Page 45 of Licence To Howl
Tatton pulled a disgusted face. ‘Yuck. Never touch the stuff. Is that it? Or are ye finished with the daft questions? Do you have any questions about potatoes?’
‘No,’ Devereau said. ‘But I’m not finished. Because while you might not fall into those stereotypes, youdoturn invisible.’ He gave Scarlett a quick look. ‘And that, presumably, is why you’re here now.’
Tatton gave him a wink. ‘Aye, it is. That and the fact that I’m an all round good guy who can’t resist the chance to help a wee wolfie in need.’
Scarlett coughed delicately.
‘Plus,’ Tatton added, ‘she’s paying me to be here.’
‘I’ll expect to be reimbursed by your lot later,’ Scarlett said to Devereau. At least she wasn’t naming MI5 out loud and some secrets would remain hidden.
‘I’m sure we can work something out,’ Devereau murmured. ‘So how is this going to work?’
‘Can you deal with the main door?’ Scarlett asked. ‘Pick the lock without anyone hearing you?’
Devereau pursed his lips. Probably. Such operations were never wholly silent but it was late at night by now so most people who lived in Solentino’s building would likely be sleeping. From what he could remember from their first visit, the lock looked easy enough to navigate.
‘Good,’ Scarlett said, interpreting his expression. ‘If you can open the door, then Tatton and I will head inside and attempt to gain access to the apartment itself. I’ll piggy back onto his invisibility and, unless we’re very unlucky, neither Solentino nor anyone else will know we’re inside.’
Devereau’s brow creased. ‘What do you mean, piggyback? How does that work and why can’t I do it instead of you?’
Tatton snorted. ‘Because you weigh twice as much as she does.’
‘It’s a literal piggyback,’ Scarlett said with a smile. ‘Once I’m on Tatton’s shoulders, I’ll be as invisible as he is. It won’t last long so we have to move fast but it should be more than enough for us to look around the rest of Solentino’s apartment and find the incriminating information that you need.’
Devereau’s frown deepened. ‘You’ll make a lot more noise that way.’
‘Which is why it has to be her and not you.’ Tatton flashed him a crooked grin. ‘I can only sustain it for around five minutes, especially with a passenger on board. We’ll have to be both fast and quiet. From what she’s already told me, however, it’s worth the risk.’
‘I’ve been thinking about the layout of the apartment,’ Scarlett said. ‘We already saw several of the rooms. There was one closed door towards the back. I reckon that’s where the secrets will be kept. We nip in and nip out and bob’s your uncle.’
‘I don’t like it,’ Devereau growled.
She shrugged. ‘Then you shouldn’t have gotten me involved. This is the best plan we have and you know it.’
Unfortunately, he couldn’t disagree with that. And there was no doubt in Devereau’s mind that Christopher Solentino was both highly dangerous and slightly unhinged so they had to find out what he was really up to. Fuck it. ‘Okay,’ he said with a brief sigh. ‘Okay.’
* * *
They slippedthrough the silent Roman streets with speed and ease, arriving near Solentino’s street within minutes. Scarlett parked the car round the corner from the apartment, tucking it safely out of sight. It wasn’t a legal parking spot but at this hour they’d be in nobody’s way and it would allow for a quick exit should circumstances demand it. In the event this little escapade went tits up, they’d have to be prepared to skedaddle if they needed to. Devereau prayed it wouldn’t come to that.
The three of them stepped out of the car. Devereau immediately began casting around on the ground, searching for the tool he needed. It didn’t take long for his eyes to alight on the empty water bottle nestled in a small pile of old sweet wrappers and curling dead leaves. He bent down and scooped it up, using the edge of his fingernails to rip off a square of plastic. He felt both Tatton and Scarlett watching him with curiosity so, in a bid to ward off his own gnawing feeling of foreboding, he held the translucent scrap up and winked.
‘You don’t need a lockpick,’ he said in a low voice, ‘when you’ve got plastic.’
‘I prefer the sort of plastic that gives ye credit,’ Tatton replied.
‘Ah, but this plastic doesn’t charge interest.’ Devereau smiled and picked up speed, swerving round onto the street they needed and double checking that there were no late night pedestrians out for a walk. Then he marched forward to Solentino’s front door.
‘Car,’ Scarlett hissed.
Devereau nodded and paused, hoping it looked like he was merely searching for his house key. The swooping headlights didn’t pause. Tatton audibly exhaled and Devereau wasted no further time, hunching down and deftly inserting the plastic square between the lock and the door frame.
‘Is this going to take long?’ the leprechaun asked in a whisper.
Devereau stood up and grinned, while the door clicked open. ‘Nope.’
Even Scarlett’s jaw dropped. ‘I thought the credit card thing was a myth.’
