Dev Conrad - 03 - Blindside by Ed Gorman

does it?’
    â€˜It’s about all we’ve got.’
    â€˜I just want to go home and hide under the covers and pretend it didn’t happen.’
    â€˜Can we go to his apartment first?’
    â€˜Oh, sure. I just need a little while to sit here and sort of suck it up. Is that okay?’

TEN
    I don’t know what she had to do but whatever it was it worked. When I peeked through the front door glass of Jim Waters’ apartment building I saw that the mailbox area, which was on the right side of the vestibule, was clear. I eased in, surveyed the area, then began tiptoeing my way up the steps.
    A few minutes after I reached the second floor I heard a door below me open and the oily voice of the manager say, ‘Remember now, you promised.’
    â€˜If it wasn’t my time of month we’d do it right now.’
    â€˜And I’m going to hold you to it, babe.’
    Discreet he wasn’t. He was broadcasting his infidelity to anybody who’d listen.
    Two doors left, two doors right. One narrower door at the far left. I rushed over there. An interior rear staircase that apparently Jenny had either not known about or had forgotten.
    I closed the door to the staircase and put my ear to it. Soon enough they made their way up the stairs.
    â€˜Hey, don’t do that! You don’t want to get caught, do you?’
    â€˜Right now, I don’t care, babe. I’m just one of those guys that lives for danger.’
    â€˜Uh-huh. Well, don’t I deserve a little respect?’
    â€˜I’ll give you all the respect you can handle, babe.’
    There would be so many pleasant ways to kill him. Shooting, stabbing, strangling, stomping, drowning, immolating. Or a combination of all of them.
    â€˜When did they put that up?’ Jenny asked.
    â€˜Do not enter by order of the police? They did that last night. And it pissed me off, babe. Ruins the look of the whole hallway.’
    So much for that spread in Home Beautiful .
    â€˜But remember, the cops hear about this, you got to help me out. You went up here by yourself. And you waited until you were sure that I was down to True Value or somewhere getting supplies. You remember?’
    â€˜I remember.’
    â€˜So what say I come in with you for a few minutes?’
    Jenny was as surprised as I was. ‘I thought you were worried about getting caught. What if the cops show up when you’re in there with me?’
    He had a sort of Cool Dude laugh. ‘Like I said, I live for danger. It wouldn’t take that long.’
    I had to give him credit for that one anyway. Admitting he couldn’t last very long.
    â€˜And I don’t need none of those pills, either. I’m all man.’
    â€˜Please take your hand off my butt. Right now I’m thinking about Jimmy. He was my best friend.’
    â€˜No offense, but I never could see what you saw in that weirdo. But hey, takes all kinds, I guess.’
    Now he was a philosopher. Definitely stomping and then setting him on fire. Make it real, real personal.
    â€˜All right. I’ll stop and say goodbye before I leave.’
    â€˜I’ll be waitin’.’
    I heard her open the door. I was still waiting to hear him tromp down the stairs. All I could imagine is that he was still standing there, watching her. With his brainwaves on her butt.
    Finally he started working his way back downstairs. But since I was dealing with a man who loves danger, I had to be careful. He might come bounding back up the stairs. I moved as quietly as possible. Jenny was in the door waving me in.
    She closed the door behind me then put her fingers to her lips and her ear to the door. She was as suspicious of him as I was. We waited three minutes in silence.
    She pointed to the kitchenette and the refrigerator. It was the same sort of Kelvinator my maternal grandparents had had. Meaning it was made long, long ago. The original color had been pastel blue but the harsh mistress time