Page 9 of Night and Day
“This is where they are. Midtown Towers. Ever heard of it?”
“Yeah, I once dropped off some documents there for a client on my way home.” He ambled over to her, stuffing his hands in his pockets and frowning at the paper she’d rubbed pencil over to highlight the words on the page. In addition to the name of the apartment complex, there was a date, underlined twice, which happened to be last Friday. “How do you know that’s where they are?” Anton asked, though he agreed with her suspicions.
“Idon’tknow, but these are brand new apartments, and I remember one time Calvin said that he’d like to move to a nicer place. One that’s more central where he didn’t always have to hop in the car to get something to eat. Not too long ago, he got a lucrative contract with one of the airlines, and a few days later I caught him looking at luxury apartments online that offered concierge services, a yoga studio, a state-of-the-art gym, all that jazz—basically amenities that sound enticing but that most people never really take advantage of. So, I think that’s where he is. He and your girl are setting up house in a new luxury apartment.”
“Melissa had been wanting us to move to a new place. She thought I should upgrade, considering how much money I made, but I’m not interested in spending more money on an apartment, and I’m satisfied with where I live.” Anton paused, thinking. “What you’re saying makes sense, but they could be literally anywhere. He might have gone to look at an apartment in Midtown Towers, but that doesn’t mean they ended up there.”
“Wouldn’t you like to find out?”
“So you’ve given up on the idea that they took a trip somewhere?” Anton asked.
“Calvin took too much of his clothes. It’s also suspicious that his computer—the main one he uses for work—happened to need fixing and had to be placed in the shop while he’s supposedly out of town. And to be honest, I think I would have seen a confirmation for the trip when I went through his email. He didn’t have many unread messages, and what I saw didn’t hint at a trip.”
“Sounds to me like you’re looking for a partner in crime. As you pointed out, Melissa cheated on me, but she didn’t take my money.”
“Does that mean you’re not willing to help me track them down?”
“I’m willing to help you, but here’s the thing. You can’t run off playing detective, judge, and executioner. It’s not sensible. Like I said, I know people. We hire investigators all the time for our clients. Let me get in touch with one of them, and I’ll see what we can find out.”
“I don’t have time to waste. I want to knownow. I’m going over there.”
“To do what?”
“Sit in the lobby and wait.”
Anton laughed and shook his head. This woman was nuts. “You might not see them.”
“Then I’ll knock on every door in the building until I find them,” she said, and he believed her.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. He has almost ten thousand dollars of my money. I don’t want to call and tip him off. I want to catch the lying turd by surprise.” Her eyes flashed with anger.
Anton groaned and ran a hand over his head. He was going to regret this. “You can’t go over there alone.”
Her eyes lit up. “So you’re coming?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
Tamika squealed and clapped her hands.
“If we don’t see them tonight, I’ll check with one of the investigators we use and see what they can find out.”
Tamika sighed dramatically. “Thank you.”
“I do have one more thing to mention.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
“And why would I do that, Anton?”
“Because of what I’m going to ask you. But it’s strictly platonic. Totally innocent.”
“Mhmm. If that’s what you want me to think. What did you have in mind?”
He rubbed his stomach. “I’m hungry, and the lobby at Midtown Towers opens into a bar and restaurant. Have you eaten yet?”
