Teddy checked with Paco Alvarez, the super at his apartment. Mark Weldon’s bed and computer had been delivered, and his Internet service had been installed. His furniture hadn’t all arrived, but that was enough. There was no reason not to move in.
Teddy loaded everything he had into the car. It wasn’t much. His collection of guns and disguises from the safe made up the bulk of it.
The pilot arrived at the hangar while he was finishing up. “You moving out?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I’ll be sorry to see you go.”
“This was only temporary, while I got back on my feet.”
“Is your new house ready?”
“No, but I’m on vacation. I only stuck around to deal with the fire damage. My house will be ready by the time I get back.”
“So you won’t be using the apartment?”
“Only in emergencies. I hope we don’t have any. I’ll be around to fly.”
“Are you getting a new plane to go with your new house?”
Teddy’s turboprop was fine for short flights but wouldn’t do for a cross-country trip. He borrowed Peter’s jet on those occasions.
“I hadn’t thought of it,” Teddy said, “but that’s an interesting idea.”
Teddy hopped in the car and took off for his new apartment. He stopped off at Stone Barrington’s house on the way. He didn’t bother getting the key from the front desk at the Arrington Hotel, he just picked the lock. He went in, grabbed his makeup kit, and changed from Billy Barnett into Mark Weldon in case he encountered the super on his way into the apartment. The odds of that happening were good. Paco didn’t stay in his apartment much, and could often be found hanging out on the stoop.
He was out there when Teddy pulled up.
Paco was trying to beat the heat by wearing a sleeveless undershirt, and sipping something cold from a paper bag in his lap.
“Hi, Paco.”
“Hey, Mr. Weldon.”
“Mark.”
“You moving in?”
“If you could call it that. I haven’t got much stuff.”
“Well, you can’t park here. But leave the keys with me while you unload. You won’t get a ticket.”
Teddy left his car with the super and lugged his bags up to his new apartment. Luckily in this town a guy moving into a cheap apartment with few belongings and no furniture wasn’t conspicuous. Paco had clearly seen enough starving-artist types not to blink an eye.
When he came back downstairs to get his keys from the super, he said, “Listen, there’s no lock on the hall closet. Any problem if I put a simple hasp and padlock on the door? I’ll take it off when I move out.”
“You can if you want to. We’ve never had a break-in, though. Someone stole a bicycle off the front porch once, but it shouldn’t have been left there.”
“Thanks.”
Teddy drove around to a hardware store and bought the best hasp and padlock they had. He also bought a screwdriver and a small electric drill set.
He passed a supermarket on his way home, but he could shop for food later. Right now he wanted to get back.
He parked around the corner where Paco had told him, and took the hardware back to his new apartment. He was relieved to find his bags undisturbed underneath the bed where he’d hidden them.
Teddy took out the hasp and lined it up against the closet door. He plugged in the drill and drilled starter holes for the screws. He didn’t need the screwdriver he bought. The drill had a screwdriver bit, so he was finished in no time.
Teddy lugged the bags with guns and disguises and money and IDs and tools and locked them up in the closet. It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do until his new house was finished and he could put them in the safe. Luckily, nobody would be looking for Mark Weldon.
He just prayed no one knew Mark Weldon was actually Billy Barnett.