21
San Francisco, California
Patti’s taxi turned off Fillmore onto a side street, leaving behind the bustle of business for the more tranquil residential area of Pacific Heights.
It was one of the trendier areas of San Francisco, the cab driver told her.
The streets were lined with chic boutiques, elegant cafes, and high-priced condos.
Patti ran fingers through her new haircut, then stopped. She wasn’t Patti, the school guidance counselor, any longer. She was Jamie, always confident, always charming, and always the center of attention. If she was to be successful with this deception, she must think like Jamie—not Patti. And she had no choice but to succeed.
Her first act of deception would be to get a key to Jamie’s apartment. She hoped she could pull off the charade that long.
Carter would go ballistic if he knew what she was up to. He’d pretended to be someone she could count on, but when she’d needed him most...Patti shook her head as if that would erase Carter from her thoughts.
She had only one job to do—find Jamie.
Swallowing back her tears, she paid the cab driver. She stepped out of the taxi and sauntered towards the door in true Jamie fashion. It opened as if by magic.
A short bald man with a big smile stepped out of the building. Although he wore a cream-colored linen suit instead of a traditional uniform, Patti assumed by his demeanor he was the doorman. He looked to be in his early forties but it was hard to be sure. His bald head glistened in the last fading sunlight of the day.
“Ms. Jakowski, you’re back. I was beginning to believe you were never coming home.” His smile seemed genuine to Patti. He must like Jamie.
“It was a long trip this time.” Patti smiled back at the man. So far, so good.
“That’s for sure.”
Jamie would have used his name, but since she couldn’t she gave him her best Jamie smile. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to be back. How are things?”
The man’s smile disappeared and he leaned in close. His voice was a whisper. “Two FBI agents were here looking for you. Is everything Ok? They had a warrant and made me take them up to your apartment. I tried to stay and see what happened, but they sent me on my merry way.”
Her heart pounded.
The FBI.
Of course, Marcus would have searched Jamie’s apartment.
Stay calm.
Patti desperately tried to think of an answer to satisfy the waiting man. “Did they tell you anything?”
“No.” The man shook his head. “Just asked about you and went to your apartment, but they didn’t mess anything up. I checked afterwards to make sure everything was OK. Tomas was very agitated by the whole matter.”
Who was Tomas? This was getting more complicated by the moment. She would never be able to pull to this charade off. She flashed a Jamie smile at the man. “Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to do. Everything is just fine.” Patti stepped in and spoke in a hushed confidential tone. “The FBI was looking for missing files from my company. They checked every one of the employees. It wasn’t personal.” Patti hoped her answer made sense.
His bald head was nodding up and down.
So far, so good.
“Of course, of course. I knew it was something like that. I knew you’d never do anything illegal.”
Inwardly, she breathed a small sigh of relief. One bullet down. Patti wondered how many more bullets were heading in her direction. She gave him a meaningful look. “Everything’s marvelous. No need to worry. They didn’t ask you to call them when I came home, did they?”
He looked aghast at the suggestion that he might call the FBI on her. “They did, but I always respect tenant privacy, you know that. Where’s your luggage?”
Anna had told her Jamie never took luggage with her. Time to improvise. She sighed with exaggeration.
Jamie had been known as The Drama Queen in high school.
“You know the airlines. Which brings me to another problem. I can’t get in the apartment. My keys were in my luggage.”
“We haven’t used keys in years, but I know what you mean. Don’t worry about it. It will only take a minute to get you another card. I’ll be right back.”
As the man left, Patti rubbed her temples. Her nerves were as taut as if she were living the nightmare of showing up at school for her job, but hadn’t done that year’s scheduling. Terrifying.
The lobby had two elegant Victorian chairs. A dark, shiny mahogany end table between the chairs sat on a small Persian rug. Off to the side was a reception counter and a door.
Looking around, she found three elevators. She knew some elevators were programmed to only go to certain floors. Hopefully, she would pick the right one.
The doorman rushed towards her with his hands full of mail. As he handed her the mail and the key card, panic set in.
She didn’t know Jamie’s apartment number. She looked down at the mail, but the address didn’t show a number. Obviously, residents shared a main street address and picked up their mail at the front desk.
With a flash of brilliance, Patti let the card slip from her grip. With another exaggerated sigh, she smiled at the doorman.
He bent to pick up the key card.
“Be a dear and ride up with me. My hands are full.”
“Certainly, Ms. Jakowski.”
The doorman walked to the elevator on the far right side. He put the keycard into a slot.
The elevator door slid open.
They stepped inside.
He looked at her and she smiled back though her heart was racing.
How was she going to know which button to hit? Her pulse quickened. She waited to see what floor he would choose, but was surprised to see no numbers announcing the floors.
He slipped the key card into another slot Patti hadn’t noticed. The elevator quietly started its upward climb.
Of course, everything Jamie did was first class. The penthouse apparently had its own private elevator.
“Did anyone else come looking for me besides the FBI?” Patti asked, with what she hoped was nonchalance.
“Just Mr. Hamed. I told him you weren’t here, but he does have his own key card so...” The man held up his hands in mock surrender. “He went into your apartment but didn’t stay long.” The look on his face told her he didn’t exactly approve of Mr. Hamed.
“Did Mr. Hamed come before, or after the FBI?”
“Mmmm.” The man tapped his head as if to jog the memory loose. “It seems to me he came after the FBI, but I’m not sure.”
“Did you tell him the FBI had been here?”
“Certainly not. It wasn’t my place.”
The elevator stopped.
He slid the key card in yet another slot.
The elevator doors slid open revealing a spacious apartment, not a hallway.
Patti managed to hide her surprise.
She smiled at the doorman. “It sure is nice to be back home.”
“Traveling is OK, but the best part is always coming home, don’t you think?” He chuckled.
“Isn’t that the truth?”She thanked the doorman as he handed her the key card.
“I’ll let Tomas know you’re back.”
“Hold on a minute.” She reached for her purse.
A look of surprise crossed his face and he waved her away. “That’s OK, Ms. Jakowski. You take good care of me. I don’t need anything extra.”
Another faux pas.
The doorman walked to the elevator, but then stopped and turned back to Patti. “Are you sure everything’s OK? You seem different.”
“I’m just exhausted.” No lies or deception there. It was the truth. She felt as if she might collapse at any moment.
He nodded with understanding. “Well, don’t worry about a thing. Perhaps, you want me to wait until the morning to place those calls.”
“No, no, go ahead.” She had no idea what he meant, but acted as if she did. “That would be fantastic.”
He stepped on the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed, she crumpled to the floor.