The Specter by Jonas Saul Read Free Book Online Page B

happened.
     

Chapter 6

    Daniel would call a few of the guys and meet Aaron at the strip club at nine in the evening. Their plan was simple. Aaron would ask to talk to the manager or the owner and make it known that if they were willing to tell them everything, Aaron would leave the police out of it. The boys would run interference if the bouncers tried to get tough again.
     
    That left Aaron with three hours to kill, so he decided to visit his sister’s apartment, hoping to learn something of her disappearance. Getting inside might be a challenge, so he brought along Smokehead Scotch, the superintendent’s favorite whiskey.
     
    Early summer flowers around the building’s grounds provided a colorful invitation to the apartment complex. A green pickup truck sat off to the side with gardening tools in the rear. Four people in green shirts and shorts were raking, weeding and cutting the surrounding grass. At least Joanne had found a reputable building in Mississauga. It had twenty-four hour security and was inhabited by professionals. Not bad for almost three thousand a month.
     
    He parked in visitor’s parking, grabbed the Smokehead off the car seat and walked up to the building’s intercom. A little square digital window sat above a series of buttons. He located the superintendent’s number and dialed.
     
    “Hello?” answered Dewanda’s friendly voice. “Can I help you?”
     
    “Hello, I’m looking to see if there are any apartments for rent.”
     
    “Hold on, please.”
     
    He waited, tapping his foot, looking over his shoulder at the grounds crew. When he turned to the front windows of the lobby, Dewanda walked by, keys in hand. She opened the inner door and motioned Aaron inside. As far as he could tell, she didn’t recognize him yet. The last time he’d been to Joanne’s apartment was early March, more than three months ago, but he hadn’t seen Dewanda since Christmas time. He’d bought her a bottle of Smokehead then too.
     
    He stepped in beside her, and her eyes met his. A flicker of familiarity crossed her face and then she smiled wide, wrinkles forming across her aged temples.
     
    “Aaron, you bad boy,” she said, her smile moving to her eyes now. “You tricked me.”
     
    Dewanda was in her seventies, weathered from too many years outside, and losing her hair. She had never gotten a driver’s license. Aaron had asked her last Christmas how that was possible these days. She explained that her husband had taken care of everything when they were married young. She had four kids, all grown up and moved on. They had taken the job of superintendent as a couple in their late forties when the building was built and never left. Her husband had died from a severe stroke a dozen years ago, but Dewanda still plugged on, taking care of the building as only she knew how.
     
    She leaned in close. “What have you got there?” she whispered, as if what he carried was to be discussed in hushed tones.
     
    “Smokehead.”
     
    “Oh, really?” a conspiratorial smile creased her lips. “And what is that for? I didn’t think you drank alcohol.”
     
    “It’s for the sweetest superintendent in the building.”
     
    She played it up, always the character. Her head tilted back, both hands going to her chest. “Oh, my, you shouldn’t have.”
     
    “I want to talk to you about my sister,” Aaron said, his tone taking on a serious note. He handed Dewanda the paper-bag-wrapped bottle of whiskey. “Do you remember the last time you saw her?”
     
    Dewanda took the proffered bottle and motioned him to follow her. “Come to the office. We’ll talk there.”
     
    Aaron followed her down the first floor corridor and into the small office. He took a seat opposite her desk and waited for her to shut the door. She set the bottle on the floor behind the desk.
     
    “Joanne has been a model tenant,” she said. “We never get any complaints and her rent is always on time. You two come from good