Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes Read Free Book Online Page B

fiancé.
    Where the hell was the Jaguar? The last time I’d seen Sam, he’d dropped me at Logan. Then, I’d learned later, he’d left town as well, flying to Vegas. No way would Sam have left his car at Logan. The long-term lot at Logan is more like a used car showroom for auto thieves than a parking lot.
    I hit the lobby button and hefted the bags.
    “Hey, babe, wuzzup?” Raoul, the doorman, glanced up with a wolfish grin. His eyes were sleepy and unfocused. He took note of me only because I’d cleared my throat and made him lose count of his reps. He was using the small weights, the ten-pounders he kept stashed under the desk. Maybe someone had complained about the fifties.
    “How are you?” I replied cheerfully.
    “Doin’ fine, doin’ fine.”
    Raoul, the night doorman, was notorious for paying no attention. That’s not quite true. He paid attention, a great deal of attention, but only to his muscular development. As far as he was concerned, as long as his pecs and abs were in great shape, the lobby coulddisappear in a puff of smoke. He put on a good act; he was more than capable of shining on the management company that employed him, but most of the tenants knew. And he was so damned pleasant all the time, greeting everybody with a wide smile and happily carrying heavy packages upstairs for all and sundry, that the tenants didn’t really care that he paid no attention at all. At least he’d smile and say good evening. To anyone and everyone, whether they had any business being in the building or not.
    “Mr. Gianelli leave a message for me?” I asked.
    Sam had done so in the past. Lubricated with a couple of bills, Raoul’s memory was excellent.
    “Uh, Mr. G. Right. Uh, no. Nothing like that, ma’am. Uh, miss.”
    Raoul gave me his full attention as I crossed to the elevator. Before the doors had closed, his hand was reaching for the phone.
    Had Jonno hired him as a spy: “Anybody goes up to the Gianelli apartment, you give me a buzz and I’ll make it worth your while”?
    I took the elevator up to Sam’s floor. My key still fit the lock, but I didn’t venture inside. I knew the place too well. There was no safe concealed behind a picture frame, no secret compartment under the floor. Those improvements were confined to the family’s North End enclave.
    When Sam moved into Charles River Park, he’d had two smaller condos knocked into one, making his apartment the sole dwelling on the floor. The outside corridor stretched from the elevator to well beyond the stairwell, ending in a small alcove. I shoved a potted palm slightly to the right and concealed myself and my groceries behind it. Raoul had most likely called Jonno, but I figured I might as well find out ifanyone else had an interest in the goings and comings at Sam’s place.
    It took only six minutes.
    The man was built like a door, broad through the shoulders and hips, not so much tall as solid. He had a florid face and a drinker’s red-veined nose. Late forties, maybe fifty. His baggy suit jacket made me think cop.
    He used a key on Sam’s door. As he entered, I departed, groceries in hand, flying down all twelve flights to the garage, where I exited by the same door I’d entered. Then I circled around to the front of the building to find a late-model Ford Taurus parked in the turnabout. Light brown. An American-made sedan, just like the car Mooney had asked about.
    I memorized the license plate. Roz can work wonders with a license plate. I don’t know if she mesmerizes the clerks at the DMV or what. I’ve never asked her to sleep with anybody to gather information, but she may regard it as part of the job.
    What was the name of the federal agent Mooney had mentioned? Dailey, I thought. Reilley? Too bad I couldn’t run the description by my old friend.
    I took a deep breath and plunged down the path into the cold. The ten-minute trudge to the Science Park T stop seemed to take forever. Honestly, at one point, I thought about stealing