Her recent research on the Internet had turned up quite a bit of information about the detective. Since it was obvious she was the one who was going to finish the contract on him, she wanted to know everything she could.
Alex respected a man who adopted ten children. He’d been very smart and careful not to let any of the children’s photographs appear on the Internet. No news story carried any information about them. Several articles referenced the fact that he had adopted a number of children, but there was no mention of names or descriptions.
It was a shame someone felt that a man like this had to die, whereas no one really cared about incompetent idiots like the men who lived in this apartment. She hated doing something like this for no money, but she couldn’t risk their trying to kill her again. The answer was to send a strong and serious signal that no one should mess with her.
Just as she placed Bennett’s photo back in the folder on the cheap, shaky table, she heard the floor creak just outside the door.
She froze in place.
Then she heard the key slip into the lock.
The door started to open.
Chapter 62
As the door swung open, Alex was ready. She stood in the corner of the main room, perfectly still. The gun she’d taken from the drawer was in her right hand. She watched as a man stepped into the apartment, but it wasn’t the person she was expecting. This man was too young and too tall. He had a little acne on his face and thick, curly hair.
He shut the door and tossed a plastic bag of groceries onto the kitchen counter. He walked across the room and flopped onto the leatherette couch, then clicked on the TV.
Alex knew she was stealthy, but this was ridiculous. All he had to do was turn his head a few degrees to the left and she’d be in plain view. Instead his eyes were glued straight ahead as she heard the ESPN intro music on the TV.
It was an odd feeling to be in a room with someone who had no idea you were there. It was almost like watching a movie. It was like some new, fantastic interactive television.
It sent an odd thrill through her, and she savored it for almost a full minute. The longer she waited, the greater the surprise. This man was clueless. It was embarrassing that he and his associates thought they could kill her.
Alex just watched the man until he unbuttoned his pants and started to slip his hand down them. Then she stepped away from the wall and said in a calm tone, “Who are you? Where is Willie?”
“Jesus Christ,” he shouted as he sprang to his feet and tried to close his pants. “Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?” Then recognition set in, and he said, “Oh, it’s you. Willie isn’t here.”
“Who are you?”
“His cousin Julio.”
“The driver he mentioned.” She thought about it for a moment and said, “When will Willie be home?”
Just as he started to answer, she raised the revolver and pointed it at his face. It had the effect she wanted.
Julio said, “He usually comes home in the afternoon about now. When I talked to him on the phone earlier, he said he’d be here.”
“Good boy. You’re using your head.”
“You’re not using yours. Willie is a really bad man. Everyone knows him. Everyone’s afraid of him. If you shoot me, he’ll know who did it.”
Alex said, “I hope so.” Then she fired once, striking Julio in the dead center of his chest. He took a slight step backward, then tumbled onto the couch. He let out a raspy breath and tried to say something. He never got it out.
His eyes didn’t close, even after his heart stopped. Those lifeless brown eyes seemed fixed on Alex.
She shook off the unnerving stare of the dead man and surveyed her work for a moment. She lifted his right leg onto the couch and crossed it over his left. She straightened his body against the pillow so that it looked like he was reclining on the couch.
Then Alex stepped back and looked at the room again. A plan popped into her head.
This could work out.
Chapter 63
Alex Martinez could hear her second target trudging up the stairs and through the hallway for twenty seconds before he reached the door. She’d been sitting in the apartment with the dead man for almost a quarter of an hour. This came as a relief.
She stood behind the door when it swung open and immediately saw the heavily tattooed left arm of Willie Perez. He was chatting on the phone in Spanish.