Thirteen
theo
“Ineed backup and bait.” I leaned my forearm against the doorjamb of Tim and Varesh’s apartment, speaking through my mask.
Bollywood-style music drifted from the doorway, along with clattering sounds as Varesh cleaned up in the kitchen.
Tim took a bite of his sandwich. “Am I the backup or the bait?” he asked around the mouthful.
“You’re the muscle.”
His brows lifted. “This is a big moment for me. How’s my girl?” he asked, swallowing.
I’d left Sadie sprawled on the couch with her phone and a blanket pulled up to her chin. She’d looked so at home there, I'd hovered in the doorway for a minute, torn between staying and leaving. “Stubborn enough to live.”
“Sounds about right.” He bit into his sandwich again as Varesh dropped something in the kitchen and swore. Tim glanced over his shoulder briefly, then regarded me. “What do you need backup for?” he asked. “And why are you carrying that thing?”
I lifted the mini-maul dangling from my hand. “I’m about to pay Kerger a visit.”
“Oh, we’re really doing this. Who’s the bait?”
I tilted my head to the left, indicating Laura and Owen’s apartment. “He won’t open the door for a man. We need a woman standing there when he checks through the peephole.”
“Have you talked to her yet?”
“We’ve been texting back and forth. She’s on board. Sounded excited about it, too.”
“No doubt.” He smiled and finished the last bite, brushing the crumbs from his hands. “Have you met her sister, Ro?”
I shook my head. Before the pandemic, I’d only ever passed through this level, and I hadn’t connected with the residents, let alone visitors.
“She stayed over for a weekend a few years ago,” Tim said. “Two peas in a pod. Both loose cannons. It took me two seconds to work out they were related.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you want to come in for a bit, or are we doing this now?”
“Now, so we can rest easy tonight.”
Tim shuddered. “Thanks for the creepy visual. Give me two minutes to talk to the mister and grab my mask. I’ll be back.”
“See you in a few.” As I wandered down to the Parker apartment, the lights along both sides of the corridor flickered several times in quick succession, steadying just as I lifted my hand to knock.
Owen swung the door open before my knuckles could connect. “Beat you to it,” he said. “Laura told me we’re getting ready to rumble.”
Despite the serious nature of what we were about to do, the image of our garden tool wielding gang turning vigilante had my mouth quirking. I'd only wanted to remove the keys from Kerger’s possession, but knowing they’d rally behind me if we needed to take it a step further put steel into my spine.
“Something like that,” I said. “Is she ready?”
Owen exhaled with a laugh. “What do you think? She’s been waiting months for the green light.”
Laura must have known we were talking about her. She popped up behind Owen and pinched his ass, sidling into the corridor as he yelped and lurched forward.
“Hi,” she said with a too-innocent expression.
“Hi.” I shook my head in amusement. “Ready to bust some kneecaps?”
Owen pointed at me. “Don’t give her any ideas.”
Neither of them had ventured out in public today, so they weren’t wearing masks. Jeans and boots had replaced Laura’s Crocs and leisurewear, and she’d pulled her dark blonde hair into a ponytail at the nape.
As Owen locked up to keep the girls safe, she bounced on the balls of her feet like a prizefighter waiting for the bell. “I told Ellie and Wills we won’t be long, but I’m hoping Dustin gives us a reason to hang around.”
“You’re a menace,” I said as the three of us backtracked down the hall.
“In my defence, I’ve never claimed otherwise.”
“How’s Sadie doing?” Owen asked. “Do you think she’s concussed?”
“Probably.” In every quiet moment, my mind slipped back to her and my concern grew. When I pieced together the clues—flushed cheeks, coughing, and wincing when she swallowed—the signs weren’t good. “I wish she could see a doctor just to make sure everything’s okay.”
As Tim stepped out in his mask, the hallway lights flickered again, then went off completely this time, plunging the hallway into murkiness.
“This is new,” Owen said.
The hairs on my arms lifted, and Laura swore.
With only one window at either end of the hall and an overcast sky outside, it left us with so little light, I couldn’t make out anyone’s features.
I reminded myself to check the batteries in my torches when I got home.
A beat later, the sconces lit up again, and Owen frowned, tapping one of them as if it might hold all the answers.
“Better get moving in case the power goes off for good,” Tim said.
We kept the noise to a minimum and jogged down the remaining two flights, stopping on the ground floor to regroup.
Dustin’s apartment sat on the opposite side of the foyer, with a set of burgundy armchairs and a coffee table in the space in between. Rain slid down the double glass doors at the building’s front and rear entries, and a rumble of thunder stirred overhead.
“Don’t make a sound,” Owen murmured. “If he figures out what’s going on, we’ll have to kick his door down.”
“That might be fun, too,” Laura whispered back.
It took us a matter of seconds to get into position, Tim and Owen with their backs against the wall on the right side of the door, and me on the left. My heart pumped harder, and I strained my ears for sounds coming from inside.
Laura stood in front of the peephole and knocked.
My shoulders tensed as footsteps came closer, the rhythmic click-clack telling me Dustin wore formal shoes even at home.
Tension hung in the air. Dead silence surrounded us. So many people had walked through the foyer and halls over the years. Now we were down to bare bones, with a collection of memories and a common enemy between us.
A soft thud came from inside. Kerger must have been leaning in to check the peephole. Fucker had no idea he was about to lose the last of his power.
A beat later, the door opened, and before he could say a word, Owen rushed him and pushed him straight back inside.
“What are you doing?” Dustin’s arms flailed as he tried to regain his balance, but Owen grabbed his shirtfront and took control. “You can’t just force your way in here like this!” he shouted. “Who do you think you are?”
The rest of us filed in behind him and gathered in the living room, too many people crammed into a small space.
“Shut up,” Tim said as he kicked the door shut.
Owen dragged Kerger over to a black leather armchair and forced him to sit. “Stay calm,” he said, “and we’ll be gone from here in no time.”
Confident he had him under control, I stood with Laura and took in Dustin’s apartment.
The lamp on the side table eased the darkness of the morning, the light in the adjoining kitchen showcasing a clinical space so clean and white, it could have doubled as an operating theatre.
The place was completely void of personality, with every surface pristine and polished, every object intentionally placed.
A neat stack of books on the coffee table, a protective covering on the headrest of the armchair.
If I moved something even a centimetre from its original position, he’d know.
Adrenaline pumped through me as my gaze moved to the far wall.
Instead of an entertainment unit and a TV like the rest of us, Dustin had an elaborate tech set-up. A high-backed office chair sat in front of a desk hosting a collection of monitors, where black and white images moved on the screens.
I paid closer attention, my grip tightening on the maul handle.
It took me a few seconds to register what I was seeing, and when it hit home, I froze.
Every area of the building was being monitored. The halls. The foyer. Our lounge rooms.
Even a freaky little shit like Kerger had some boundaries. As far as I could tell, there were no bedrooms or bathrooms.
My pulse sped as I followed the images, and the urge came over me to fling the maul straight at his head.
“Is that... is that our lounge room?” The disbelief in Laura’s voice mirrored my own thoughts. She crept over as if afraid of discovering the truth, then bent at the waist and checked the screen.
I stared at the empty rooftop on one monitor, then at my couch, where Sadie was doubled over, coughing.
“Motherfucker,” I said, my voice a whisper.
How long had he been watching us?
And what had he seen?
On one monitor, Varesh was using the kitchen bench as a folding station and sorting through a basket of washing. On another Ellie smacked Willow in the face with a cushion and ran behind the couch, laughing as her sister chased her.
All perfectly normal scenes to witness—if you lived there.
“It’s a security measure,” Dustin said, his voice an irritating whine. “One-hundred percent legal, I’ll have you know.”
“Is it, though?” Laura asked, her expression murderous. “Because watching little girls is—”
“Fucking perverted.” Tim strode over to the desk and yanked one cord out at a time, disconnecting the live streams in an instant.
As each image disappeared, the knots in my stomach loosened.
Dustin screeched and tried scrambling out from under Owen’s control, but Owen reacted fast and pushed down harder.
“Move again,” he said. “Try me. It’s taking everything in me not to beat the shit out of you.”
“I’ll sue,” Kerger yelled, continuing to struggle. “This is abhorrent behaviour!”
“You’re watching my girls while they’re behind closed doors.” Owen dug his thumbs into the top of Dustin’s shoulders hard enough to make him squeal. “If you think that’s acceptable, it makes me wonder what else you’re hiding.”
“Nothing,” he said too fast.
“This creep’s never watching us again.” Laura dragged every monitor to the floor and put her boots to good use, stomping the screens into oblivion.
No one could stop her. No one could punish her.
Dustin switched to begging, arms extended, eyes wide. “Please stop. Please. That’s expensive equipment. I’ve done nothing wrong.”