“Fucking coming!” he shouted, agitated.
I chose to follow him down the stairs, thankful for the interruption. That is, until he opened the door. I stopped short, stumbling backwards. My breathing became shallow at the sight of our new visitor.
“Mr. Townsend,” the officer at the door greeted.
“Officer Alonzo, how’s it going?”
I took another step back until I bumped up against the bottom step.
“Originally, I stopped by to check-in on the area, and the guys at the office said you were here checking out one of the properties. I need to speak with you.”
“Sure. Officer Alonzo, this is Kayla.” Joshua turned, holding out his arm to introduce me.
I tried to steady my breathing, but my heart rate remained erratic. Somehow, however, I managed to move closer to the two men, though everything in my body wanted to run in the opposite direction.
“Kayla.” The officer nodded.
Bile rose in my throat.
“P-pleasure.”
He held out his hand but I couldn’t force myself to meet it for a handshake. The very thought had me wanting to throw up.
“I think I left something upstairs,” I explained before turning and heading in the opposite direction of the two men. Only once I got back up to the second floor and entered the room Joshua and I had been in before did I release the breath I’d been holding. Closing my eyes, I counted backwards in my head down from one hundred, steadying my breathing. It took me until I reached the mid-forties to feel calm enough to open my eyes. Right then, I heard the door close and Josh called my name as he moved up the stairs.
Wiping my forehead and straightening myself out, I emerged from the room with a shaky smile on my face.
My smile immediately dropped when I saw the expression on Joshua’s face. “What’s wrong?”
Joshua’s jaw worked and his eyes squinted as if he was contemplating on what to share.
“Someone’s fucking with Townsend Real Estate.” His voice was dark.
“What does that mean?”
“I just received a crime report that says crime has increased twofold in this neighborhood over the last six months. It’s bullshit.”
I inhaled, checking over Josh’s shoulder to make sure the officer had left. “And where there’s crime, people don’t want to move.”
“Not the type of people who are willing to drop high six to seven figures on a house,” he responded.
“I need to contact Brutus.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll be a minute,” he told me.
“Take your time.” I waved him off, feeling relieved that both Officer Alonzo had gone and Josh had other things on his mind rather than the conversation he’d started before the knock on the door.
Bad news for him had sort of become my saving grace at that moment. I wasn’t ready to spill the details of what had me running back to Williamsport with my tail between my legs.
****
Joshua
This shit was coming to a head. I could feel it. More and more problems had been occurring with Townsend Real Estate. The unexpected visit from Officer Alonzo at one of my divisions was just further proof that something was up. That’s why, hours later, after dropping Kay off at my place, I was down at Townsend Industries’ offices, in the ground offices where our head of security’s offices were.
“And you’re saying this is legit?” I questioned Brutus as we stood around his office desk, police records, that were likely obtained illegally, on his desk. I didn’t give a shit about the legalities of the situation. I knew Brutus and his company sometimes needed to step over the boundaries of the law in order to protect Townsend’s interests.
Brutus, who towered me by about five inches, shook his dark head. “The records look legit enough to someone who doesn’t know any better. A prospective client decides to do a little background research on the neighborhood and surrounding community and it seems as if the crime rate has gone up.”
“And our clients are the type to do that exact research.” People looking to buy a home from Townsend Real Estate were usually at the top of their field. Earning high six figures to a couple million per year, easily. They were thorough, diligent, and knew what they wanted. Something like crime rates would be one of the first things they looked at when researching a home purchase. And I was sure whoever was behind all of this knew that.
