She watched as the two men discussed strategy. She didn’t care as long as they both went and looked after each other. She didn’t know why it was so much of an issue, but it was, and that’s all she could go by. Aside from anything else, it made her throat tighten with panic.
Eventually Baylor walked back over and handed her a phone. “This is for you. Don’t call anyone please. It’s mostly for us to get in touch with you.”
She accepted it in surprise.
“Okay, we’re leaving now.”
“Fine,” she said. “If I’m lucky, I’ll just go right back to sleep.”
He shook his head at that. “I highly doubt it.”
“I do too,” she said, with a tight smile, “but that’s not the issue. I’ll be fine here.”
He smiled and said, “And you’re sure I can’t go alone, huh?”
“Absolutely not,” she said emphatically.
“Fine,” he said, and, with that, he turned and headed toward the door.
She called out, “Baylor?”
He turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised.
She whispered, “Be careful.”
He smiled, then nodded and said, “I will. Promise.” And, with that, the two men walked out the door.
As soon as the door shut, she hopped out of bed and raced into the living room. It was her own fault, but now she felt such an incredible sense of aloneness that she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. She walked to the window, then stepped to the side and peered out. Darkness was all around her. Shadows with long fingers seemed to reach for her. She sat on the couch, curled up in a corner, and closed her eyes. All she could hope is that they would make it back soon. Almost immediately her phone buzzed. She looked at it and saw a message from Baylor and smiled.
Somebody’s outside looking after you, so relax.
She chuckled out loud, and, with a much happier frame of mind, she grabbed a throw from the back of the couch and spread it out over her and settled down to try to nap again.
*
Downstairs in the entrance hallway, Baylor smiled at Hudson. “How long do you think it took her to get out of bed?”
The two men laughed, and Hudson said, “She would have come out immediately.” They exited the apartment building and headed into the back alley, where they picked up their vehicle and drove down to the other apartments. “Do you really think the brother is the one you found?”
“I was thinking about it. Their features are both quite similar,” he said. “Even in the photos.” He brought out his phone and pulled up the photos, and there was definitely a resemblance.
“We didn’t ask her to identify him with the two brothers beside each other. I don’t know if she would have been able to tell them apart.”
“Good point,” Baylor said. “What do you think this other guy’s game is?”
“I’m wondering if he isn’t some kind of middleman. Somebody might have hired some work done or was looking at getting something done, and I’m wondering who all the players are. I think he’s already pretty entrenched in this field,” he said, “and had some stake in it.”
“Do you think he killed one of the brothers?”
“I think he’s capable of having killed him, but I don’t know if he did or not. Other than getting paid, I don’t know what his endgame is, and I would really like to find out.”
“He won’t like the interference.”
“I know. All the more reason to go give his tail a shake and see what kind of move he makes.”
At that, Hudson just shook his head. “Drop me off here,” he said, pointing to the corner. Baylor quickly pulled over and let his friend out, who looked down and said, “Stay safe.” And with that Hudson shut the door and disappeared into the shadows.
Only a little farther up, Baylor parked the vehicle, popped out, and walked into the apartment building, heading straight up to the floor in question. He went back to the same apartment, thinking it would make sense if this were actually the brother’s hidey-hole apartment because, while Baylor didn’t want to make a judgment on the way the guy lived, it was superclean, as in maybe never even been lived in before. Either that or it was a front.
As he walked up to the apartment, he thought he heard a noise on the inside. Hesitating, he waited a little bit, trying to see if anybody would come out. Sure enough, the doorknob turned, just as Baylor ducked around the corner. And out came the middleman guy Baylor was looking for.
He turned and locked up the door calmly, as if the apartment were his, and then headed down the hallway.
This was Baylor’s opportunity to talk to him, but, at the same time, a part of him wanted to see inside the apartment now and figure out just what the hell this middleman had been doing in there. Baylor waited until the guy disappeared down the hallway, and he quickly let himself in again.
Once inside, he stopped, adjusted to the shadows, and looked around. It looked a little more lived in now, yet not by much. But it’s obvious that unpaid middleman guy had been here for a reason. Food was on the counter, take-out packages neatly cleaned up but not put in the fridge. There was cutlery and a cup, as if this guy were actually living here, but, then again, maybe it was his buddy’s place, or maybe he was just making convenient use of an otherwise empty location. Everybody needed another place to live.
After all, Baylor was doing the same thing himself in the safe house. Nobody was supposed to know about it, and he expected others might have similar places. As he went through the apartment, he realized the drawers were mostly empty, the night tables too, and even the coffee table was bare, so that is likely what this place was—a refuge. A couple fingerprints were on the coffee
