Spy Games Ch. 13

It was over lunch that I first learned Miss Moorehead had not one but two enemies in town. It was hard to tell who she hated most. C Raven Hardwood, who stole her fiancé, or Mayor Stuffit who, she was convinced, killed her parents. If she knew I planned to make deals with the two people who had caused her so much pain, she would have most likely dumped me then and there.

We spent a good part of that afternoon buying a Condo from a Kindergarten teacher, a task I barely survived (long story, best saved for another day), and then parted for the day.

***

As I drove up the road towards home, I had to make a conscious effort to change who I was. During the day, the people I dealt with ... the two good looking realtors, their clients, and the city council ... all knew me as Mark Seiman. To them I was a businessman.

The two people I spent most of my evenings with ... Flanagan and Sixty-nine ... knew the real me. At least Flanagan did. I was still trying to figure out what to do with our young female housemate who, despite an overpowering inferiority complex, showed great potential.

Sixty-nine met me at the door with a warm smile and a cold beer.

"I'm glad you're home sir. I have something I think you'll want to see."

For the first time since I'd known the girl, she was wearing what I would consider fashionable clothes. Nothing fancy, but her skirt and blouse fit sufficiently snug to suggest a well-formed woman hid underneath. It was a marked improvement over the sweaters and baggy pants she usually wore.

"Does this have to do with our current mission?" I asked.

"Yes sir. I have video of a conversation between Mayor Stuffit and Raven Hardwood that occurred in his office this morning. Your name came up."

"Can it wait until I take a shower?" I asked.

"That will be fine sir. I'll get it ready for you."

After showering and changing clothes, Sixty-nine led me to one of her computer screens (she had three), where the video was already cued up. She hit the play prompt, I watched a few seconds of Stuffit sitting alone behind his massive desk and then heard a knock.

"Come," Stuffit said.

The video wasn't the best but, from the shape of the ass that walked into his office, I had no doubt it belonged to Miss Raven Hardwood.

"Are you and Janis Moorehead still on unfriendly terms?" Stuffit asked.

"I try to keep our interactions civil," Raven answered. "It's difficult, considering her unprofessional behavior."

"That's a pity. Because she and her newest client have not only offended me and the entire council, but I'm almost positive that they are up to no good."

"Are you referring to Mark Seiman?"

"How do you know that name?"

"There is very little I don't know about the Merryville real estate market."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"Quite a bit, if the price is right."

"What must I do for this information?"

"Remove Janis Moorehead from my life ... permanently." Raven said.

"How permanent?" he asked.

"Give me a few days to confirm some facts before we have that discussion."

"You realize that anything we do will require the full support of the council."

"If I find what I suspect, they'll all be onboard with whatever plan you and I present."

Raven turned and walked out of the room without saying another word.

"I'm assuming this came from the bug you placed in Stuffit's office," I said to Sixty-nine.

"Yes sir. I apologize about the poor picture quality. If you want, I'll go back and place another camera over the window. It will have better lighting and --"

"No need. The audio tells the story. What did I say about apologizing?"

"I'm sorry sir, I forgot. Are you going to punish me?" she asked with an expectant look in her eyes.

"Maybe later. First, tell me what you think we just heard."

"Me? I'm just a financial analyst. I'm not trained to decipher raw intelligence."

"You're also a woman, and a smart one at that. I have my impression of what transpired between the Mayor and Miss Hardwood but it's always smart to get another opinion. What do you think happened in Stuffit's office this morning?"

"Raven Hardwood asked Mayor Stuffit to kill Janis Moorehead in exchange for information on what you are doing in Merryville."

"Great recap. Nice and succinct," I said. "That's pretty much what I heard as well. But killing an innocent woman seems extremely drastic for a bit of information on a stranger, even for this screwed up town. Did you find anything else unusual about their conversation?"

"There were no pleasantries," she said.

"Explain."

"When Raven walked into the mayor's office neither of them said 'hello', 'how are you', or 'thanks for inviting me.' They immediately started talking about you and Janis."

"Good observation. What do you think it means?"

"I think they know each other very well and they meet quite often."

"Do you think they're lovers?" I asked.

"No, I don't. I got the impression they don't like each other."

"I got the same vibe."

"So why are they working together?" she asked.

"I'm guessing Miss Hardwood knows something about the mayor that he doesn't want to become public knowledge. Something so damning he's willing to commit murder to keep it a secret."

"Are you going to warn Janis?" Sixty-nine asked.

"Absolutely not."

"You're going to let the mayor kill her?"

"No, but I'm going to let Miss Hardwood think he did."

"How?"

"Haven't quite figured that out yet. But don't worry, this is what Flanagan and I do for a living. We'll come up with something."