CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

 

 

THE FALL DAY was perfect in the city, with temperatures just over sixty and a slight breeze. The trees in the city hadn’t started losing their leaves yet, but Jean had no doubt it wouldn’t be long now.

Today, she was in disguise. She had on a red-haired wig and wore older jeans and a T-shirt with a denim jacket. She would never go out like this normally, but today she and Mary Jo had what they called “Invite Day.” Their stalker was going to join them even if she didn’t want to.

After that morning, they had double-checked their condo’s security for any unwanted bugs and also checked other apartments for line-of-sight watching, just as Mary Jo had done when good old Stanton had used this condo to meet his mistress.

They found nothing, so their stalker was depending on following them in routines.

This morning Jean had gone out the back in the dark and circled around to where they had a Jeep SUV parked two blocks from their condo. Jean moved the SUV into position and then left it.

Mary Jo’s morning routine three days a week was to walk along this street to the market, do some shopping and then carry the groceries back. She liked getting out and meeting people, while Jean had her groceries delivered for the meals she cooked.

Jean sat on the ground in a recessed doorway, hidden, as Mary Jo walked by right on time.

As she did, Mary Jo touched her hair on the right side, indicating the stalker was behind her. The plan was for Mary Jo to go another half block, let the stalker get past Jean, then turn suddenly and start back, as if forgetting something.

Jean was going to be interested in seeing how the stalker woman reacted when that happened.

Jean kept her head down enough for the hair to cover most of her face and make it look as if she was a junkie sleeping. But with one eye she could see the street and those passing by.

Following Mary Jo at about one block distance, the stalker passed.

Jean had out her small pistol that contained a dart with enough drug to stop a horse in its tracks.

She stood and stepped into the street just behind the stalker, keeping the pistol hidden.

The woman was dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, and a very fashionable blouse that Jean could see the sports bra under. Her pitch-black hair almost shone in the morning sun and her face looked freshly scrubbed and radiant.

The woman was a stunner, of that there was no doubt. Jean hoped they didn’t have to kill her. It would be such a waste of beauty.

The stalker also had the walk of a member of the order. Even though she was just strolling down the sidewalk, Jean could tell she made not one sound.

Suddenly one block ahead, Mary Jo turned and started back, as if she had forgotten something.

The stalker did exactly as Jean would have done. She just kept walking at Mary Jo. The stalker was going to be looking at something else purposely when she passed Mary Jo.

There was no sign of the stalker carrying a weapon, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have one.

As Mary Jo got ten paces away, Jean put the dart into the beautiful skin of the stalker’s neck, right above her blouse collar.

The stalker spun instantly, seeing Jean, but at that point the stalker was already heading for the ground.

Mary Jo caught her and lowered her down on the edge of the sidewalk, out of the path of others.

Jean joined her.

“Looks like she fainted,” Mary Jo said, pretending to check the woman’s pulse and breathing while making sure the dart in the woman’s neck vanished from sight.

“What do we do?” Jean asked, playing her part in the little drama play.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Mary Jo said. “Her heart is beating irregularly.”

Around them a group of five or six had gathered. Jean was paying close attention to all of them in case the woman had a partner. The lookers all seemed to be just lookers.

“I’ve got a car right here,” Jean said, playing the script they had planned for the broad daylight takedown. “I’ll drive you. We can have here there in minutes.”

Mary Jo nodded, being very serious. “Thank you.”

Mary Jo picked up the woman and Jean ran ahead and got the back door to the SUV open.

No one on the sidewalk objected, but instead just nodded at how two good Samaritans were taking care of the poor woman who had passed out on the sidewalk.

Mary Jo got into the back seat with the woman while Jean ran around and got behind the wheel.

Four minutes later they had circled around and were down into the underground parking under their condo building.

And ten minutes later they had the woman on their spare bed in their penthouse condo.

Jean was amazed at how she and Mary Jo worked together so easily to make something very difficult seem almost simple. She liked being Mary Jo’s partner.

And she liked having her as a friend and a lover even more.