“Then it’s me and you until dinner, doll. What’s your poison?”
“Goodness, I wasn’t expecting an impromptu date. What do you think?” I peeked at him from under my arm.
“I’m putty in your hands, gorgeous.” Gray winked, making my stomach do little flips, which gave me an idea of how we could start our day. A distraction from my nerves.
“You know what I’d like? I’d like to watch you do a wall flip, and then see your comic book collection.”
“You want all that, huh?” He swallowed, exaggerated… like I made him nervous.
“I sure do.” I threw my arms out and jumped up from my spot on the couch. “This day is looking up.” I forced the last remnants of the nightmare to the back of my mind.
“I believe I can oblige. Come on.” He opened the door for me.
“Let me stop in and get my stuff.” I rattled the door to my apartment. Locked, and my keys were inside. I stared at my bare feet and sighed. “Let’s go get the building manager. Todd is in class. No getting a key from him now.”
The ride down the elevator was hilarious. Gray distracted me from my embarrassment over my bare feet by pretending to speak into his suit jacket cuff like a secret agent. When the elderly grouch from the fourth floor got on, he whispered to his wrist. “Target confirmed. Our position is ideal. Don’t engage, I’ll handle this myself. Target is hostile. Blue shirt, pearls.” Old Ms. Grouchy wore a blue blouse and fat pearls.
I barely contained my laughter as she squinted down at her shirt then fingered her pearls. She tried to surreptitiously sneak a peek behind her at Gray, to see who he was and why he was talking like that. As soon as she glanced back he straightened, put his arms at his side, and stared straight ahead like a soldier.
We reached the ground floor, and she shot out of the elevator faster than she’d probably moved in a decade. I let the elevator sit there for a moment while I composed myself. “You almost made me pee, Gray! You scared that poor, old woman to death.”
“Mission accomplished,” he whispered into his cuff. When I could breathe again, we exited the elevator and found the manager in his office. Gray waited in the hall.
“Good morning, Mr. Simpson. Could I get a copy of my apartment key? I’ll bring it right back.” I smiled at the lanky man.
He eyeballed my feet before chuckling. “Of course, Ms. Asche. Coming up.” He kept the keys stored by last name in a locked filing cabinet. I was the first name in the files and had the key in my hand in no time.
As I turned to join Gray in the hall, Mr. Simpson stopped me. “Ms. Asche, why don’t you go ahead and put your mother on your list of allowed visitors. If she ever leaves her key at home again, I’ll be able to lend her one, too.”
My body froze, fear lacing up and down my spine. “My mother?”
“Yeah. Ms. Reynolds, I think it was? Nice lady. I’m sorry I couldn’t let her in the other day, but rules are rules. And after what happened with your attacker today, it’s even more important we be diligent.”
I stopped, shocked by his words. My mother? He noticed my reaction, as he rubbed his balding head, unsure of himself.
“As to the attacker, I was going to stop by later and check in on you, but I was trying to figure out how I should approach you. I’m sorry this happened to you.” His facial expression edged with panic. “We’re working diligently to figure out how he got in the building. The codes have been recently changed. He either knew how to hack the system, or someone gave him a code.” He sighed. “The company that built the system is taking this personally. They’re trying to figure out what happened.”
I took pity on him, miserable that something of that magnitude happened on his watch. “I appreciate that very much. And thank you for your apology. But, you should know, my mother died when I was eight.”
I chose my next words carefully. “I do have a stepmother, but she shouldn’t ever be given a key nor be allowed entry. The same goes for anyone else claiming to be related to me. You absolutely did the right thing denying her, and I’m grateful. I wonder though, how didsheget in the building? The doorman wouldn’t let anyone in without the appropriate codes, and the entrances otherwise have keypads. Could she have had access to the same code used today?”
Mr. Simpson blinked rapidly, stunned. “I didn’t realize. I assumed she had your code. I’ll add this to the information to give the alarm company for their research.”
“Mr. Simpson, if necessary, would you be willing to give a statement that you refused her entry to my apartment?” He looked uneasy. “Also, would there happen to be any security camera footage?”
He shuffled his feet behind his desk. “I hate to tell you this, especially after the problem with the codes, but our lobby cameras were on the fritz that day. We got them fixed right after she left. The only way we’d have footage is if she happened to go upstairs and tried to get in. Those cameras were working fine.”
“I’d be grateful to you if you’d check for me,” I said. What rotten luck.
“Of course, I will.” He nodded his head.
I smiled one last time and headed out.
We made our way to my apartment to get my shoes, and I told Gray what I learned. He insisted I call Mr. Kohl to fill him in, which I did as we walked down to his SUV. After explaining what happened, I asked, “What’ll this mean for my case?”
“At best, we can have her arrested for attempted breaking and entering. She tried to lie to gain entry to your home. At worst, there’ll be absolutely no video footage, and she’ll get someone to give her an alibi, and it won’t mean squat,” Mr. Kohl replied. “Even if she’s arrested, it may or may not help the case, as this is a civil case and that would be a criminal matter.”
“Here’s to hoping they got something on camera.” After hanging up, I spent a few minutes reflecting on how my dad got looped in by such a horrible woman.
