Saltwater in the Bluegrass (31 page)

It was obvious that the board of tenants wanted to get the place sold, and they wanted it sold as fast as possible. The board of tenants hoped that with someone else living in the unit, it would somehow help erase the memory of Bill Lynberry and his death there.
Texi and I were called
and asked to come over to Sally’s little hideaway at the Port of Call Condominiums. This way Kristina and Sally could approach us and ask us to go undercover as the potential buyers interested in the sixteenth floor unit.

Kristina talked with exuberance of her plan to undermine Katherine.

“It’s a great idea. I can’t wait. I’ll get in there, see what’s going on, keep my eye on her, and drive her crazy. Plus, it’ll piss her off so much she won’t be able to think straight.”

Kristina was vivacious. She was swaying her arms around the room for effect. She showed her excitement at the idea and the thought of us being able to carrying it out.

Sally, on the other hand, was sitting exuded from the traits Kristina was showing. Sally was trying her best to show her sophistication and sensuality. She was looking my way with every word Kristina said. With each sentence Kristina spoke, Sally gave a smile and a subtle drop of her head in a seductive tilt. I thought, get over yourself, Sally. For a moment I thought Texi might get up and smack Sally across the side of the head, telling her to knock it off.

This might work on some men, but not on me. As hard as Sally tried to look simplistic, she was either reading my mind or lost in space to the total idea. There was nothing that I saw in her as vulnerable or pretentious.

I have to admit though, for a moment in time, as Kristina continued to talk, I did get lost in my thoughts. I could see Sally stretched out naked on a bed, covered in silk, in a far away place. Then as Kristina grabbed my arm once again with the exuberance of another inadequate thought, I was back sitting with the three of them and asking for a glass of something cold to drink.

There were a few details that still needed to be worked out, but Texi and I agreed to help Kristina and Sally.

It was a workable plan.

We would become the middlemen and accomplices in her little scheme of betrayal and infiltration and see where it led.
I dropped Texi back
off at her parents home, made my way back across town, and within minutes had turned off River Road and was entering the fourth street parking structure leading to my hotel. Pulling into my parking space, head lights on, I once again noticed the same dark gray sedan I had seen the day before out of the corner of my eye. It was parked three stalls from the north end, backed in, motor turned off. The concrete barrier separating the entrance and exit shielded the lower right half of the vehicle, but I knew it was them.

“A timely coincident,” I thought.

This was the same vehicle I had spotted at The Brewery, with Charlie and Jenny. It was the same two men. At that time I had figured someone was watching Charlie’s every move, probably his sister, keeping an eye on little brother while he was in town, making sure that he stayed out of trouble.

Now it was obvious, someone wanted to know my involvement. Why, I wasn’t sure, but most likely it was because I was a stranger talking to Charlie.

Was I being followed?

Probably, not that it was a big deal, but on the other hand, it meant someone needed to know my whereabouts or why I was in town. The temptation to walk over and introduce myself was short lived. It wasn’t necessary. Not at this moment. A conversation with these two bozos wasn’t really necessary. It wouldn’t lead to much except getting filmed on the local security cameras. The key was keeping my distance but knowing they were around.

The stated objective of being watched was to “keep tabs on the person keeping tabs on you.”

I was beginning to keep tabs on the entire Ingram family, so deductive reasoning, it had to be Katherine Ingram watching me. It was a subtle sidestep from Katherine watching Charlie or Kristina, or even Jenny. Katherine obviously wanted to know who I was and why I was spending so much time talking with her brother.

For now, I could live with that.

Next to the elevators, a quick glance told me that both men were still in the car. It was only with a massive effort on my part that I did not start laughing. These guys had to be working for Katherine. Their agenda was simple: surveillance.

These men were only watchers, crouched in their seats, taking information, much like before. To this point, they hadn’t crossed the line. That’s why I kept my distance. I let them be.

The leash on these men was still tight. No attempt was being made by the men to follow me up to my room or to force my hand or to assault me or to try and use any scare tactics.

As I exited my vehicle, I made sure to act like I hadn’t seen them, not acting like a victim. Besides, I needed a shower and some clean clothes.

I figured twenty minutes would be sufficient.

On the way through the hotel lobby I scanned the crowd. I stopped by the front desk and talked with the manager on duty. In a rush of adrenaline, swallowing hard, I reported that two suspicious-looking characters where in the parking structure in a dark gray sedan, and that they were watching me. He quickly dropped his gaze of the main front desk duties, giving me his complete undivided attention. I expressed a concern, even though I hadn’t been threatened, that these men looked to be casing the parking lot to rob someone or to vandalize someone’s property.

The manager smiled crookedly. “Mr. Stringer, I will certainly have it checked out immediately.” His voice grim, somewhat alarmed, being that this wasn’t the first time the hotel security had neglected their utmost duties.

“Twice now I’ve seen these guys in the garage looking around,” I said. “What kind of place are you running here?”

The manager didn’t need to know that this was actually the first time I had seen the two men here, but as far as he knew, I wanted immediate action taken.

“I expect protection, the utmost security in a place like this.”

“And you will get it.”

“People coming and going, families, and children. How is it that they’re in the garage area anyway without a parking pass? Without being noticed? Don’t you have cameras?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you using them?” I asked.

“Yes, I can assure you we are.”

“I would hope so.”

“Thank you so much for bring this to my attention. You’re right. You can never be too careful, especially in the city, in parking garages. I agree.”

“I’m glad you do.”

“I will look into the matter at once. I apologize for any inconvenience. Anything we can do to make your stay here better, please let me know. Our staff will do all it can.”

“That will not be necessary.”

Before I could say another word the manager was on the phone calling security. He would have a patrol car drive through the parking structure to investigate, providing encouragement and comfort, assuring me that everything would be taking care of, that if I liked he would have someone walk me back out to my car when I left. Getting right to the point, he explained that this sort of thing was not tolerated at his hotel and that he was sorry.

I explained that an escort would not be necessary, that I was heading to my room, and that I felt confident that he would take care of the situation.

In the back of my mind, I was also sure that security would take care of the problem, and that the two men would be flushed out, giving me ample time, later, to leave the premises undetected. By the time I had showered and change, checked my voice messages, and returned to the parking lot, twenty minutes had passed. The two men were gone.

I exited the parking lot adjacent to the new stadium, drove back across town, to Texi’s home, making sure that I wasn’t being followed, and ended up spending the night on her parent’s sofa. To pull our plan off tomorrow morning, we needed to arrive at Katherine Ingram’s building without tipping our hand to anyone.
The next morning Texi
and I drove up slowly though the entrance of the Ingram Towers. We were acting as though we were royalty, as if we were interested in buying the place. We were pointing and gesturing, commenting as we looked around in awe at the established and the well-maintained grounds.

We stopped in front of the little security station at the end of the driveway. A wood gate swung down with a large red stop sign bolted to it in the center of the pole. An overweight, semi-short gentleman who was determined to show his importance occupied the station. He had been eating a bagel when we pulled up. He wiped his chin with a paper napkin, took a sip of his drink, slide off his chair and walked to the door of my car. He was wearing a clean shirt and pair of pants straight from the Eddie Bauer Security Collection. The uniform came with matching badge, glasses, tie, and clipboard.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Yes, I believe you can,” I said, expecting the question. “We have an appointment with Mr. Hypes this morning, a real-estate broker, to see one of the condominiums that’s for sale.”

“And your name, sir?” the guard asked, listening without blinking, holding his clipboard, and trying his best to check out my car and Texi at the same time.

“Stringer, J.C. and Texi Conover. Mr. Hypes should be expecting us.”

“One minute, sir. Please wait while I check this out with the front desk.” The guard insisted that we wait while he verified our appointment. Again it was routine and, for the moment, fairly predictable.

“Not a problem; take your time,” I said, thinking this was exactly what I needed him to do. Besides, in doing so, it gave me time to look through the window at the surveillance systems being used for the Ingram Towers.

The guard station was made out of stone with brick trim that matched the tower design. Beside the door, to the right, was a full length window giving security agents full access and a side view of each and every truck, or vehicle, as it pulled through the gate and passed. It also gave me a full view of the surveillance system they were using inside.

Through the long window I could tell that station was wellequipped with a XCAM2 integrated system, a color analog motionactivated cameras, wireless PC transceivers, and a 2.4-GH2 frequency transmitter. I was impressed by the equipment I saw; surprised, I must say, but still impressed.

The association had spared no expense. Not only were they using Lorex Technology and Swann Communication pieces, but they had integrated the SVAT electronics and the hard drives with an elaborate Cisco System. It was very hi-tech.

The monitors were showing roving pictures of the two main entrances to the complex, the lobby doors, the individual floors, the delivery dock door, the service entrance, and the two fire escape doors on both sides of the building.

The guard was thorough and all business. Still, he was nice enough, and his attention to the details of the job had given me what I needed most; he had given me time.

Once we had signed in, the guard pointed to the visitor parking spots. I nodded, and we continued into the secured grounds. I parked in the southern-most space, away from the lobby door and the striped handicap zone.

I have found it is much easier in the long run to let the older, less tentative people, those that don’t care about scratches and door dents, park close to the buildings away from my car. Twenty-five extra feet of walking is a lot cheaper than a new paint job on a brand new Corvette.

I also wanted to take in a larger perspective of the overall grounds around the building. Parking as far away in the visitor’s lot gave me this point of view.

There was one more reason. Probably the biggest of the three reasons for my parking selection was the fact that the sprinkler system was on, spraying water on the parking spaces closer to the building. I’m just that way. I did not want my clean car getting hit by the spray. Texi and I walked up the steps into the lobby. Once inside, we were quickly met by Rusty Hypes, the real estate agent that Texi had talked with earlier on the phone. Within another few minutes we were on our ten-cent tour of the property.

“Hello, Mr. Stringer
and Miss Conover,” Rusty said as the personality of salesmanship poured energetically from the depths of his body.

We were now his newly-elected best friends. He stretched out his hand, shaking vigorously. He began smiling at everything Texi and I said.

“Hello. May I introduce myself? My name is Rusty Hypes. Here is my card.”

“Thank you.”

“First, I would like to thank the two of you for allowing me the pleasure of showing you this beautiful condominium suite.”

“Thank you.”

“It is a spacious three-bedroom, two-bath unit with a large screened-in patio that looks out over the lower courtyard and down to the river in a northwesterly direction.”

“It sounds lovely,” Texi said.

“It has approximately sixty-two hundred square feet of living space, and down below, in the parking structure, you have three parking spaces provided with your unit number marked at the head of each space.”

“Three spaces! That’s great,” Texi said, helping to carry the conversation.

“Let’s take the elevator, and I’ll show you the unit.”

“Sounds great,” I said as the elevator door opened. With the small talk concluding and a quick ride up the elevator to the sixteenth floor, we were soon inside the suite.

As we stepped off the elevator, we were quickly met by another man. He was a well-dressed, older, gentlemen. He was standing at the front door of the unit with keys to let us in.

“This is Joe Downard. He will be letting us in.”

“Hello,” Texi said.

The complex had a stringent policy against lending keys out to real estate agents that were showing the available units.

“Hi,” Texi said. “How are you doing?”

“Hello, I am Joe Downard. Pleased to meet the two of you. I will be letting you in to see the place along with Mr. Hypes. If I can answer any questions that you might have, I will be more than happy to. I have lived here at the Ingram Towers since it opened.”

“Thank you. My name is J.C. Stringer, and this is my administrative assistant, Texi Conover.”