Chapter 19
Hendrix watched as Gerald Albright the Third walked out of his building, a new spring to his step. He adjusted his ascot – who wore those?! – and slipped into his BMW. Moments later, the vehicle started up and Albright drove away.
“He’s on his way,” Hendrix informed Tony through the microphone attached to his jacket collar.
“I got him coming my way,” Tony replied.
Moments later, Dan called out, “He’s merging onto the highway.”
“Keep your eyes open,” Hendrix commanded. It was always a risk that the target could return, having forgotten something. Hendrix knew how to hide, or get out of a situation fast. But he’d rather have the time to figure out what the hell this guy was up to.
It took him less than ten seconds to release the locks on the man’s condo door. Security in this place was awful. Stepping into the condo, Hendrix paused and listened. Nothing. His online research told him that Gerald lived alone and that his mother paid the mortgage. But there was always the possibility that the guy lived with someone that mommy didn’t know about, or he might have staff that were currently on duty.
Once he’d assured himself that he was alone, Hendrix looked around, orienting himself with the layout. He’d looked up the building plans already, but seeing things in an outline versus in person were always different. Plus, he wasn’t sure which way to start looking. Nor was he sure what he was looking for. So Hendrix started a systematic search through the first room. The area was decorated with floral furniture that screamed “mommy’s decorator”. There was fringe and florals everywhere. Hendrix tried not to judge, but the man lived alone. Why the hell was he living in a place like this?
Maybe everything was cast-offs from his mother’s place. And not his problem, Hendrix reminded himself.
“Still clear?” he asked.
“All clear,” Dan replied. “His vehicle is still heading out to the club. No deviations.”
“Good.” Hendrix moved into the kitchen, opening cupboards and peering through the pantry and fridge. Nothing exceptional there. The next room was the primary suite. Again, the décor seemed odd for a man, but Hendrix ignored the rose and mauve colored furniture and walls, concentrating on going through the man’s drawers, looking for whatever might seem off.
Nothing. There were three pictures of the man’s mother in the room, which was definitely weird. But nothing that caught Hendrix’s eye.
It wasn’t until he stepped into the second bedroom that he froze, looking around. “Holy hell!” Hendrix whispered, staring at the walls. And ceiling. And the…bed? Yes, that was a bed, but…it was covered in plastic with handcuffs at each corner. Those handcuffs were attached to a blow up doll wearing…black slacks, a white shirt and maroon vest. The same uniform the wait staff at the club wore. The doll had a brunette wig and the locks were pinned up in a twist.
Just like Emily.
“What have you found, boss?” Tony asked.
Hendrix shook his head. “I don’t think I can describe it,” he whispered, still stunned. There were pictures of Emily everywhere. Some were of her smiling, frowning, talking with the various club members. There was a life-sized picture of her propped up in the corner. There were pictures of her face taped to the ceiling. The walls were literally covered with images of Emily.
“Boss?” Dan prompted.
The one word nudged him out of his stunned silence. “Right,” he replied, letting his team know that he was okay. “I’ll photograph everything and bring it all back to the club.” With that in mind, Hendrix took out his phone and started taking pictures. He wasn’t sure what he would do with the images yet. This was…well, he’d seen things like this before in the movies, but he’d never imagined that it actually happened in real life. This guy wasn’t just in love with Emily, he was obsessed with her.
And this level of obsession indicated a serious mental illness.
He took several pictures of the room, going through the closets and finding several more pieces of bondage equipment. Some of the pieces looked used, but Hendrix wasn’t sure how they’d been used. He pictured some really creepy possibilities in his mind, but Hendrix pushed the images away. They were too psycho for the moment.
After photographing all of the evidence, he moved through the other rooms. There was only one more guest room and another bathroom in the place. He went through those drawers, all empty, thank goodness.
“I’m leaving now. Is he at the club yet?” Hendrix asked.
“He arrived ten minutes ago,” Dan reported. “I’ve got him on camera. He seems thrilled to be playing cards with Levi, Sean, and Matteo, even though he’s losing money I doubt he has noticed.”
“Good. Keep an eye on him. I’m going through his desk drawer, just to see if the man has any other assets I should be concerned about.”
There was silence as Hendrix flipped through the guy’s desk. But the piece of furniture was only for show. The man didn’t even have a computer. What did he do all day long? Other than print out pictures of Emily.
At that thought, he paused. Print outs. If the creep was taking pictures of Em on his phone, how did he print them out?
Turning around, he walked back into the creepy room. Feeling his way along the wall, he pressed and prodded. Sure enough, a secret panel opened and Hendrix pulled back the door to find…!
“I’m going to kill the bastard!” he snarled, pressing the door to the secret room closed. He did a quick sweep of the room, ensuring that everything was still in place, then he walked out.
Thirty minutes later, he was back at the club, downloading the pictures.
“What did you find?” Emily asked, slipping into the security room. As soon as she looked up at the monitors, she gasped, a hand coming up to cover her chest in an unconscious move to protect herself from the creepy images she was seeing. “What the hell?”
“This is what I found at his place,” Hendrix explained, flipping through the images with a press of a button on the keyboard. “He’s beyond a stalker, Em. This man is most likely suffering from what’s called ‘obsessive love disorder’.”
She pointed towards the screen with her other hand. “That’s…that’s not love!” she hissed.
Hendrix turned to look at the screen as well and sighed. “No, this man has serious issues. Nothing I could easily diagnose.”
Emily leaned forward, her mouth falling open. “Go back!” she gasped. When Hendrix brought the previous image back onto the main screen, she stepped closer. In fact, everyone in the room seemed to tilt their head to the left as they tried to figure out what was on the bed.
“Yep, that’s a blow up doll dressed to look like you, Em,” Hendrix explained.
There was a communal gasp of horror at that explanation and Emily turned away. Bracing her hands on the top of the center table, she looked at Hendrix. “What needs to be done? Other than barring him from the club, that is.”
Hendrix rubbed a hand over his jaw, absently noting that he needed to shave. Then he looked down at the letters still spread out over the table. “I think that I should visit his mother and see if she is aware of her son’s…uh…,” he glanced up at the screen again, relieved to see that Tony had blanked the screen. “Hobbies,” he finished lamely.
There were a few weak chuckles at that description. Hendrix knew that sometimes, one needed to laugh in order to ease the tension. This was one of those times.
Levi straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. “I should speak with her,” he announced.
“Why you?” Hendrix demanded, willing to listen, but he felt it should be him. After all, this was about his woman. He wanted to protect Emily.
“Because Agnes Albright is the ultimate snob. If you were to visit her, she wouldn’t even let you sit on her settee. She’d usher you into the servants quarters, tell her butler to offer you a cup of coffee, then send you on your way.”
Matteo came into the room at that point. “Agnes is a righteous bitch,” he warned, mimicking Levi’s stance. “I should go.” He glanced over at Levi. “No offense, my friend, but I’m at least a blood relation to an aristocrat. I should visit her and tell her that she needs to do something about her son.”
Hendrix sighed. “If you two are in here trying to take over my job, then who is out in the gaming room taking all of that idiot’s money?”
Simultaneously, all of them turned towards the security monitors just in time to catch Sean sitting at the table with Gerald Albright. In that same moment, Sean glanced up at the cameras with a look that threatened death at his abandonment.
The team burst out laughing as they turned back to the table. “Okay, so our Irish bastard is occupying the unhinged weirdo,” Levi said with another chuckle. “What’s the plan?”
Emily watched and listened to Levi, Hendrix, and Matteo come up with all sorts of ideas. But none of them would accomplish what needed to happen. Plus, many of them were illegal. Her heart warmed at the thought that these men were willing to go to jail to protect her. But she wasn’t going to let them do that. Not while she had a better idea.
“Gentlemen!” she called out, interrupting some hairbrained idea that included a lawn mower. Since Emily hadn’t been paying attention, she wasn’t exactly sure what Hendrix would do with the lawn mower. Nor did she particularly want to know.
Now that she had their attention, she smiled politely, looking each of them in the eye before offering a mischievous smile. “One thing I’ve learned over the years working here is that the best way to fight these wealthy, entitled bastards is to beat them at their own game.” She looked at Hendrix. “We need to know how the Albrights made their money. What stocks they hold. Who owns the building in which they live.” She turned to Matteo. “I need to know who Agnes Albright invited to her dinner parties over the last several months.” She looked at Levi. “And I need to know what debts she and her son have.” She scanned their eyes. “Can you do that for me?”
Slowly, Levi, Hendrix, and Matteo smiled, nodding their heads. “Absolutely,” Levi replied, answering for everyone.
“In the meantime, it would be best if we didn’t cancel Gerald’s membership just yet. We need him to keep coming to the club. But,” she turned towards Tony and Dan, “can you two organize teams to follow Gerald? I need to know where he is at all times.” She looked at Hendrix. “We need cameras in those rooms. We need to know what he’s doing and where he is.”
Tony and Dan stood up immediately. “We can do that right now,” Tony announced. He looked at Hendrix while Dan disappeared into a supply room. “Can you keep him here for another ninety minutes?”
“No problem,” Hendrix said. “Don’t get caught.”
Dan came out of the closet, loaded up with electronic supplies. The two men grinned. “Not a problem. We’ll be in and out in less than twenty minutes.” Then they disappeared.
Levi cringed. “They both know that what they’re doing is illegal, right?”
Hendrix didn’t answer. He merely lifted an eyebrow.
Emily chuckled. “Those guys are excellent at their jobs. They won’t get caught. And I want to know where that man is at all times.”
“Me too,” Matteo replied with a sharp nod. “So, we know the plan.” He turned to Levi. “Since Maggie and Ann abandoned us, I think we should take their places as the table spies, don’t you agree?”
Levi’s grin was almost evil. “After you, my bastard buddy!”
Matteo threw back his head, laughing as he turned to leave the security room.