Chapter 7
It was dark and quiet up here. The only occupants were the two bodyguards at the end of the hall, standing in front of the window watching him.
Barry calmly walked down the hallway toward them. As soon as he reached Miles’s office, one of the guards stepped forward.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m painting Mr. Banks’ office.” He held up the spray gun as evidence.
The guard looked down at it then back into his eyes. “You’re supposed to be on the fourth floor.”
Damn, this guy was smarter than Barry had given him credit for. “I am, but we’re behind, so I volunteered to get a jump start on the other floors. I figured I’d get Mr. Banks’ office done first.”
Barry started to step forward, but the guard blocked him, placing a hand on his chest. “No one goes into Mr. Banks’ office without clearance from him.”
“Then ask him if I can start so I can do my job.” Barry sighed, trying to look exasperated. He figured no one would actually bother the boss, and as the boss, he’d want his office painted before anywhere else.
“He’s not to be disturbed.” The guard made himself a road block before Barry.
Barry wasn’t going to get into the office without brute force. Something he hoped to avoid because there were too many witnesses who had seen his face.
“Fine, can I do the other rooms?”
“Go ahead, but keep it down.”
“Sure thing.” Barry mock saluted him and entered the room next to Miles’s office.
The door automatically shut behind him, leaving him alone in the vacant room.
Light fixtures were missing in here too.
The only light source was the large window overlooking the sea.
Apparently, Miles didn’t want someone having a balcony next to him.
Barry looked around as he sprayed the walls so the guards didn’t become suspicious, until he found an air duct the size of a shoebox to the right of the window near the ceiling.
It was taller than his head, but he could still reach the screws that held it in the wall. He set the spray equipment down before tossing off his goggles and opened the suit to pull out his phone from his pocket.
He opened his photos and found the one for the fourth floor. He spread his finger and thumb across the screen to make it larger. He blinked, thinking he was seeing things, but the blueprint didn’t show the large space next to him, only two rooms as if they were no different than hotel rooms.
Barry wasn’t sure what that meant. He had seen the large blank wall between the last door and this room. There were two rooms between them but only one door. The prints showed otherwise.
Barry debated what to do. He needed to get a plant close to Miles, but if there was another room between them, it wouldn’t pick up a strong signal. He had come too far to leave now.
He stuffed his phone back into his pocket, grabbed his knife, and flipped one of the corners open to utilize the flathead screwdriver. He opened the door cover and set it down on the floor.
Next, Barry removed one of the listening devices from his pocket and put it in as far as he could reach into the duct. This one was bigger than the other one. It had a broader range to cast and pick up conversations.
Maybe he would get lucky and there was a bedroom or office space on the other side and he could pick up any conversations.
Barry wished he had the rest of his equipment to check the placement and see if it needed adjusting, but it would have to do; it would have been too risky to bring it all.
Between this plant and the one on the secretary Annabelle, he should be covered until he could get close to Banks himself and put a bug in his phone.
He could try and bug the hotel phone lines, but most likely, Banks wouldn’t use them for illegal business, only his personal phone. With all the power outages, it probably wouldn’t do him any good anyway.
Barry looked around the room, hopeful there was a stick or something he could use to push the device further into the duct, but there was nothing.
He put the cover back over the air duct and sealed it up. He sprayed around the room some more before leaving. “Spray can jammed up. I’ll be back later to finish,” Barry explained to the guards and headed down the hall toward the exit.
It was time to leave. Barry headed down to the vacant fourth floor and returned his equipment for the electrician outfit and then headed back to the main floor.
“I thought you were going to fix the electricity,” the guard accused as he started past him.
“The fuse burnt out, and I don’t have the right size. I have to head into town and get one, then I’ll be back.”
“Hurry, man, it’s hot as hell in here.” The guy pulled on the collar of his uniform. There was already a thick band of sweat around it.
“Will do.” Barry stepped outside, setting the toolbox back down, and removed the hat before crossing the lot and disappearing into the brush with no one stopping him.
Barry returned to his car and opened his laptop to check on the bugs he’d planted. They were showing active and transmitting. Barry pulled out his wireless ear bud and listened in on Annabelle.
She was talking to someone, but he couldn’t hear the other person speaking, so he couldn’t tell whom she was talking to.
He switched over to the one in the air duct, crossing his fingers that the bug was deep enough in the duct. He could hear a voice, but it was faint. As he’d suspected, there was probably another room between where Banks was and the bug that was interfering with him hearing.
He hadn’t accounted on the guards preventing him from getting into the room. He should have.
Barry needed another tactic to get into that room and place a closer bug. Nothing to be done about it now. Barry put the car in gear and headed back into town. He parked at his hotel, which was a far cry from the luxury of Banks’ building, but it suited his needs.
A bed and a hot shower. He didn’t really need much else.
He had lived in tents, holes, and other shelters that would make most people cringe.
He didn’t care. It was more than some people had, and he was always grateful to have something over his head to protect him from the elements and equipment to keep him warm.
Barry dropped off his gear and walked down the street. The locals might know something about Banks that could help him. Barry scanned until he found a small hut selling food.
Calling it a hut was generous. It had a back wall and a metal roof. The sides were open, and it had a counter with four bar stools in front of it.
There was a small cooler behind the counter with sodas and water. He was definitely parched after his adventure today.
“Hello, welcome,” the woman behind the counter greeted him. There was a younger man next to her that only glanced up at his approach but didn’t say anything.
“Hello,” Barry replied and took a seat on the rickety stool across from her. There was a small board on the back wall behind her with a handwritten chalk list of the menu items.
“What can I get you?”
“I’ll have the conch salad and a water please, ma’am.” He had never tried conch before, but he was curious about it, and he had a philosophy of trying everything once. He knew what it was, of course. But his travels had never brought him down to the Caribbean, so why not try it while he was here.
“Ma’am?” She teetered as if he had said something funny. The young man rolled his eyes. Barry didn’t know if it was at him or the woman. “Call me Elsie, this is my grandson Jalen,” she introduced. “And you’re in for a treat. I make the best conch on the island.”
“I can’t wait to try it now.”
“Where are you visiting from?” she asked as the man served up a bowl of the premade salad for him, then handed him the bottled water unopened.
“Thank you. Nevada.” Barry opened the water first and downed half of it in one swallow. He was thirstier than he’d thought.
“Oh,” she said, looking excited. “I’ve never met a traveler from there before. I’ve met people from California, Colorado, and all along the east coast. We’ve had plenty of Canadians and even Europeans. Right, Jalen?”
“Right,” Jalen responded in a monotone voice. The kid looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.
“Are you here with a lady?” Elsie asked coyly.
“No, I came by myself.”
“By yourself?” she asked, shocked.
Barry just shrugged and took a large bite of his salad, groaning as the flavors melded onto his tongue. It was bright and citrusy. There was sweet from the meat and heat from the peppers. He had never tasted anything like it before.
“I told you.” Elsie grinned, nodding her head up and down.
“It must be nice meeting so many new people. Introducing them to your food.” If he ate like this all the time, he would have to double up his workouts to keep in shape.
“It is, though I have yet to meet someone who has come alone. Did your lady break up with you before the trip and you still came?”
“Grandma, leave the man alone and let him eat in peace,” Jalen scolded her.
“She’s fine,” Barry assured Jalen. Elsie was harmless with her questions.
Probing, but harmless. “There was no lady before I came here. Work keeps me pretty busy; I just wanted a break from everything.” He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had taken a vacation.
When he wasn’t on a mission, he sat around at home.
He still had some family around, but he didn’t make it out as often as he should.
Most of them treated him differently after his accident.
They all tried to act normal, but he saw the glances at his arm and the sympathy in their eyes.
He didn’t want their pity, so he didn’t visit very often.
If he had to pick somewhere to go on vacation though, this would be the place. The weather was perfect; he loved being near the sea and hearing the calming sounds of the ocean waves breaking at the shore. This was the place to hang one’s hat. The food was pretty good too.
“This is a beautiful place to recharge.” She beamed before her face turned sour. “But then, some like it here so much they stay.” She sneered as if she’d tasted something nasty in her mouth.
“I take it that’s a bad thing?” he inquired, wondering if she meant anyone specifically or if she was just saying in general.
“It is when they destroy the land my people helped cultivate for thousands of years.”
“Grandma,” Jalen warned, but Elsie waved him off.
“Are you referring to the hotel being built?” Barry asked, hopeful that was what she was suggesting. Her accusation seemed very specific for it to be just anyone. Miles seemed to be the only outsider that was destroying the landscape around them.
Elsie reared back and looked at him as if he were a bug she’d like to squish under her heel. “Do you work for him?”
“No, I’ve never met him before. I’d never even heard of him until I came here.”
“Then why bring him up?” Jalen asked, coming up to the counter and looking skeptical.
These people were either paranoid by nature or Banks had instilled this on the island.
“Mac Grant mentioned him last night. She was very evident in her hatred of the man. I was only curious if it was the same person.” Hopefully using Mac’s name would soothe some ruffled feathers.
She had said to use her name for the boatman, maybe it would work on these people too.
“You know Mac?” Elsie’s face morphed into pure joy, and a broad smile crossed her face. Just as he’d hoped, the suspicion was gone. He’d have to remember that little nugget in the future.
Jalen snorted in disbelief. “You don’t know her.”
“Mac, light brown hair, brown eyes, shark biologist.” He could use a few more adjectives, but that was best kept from young years.
“See, he knows her.” Elsie lightly punched Jalen in the arm.
“Know is a relative term.” He knew her in an intimate sense but not on a personal level. “I met her last night when she was glaring daggers at the man. I used that as my opening to talk to her.”
Elsie nodded in understanding. “She’s never made a secret she doesn’t like that man.”
“And you?”
“I spit on that man. Some of the younger girls like him, but I think he is a snake.”
“But wouldn’t his hotel bring in more revenue for restaurants like yours?” He would think some of the locals would like the chance to make more money.
“More? Bah.” She waved him off. “We don’t much like him.”
“Grandma,” Jalen snapped at his grandmother. “Why don’t you take a rest? I’ll cover the counter for a while.”
“Okay, my feet are hurting anyway. It was nice to meet you…” She looked at Barry expectantly.
“Barry Campbell.” He had already told Mac his real name. He couldn’t change his story now. Especially if these people knew her.
“Nice to meet you, Barry. Maybe we’ll see you around.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely be back for more conch salad. You can be sure of that.” Barry smiled broadly, holding up his empty bowl. Elsie teetered again before leaving.
“You know, you keep asking questions about Miles Banks and you’re going to stir up a hornet’s nest,” Jalen commented once Elsie was out of earshot.
“Are you threatening me?”
Jalen snatched the empty bowl from him and started cleaning it. “Warning is more like.”
“And if I don’t listen?”
Jalen shrugged, not looking up from his task. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Do you share your opinion with your grandmother?” Barry was curious what the people on the island thought of Miles. There seemed to be a lot of mixed opinions. Even his own staff wasn’t happy with him.
Jalen froze in his motions and glanced up at him before looking back down. “You should leave, Barry Campbell.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“My family doesn’t need any more trouble. You’d be best to forget about our food stand and go somewhere else.”
“Tell me what you know of Miles Banks and you’ll never see me again.” Even at the risk of never eating Elsie’s conch salad. That had been damn good, but if he got the info he needed, it would be worth it. Maybe he could convince Mac to get it for him.
Jalen seemed to hesitate. Barry thought he was finally getting through to the kid, then his features closed off. “Just go.”
“I need to pay for my meal first.”
“It’s on the house. Just go.” Jalen waved him off and gave him his back.
Barry knew he wasn’t going to get anything more from Jalen. Since they seemed to know Mac, maybe he could ask her some questions about them.
He grabbed one of the pens behind the counter and a napkin from the stand next to him and wrote down his number before standing up.
He pulled out his wallet and took out several bills, throwing them over the napkin.
“Call it a tip then,” Barry remarked before retrieving his water and heading back to his hotel.