Hotter Than Hell

Chapter 6

My apartment is in the northwest valley by an old high school that once had two acres of rolling grass where students sat and ate lunch. A few years ago, the grass was changed to the customary desert landscaping-rocks-and now high fences separate the school from the road. Passing through a metal detector is also required to enter the building. I never worked this district as a cop. In Phoenix, you don't live where you work. You travel as far as possible. The last thing you want is to run into someone undesirable when off duty. Home should be your sanctuary. I, like most city officers, varied my route when leaving the department and heading home. You always check to be sure you aren't followed. It's the life of a cop and these lessons begin at the academy.

Gomez pulls into my apartment complex, which is kitty-corner from the school. He travels toward the back and I wonder if he helped return my car. The clock on the dash shows it's been more than five hours since I took d**k pics of Mr. Dandridge. We turn toward the back corner of the parking lot and I see my car in its spot. Sally is a 2008 white Nissan Sentra. I picked her up so I had an unassuming vehicle for surveillance. Or at least that's what I told myself. She has more than one hundred and fifty thousand miles on her, a few small glitches in the upholstery, a dent on the back right fender, and an air conditioner that barely cools the car ten degrees less than the outside temperature. This means ninety plus degrees on a mild summer day. Bottom line: the price was right.

I bite my lip to hide a smile as I think of Gomez driving Sally in his full suit. He deserves the buckets of sweat that likely came with that ride. Though, unless he changed into another spectacular thug suit, I see little evidence of an adventure in my car. I open the door before we stop rolling. My driver growls, which is kind of comical in a big man-bear kind of way. At least the knock to my head didn't ruin my sense of humor.

"Are you forgetting something?" he says before I can run off and enter the safety of my apartment where thugs and crime bosses don't invade.

My magazine. I stand and wait as he walks around the Caddy and reaches into his pocket. I'm surprised when three items land in my palm-the magazine, my beat up iPhone, and a shiny new iPhone. What the hell?

"Moon wants you to have the phone so he's able to contact you."

"What the hell?" I say it out loud this time and get another pompous smirk as my answer.

Gomez closes my door and heads back around to the driver's side as I stand looking down at my hand. Over the top of the car he stares in my direction and says, "Go to your apartment, Miss Kinlock. I won't leave until you're inside."

"I don't want calls from Moon," I say in a voice that's gone embarrassingly whiny.

He's silent and his dark shades give nothing away. My headache moves to a medium throb as so many things roll through my brain-what and why being at the top. So, like the good little PI I always try to be, I walk away, cell phones and magazine in hand, and head to my first floor apartment. At the door, I realize I have no keys. I try the knob and it turns. I'm in too much turmoil to scream when another tall thug is standing inside. He tips his chin, and I should add his face displays a fine sheen of sweat. He hands me my keys and exits the front door. I stand to the side in stunned silence.

The f*****g assholes have invaded my home.

I check everything. There's not so much as a mail-order catalog out of place. It doesn't matter; I feel victimized while more than one scenario runs through my head. Did he or they search my private papers? God, did they go through my underwear drawer? What about planting a hidden camera or listening device?

Assholes! And the biggest one being Moon himself.

After my apartment thug walks out, I immediately remove my gun, jam the magazine home, and load a round in the chamber. The gun remains in my hand as I check the apartment. Moon's phone and my camera remain on the counter in my tiny kitchen. I slipped my phone into my back pocket at the beginning of my search.

Now I'm finished, though still angry. I walk to Moon's phone, holster my gun to keep it close because I'm still unnerved, and start examining the iPhone. No contacts, no old text messages or voicemails-it's clean. Hell, I can tell it's brand new. I go through the apps to see if there's anything on the phone that I need to worry about. Then I check for hidden apps and discover nothing. Last, I turn off the location feature.

Damn him. I don't want a phone so he can contact me. I owe him nothing and don't want him to call.

The phone in question buzzes in my hand and I jump. No, that wasn't a small screech, I swear. I look down and see that it's a text message.

Private number

Nothing in your home was

touched or examined. The

possibility of Dandridge

finding you was slim but

I felt it important to protect

your home until you arrived.

This phone will not track you

if you turn off the tracking

feature. I'm a very busy man

but I will take the time to

call you.

Lovely. Just what I need. And dammit I shouldn't trust that Moon didn't have my apartment searched or bugged. It kills me that I do. Stupid but true. My headache is reaching greater heights, so I down a few over-the-counter pain relievers. The ones Moon gave me helped a bit and I have no wooziness so I know they weren't a narcotic. Possibly acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol. My choice is ibuprofen so I don't risk acetaminophen overdose, not a pretty death. I release a long breath into the warm apartment air after swallowing the tablets and walk to the thermostat. I turn the air from ninety to eighty-four and gaze around my small living room.

It doubles as my office. I have a loveseat that I bought at a thrift store, a forty-two inch flat-screen bought on super clearance, and a $10 end table from a garage sale. They're the only items that give the room an actual "living room" quality. A large desk with a cheap desk chair sit against the far wall and two, three-foot, locked filing cabinets stand to one side. While conducting my apartment search, I checked that the locks weren't tampered with, but I didn't check for the hidden keys. No cookie jar or coat pocket for me. For $5.99, I ordered a wall outlet safe that fits perfectly behind the wall plate. It looks like a wall electrical outlet and takes a specifically designed hexagon screwdriver key to open. The screwdriver is in my kitchen junk drawer along with several Philips and flat heads. I walk to the drawer, grab the hexagon, and snag my camera before I walk to the small wall safe. I push my emergency cash aside and grab the cabinet keys. I unlock the cabinet closest to my desk and pull out the file I need.

Penny Dandridge is written at the top. I sit down at my desk and open my laptop so I can download the pictures from my camera. They're good and complete the job. I copy them to a thumb drive that I'll give to Penny after I make an appointment with her. I should do that now, at least call her, but I need to lie down. I head to my loveseat and curl up, resting my head on a small throw pillow and close my eyes.

Sometime later a buzzing noise from my kitchen rouses me. I stand and the room tilts. It takes a moment for my equilibrium to return. My headache is thankfully gone. I touch the knot at the back of my head, which is still sore. I'll live. I head to the kitchen counter and see that Moon texted me again, but this time his number isn't blocked.

602-555-3142

You have a slight

concussion and need

to be woken throughout

the night. I'll be checking

in every hour and expect

a return text or you'll

have one of my men at

your door.

Oh yea? I should make him send one of those men. I refuse to think that this is compassionate or any kind of sweet. It's control. I haven't the foggiest idea what to do about it.

I decide to pick my battles. First, I program Moon's number into contacts under the name aka Criminal.

Thank you for your

concern, unnecessary

but I'll text back.

He doesn't bother responding. I head to the bathroom, remove my clothes, and take a lukewarm shower using just the designated cold water. It's a Phoenix summer thing. Cold water is lukewarm here, so why bother with the hot setting? After I'm washed and feeling better than I have since waking up in Moon's compound, I head to my bedroom with my dirty clothes, gun, and phones. I pull on my favorite night shirt that I won in a radio contest a few years ago. It's white with black lettering that says, "Rock-n-Roll Desert Nights," and has the radio station logo below the words.

I place Moon's phone, my phone, and my gun on the nightstand beside the bed and then push back the cotton comforter and climb between the sheets. Although it's after eight at night, the sun continues shining outside. No problem. I'm asleep in minutes, my rackety ceiling fan creating the background noise I've grown accustomed to.

I groggily reply to Moon's texts every hour throughout the night. I type only one word, Alive, and then instantly fall back to sleep.