Chapter Thirty-Three

Nina waited with Fergal at the front of the building. When the van arrived the doorman sent them around to the tradesmen’s entrance. Nina helped Fergal and the driver unload the glass and tools from the van. They came into the basement area and placed the equipment at the door of the escalator.

“You call me when you are ready to go up,” the doorman had said. “I’ll get you help and we’ll use the bypass key on the escalator. That way you won’t upset our residents carrying stuff in and out. We are very strict about this.”

“That’s it,” Fergal said. “Ready to call the doorman.”

“Well, do you agree?” Nina asked.

“Run it by me again,” Fergal asked.

“This is Puca my poodle.”

Puca yapped a hello.

“And my cat Venus.”

Venus barely acknowledged the introduction.

“That’s not it,” Fergal said. “The bit about your aunt.”

“The Lady in 6691, her name is Morag and she is my aunt.”

“By her half brother and his first marriage?”

Venus made a face. She hated complicated excuses.

“And I want to surprise her. She hasn’t seen me since I was ten years old. As you can see I have grown up a bit.”

Fergal grinned an acknowledgment of the obvious fact.

“You want me to let you carry up the window glass dressed in a pair of overalls and acting as my assistant.”

“And to see if she remembers me,” Nina said.

“I don’t think so,” Fergal said.

“You can watch while I get into the overalls,” Nina offered.

Fergal’s mouth dropped open.

“And afterwards?” Fergal asked.

“Afterwards?”

“Will I get to see you take them off afterwards?” Fergal asked.

Nina smiled, “Maybe,” she said.

“The van driver gave me a spare pair,” Fergal said and reached into one of his boxes.

They were on the large side. Nina made a face and got into her underwear. Fergal watched but when he met Nina’s eye he half turned almost looking away.

Nina smiled and he laughed. “Pretty girl,” he said.

“Thank you,” Nina said with a warm smile.

She was of the opinion that Fergal was dishy, as her mother would say. She knew by instinct that she could trust him and because of this it didn’t bother her to let him look.

They called the doorman and he sent a porter to guide them up.

On Morag’s floor they emptied the lift and left the glass and box of tools outside on the floor.

“Call the desk when you want to come down to the basement,” the porter said and left them to it.

Fergal knocked on Morag’s door.

“You’re back,” she said.

“Can I leave the door ajar while I bring in the stuff please,” Fergal asked.

“Don’t take too long,” Morag said and left him to it.

Nina made a point of carrying the windowpanes in. They were in their cardboard and brown paper covers and she held them between her and Morag. She had never seen Morag and Morag had never seen her, but she did not want to be too obvious.

Fergal waited to see if Morag would react to the sight of Nina. He shook his head with a grin when she registered nothing.

Nina put the glass down carefully near the window.

“Bring in the tools,” Fergal instructed, enjoying being the boss.

Nina exited to bring in the box of tools and window fittings.

“I see you have a female assistant,” Morag remarked with a smile.

“Women do all sorts these days,” Fergal replied.

While Morag was distracted Venus and Puca slipped in around the door and into the hallway of the apartment.

They knew their task. To try smell out Oengus.

Puca gave a small woof when he stumbled across the corpse of Leanan.

It was enough for Morag. She spun around and walked quickly and looked behind the couch. Puca looked up and saw Morag looking down at her.

He was quick but so was Morag and her immobilization spell hit him before he cleared the end of the couch.

Morag looked over. Fergal and his female assistant were busy lining up the glass to fix the window.

Morag felt a rush of anxiety. If the Puca was here what about the witches cat? The bedroom door was open. She moved quickly.

Venus was sitting at her dressing table observing the video feed from the panic rooms.

Venus knew what was coming. “We got the sword,” she said in her croaky voice just before Morag immobilized her to the spot. Venus fell off the dressing table with a thump and hit the carpet.

Morag winced, “bet that hurt,” she said.

Morag reviewed the video feeds. No change with the prisoners.

“The sword,” she said and returned to the living room.

The safe behind the picture was untouched as far as she could see, but she decided to check it out. She spun the dials and opened the safe door. The sword was safely in its place. She relaxed, the cat was bluffing and things were still going in the right direction, she thought.

She was beginning to puzzle out as to why the cat might say something like that and the fact that the cat had spoken when Nina hit her with one of the large spanners from Fergus’s toolbox. She went down with a grunt.

“Holy Moses!” Fergus exclaimed. “I thought you said she was your aunt.”

“Just fix the window,” Nina said and made her way to the bedroom. Fergal rushed to help Morag. It was against his company policy to strike clients with spanners. He knew it was a sackable offence.

Nina was amazed to see the video feeds from the panic rooms. She wondered if Maedbh knew she was under observation. If she did it was a sure thing that she wasn’t shy.

“Fergal, get in here,” she shouted.

Fergal came fast, disturbed by the urgency in her voice.

“What happened to the cat? Is it a stuffed cat?”

“Never mind the cat Fergal, what is this?” Nina asked indicating to the video screens.

“Porn?” Fergal offered.

“No these are real but where are they?”

“Must be a panic room.”

“A what?”

A lot of these plush apartments have a panic room where the residents can hide if they are invaded by a burglar for example.”

“Where would it be?”

Fergal inspected the apple computer beside the screens. “This computer controls the system. Not good security leaving it running and on.” He hit a screen with his finger.

The door to the wardrobe swung back revealing a steel entry door in the wall. Fergal hit another point on the screen.

The door clicked.

“Should be open,” Fergal said.

Nina ran into the panic room and banged on the door of Maedbh’s room, too embarrassed to interrupt the loving couple. Then she opened the door into Oengus.

Following behind, Fergal asked. “Is it a plaster figure?”

“No, it’s Oengus. He’s under a spell.”

“A spell?”

“Fergus Morag is a witch.”

“That’s not a nice way to talk about your aunt,” Fergus reprimanded mildly.

“She’s not my aunt,” Nina admitted.

“Shit,” Fergus said, “you’ve been conning me.”

“Sorry, now help me get him out of here.”

Immobilized in sitting situation Oengus was difficult to maneuver. And he was held to the wall by a silver chain.

“The sword,” Nina said, remembering what Venus had suggested, “Maybe that is the key.”

Nina made to return to the living room.

Morag watched as Nina turned towards the exit.

She hit the controls on the apple. Her head hurt like hell but she was pleased she had recovered consciousness in time. She had the cat and the Puca immobilized and now Nina was trapped in the panic room.

Unfortunately so was Fergal, the man to fix the window. Still he’d brought all the fittings. Maybe the Greyman could finish the job when he returned?

Things were still going the right way, she thought.