Climbing up beside her on a virtual ladder confirmed his doubts. She was only pretending to remove the camera. No wonder she agreed to Flaxx’s demand so readily. In a movement hidden from Flaxx, behind and below her, she fished another tiny camera from the breast pocket of her suit jacket and palmed it.
After snapping the grid back in place and backing down the ladder, she waved the palmed camera in front of Flaxx’s face. “Here. Okay? You want to have a happy face for the store manager meetings today.”
If not happy, he looked at least mollified…unaware he had been conned.
Cole noticed Irah did not ask if Flaxx wanted her to remove the one in Lamper’s office. He noticed Flaxx never mentioned it either.
