Page 1 of Too Much In Common
1
Pale winter sunlightcast a shadow at Chris’s feet as he stepped out of the rideshare. The light held no warmth to melt the snow mounds at the curb of Two Garden Tower.
“Evening, Mr. Johnson.” The doorman’s scarf covered half his face. His eyes smiled as he opened the door as he did from noon to until early evening each day for the Tower’s residents and guests. It would be useless to tell the former bodyguard to stand inside, out of the cold.
Javier sat behind the computer at the entrance desk. Like Chris, he wore a dark suit. He raised his fist for a fist bump. “Hey, you just missed the last roommate in 40A.”
“The women you roped me into helping carry couches and boxes for Friday?”
“Yeah. You have a lot in common with her.” His roommate grinned as if he’d made some brilliant joke.
Curious, Chris leaned over the counter, hoping to glimpse the new resident’s profile. The computer screen only showed the time and the Tower’s logo. Well, she wasn’t punctual, eliminating one commonality. “Any concern that she is two days later than planned?”
Any irregularity on the secure floors immediately below his principal’s penthouse caught Chris’s attention. When they helped Simone and Brit move in, the cousins had said they expected the last roommate on Saturday.
Javier glanced around the empty lobby before answering. “No, she works for Legacy Airlines too. Apparently, her flight back to O’Hare turned into two unplanned days at work.”
“And you know this how?”
“She came in to have her photo and fingerprint scans today. She talked, I listened.” As head of building security, Javier completed residents’ background checks from Hastings Security. Still, the woman in question moved on to the same secure floor where Javier and Chris shared an apartment. Chris needed to know at least a few basics. A photo would be helpful, so he wouldn’t mistake her for an intruder.
“She didn’t do them before they moved in?” Another red flag unfurled in Chris’s mind. How did Javier know she wasn’t some imposter?
“Couldn’t. She was at a funeral. Alan Hastings ran her background and cleared it. Chill. You don’t have to worry about everyone in the building. That’s my job.” Javier logged off and turned the desk back over to a uniformed security guard. Either his roommate had finished his work for the day—unlikely—or he’d heard rumors of the incident already.
“She’s on a secure floor below the Ogilvies.” Tech mogul, Colin Ogilvie, had designed the building specifically for his family. His inventions ranged from palm reading door knobs to electronic vehicle scanners in the underground parking area. The security team often joked the building was smarter than they were.
Javier followed Chris into the elevator. “Newsflash: everyone is below the penthouse. And a secure floor means Hastings dug so deep they know about the library book fine from kindergarten. Was today that bad?”
Chris waited until the elevator’s doors closed to speak. “I guess I’m still in high-alert mode. We had a minor incident at the elementary school where Mrs. Ogilvie spoke today.”
“How minor?”
“A non-custodial parent attempted to remove their child from the school. Nothing involving Ogilvies, but the school went into lockdown mode during the assembly. I was involved in the takedown.” There was more to the story, but Chris had already rehashed it with the Chicago police and ZoElle Hastings while another team relieved him from duty for the rest of the day. The young school secretary’s terrified eyes as the man held the knife to her throat flashed through Chris’s mind. If his team hadn’t been at the school... Chris pushed the image out of his mind.
“That explains why Mrs. Ogilvie returned late and with a different team. She is almost always home before the children.”
“You saw them?”
“Only on the garage security cameras.”
“Has anything hit the news yet?” Chris hoped national news would overshadow his afternoon at the school on the local news.
“I wouldn’t have needed to follow you on the elevator for details if it had.”
“Hastings gave my team an on-call only for the rest of the day.” Standard protocol for after action. It would have been longer if deadly force had been involved. “Is your curiosity satisfied?”
“Pretty much. You haven’t had forced R&R for a while. Do you know what to do with a night off?”
“I had last Friday off and moved boxes and furniture with you.” A half-hearted complaint.
“Are you regretting meeting our new neighbors? You said you wanted a social life.”
True. There was friend potential. Chris stared at the elevator’s video announcement screen as it changed to show the special events for the week. A second screen reminded those keeping New Year’s Resolutions that the smaller in-house gym and pool on the forty-third floor was only for the use of tenants on floors thirty-nine and above. Tenants of lower floors were welcome to use the larger, third-floor facilities.
“Oh, a package came for you. I left it on the kitchen table.”
“Wow, that was fast. I ordered new headphones this morning.”
