Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Hudson makes his way inside the building, taking a look at the electrical work since it’s actually something he does for a living. It gives him a reason to be inside when Roy arrives. Sure enough, the greedy bastard shows up a little over an hour later. Havana ducks down into the passenger seat after pointing him out.
He’s taller than I remember and has about 30 pounds of weight over me, matching my height. Roy doesn’t look the part of a plumber as he heads inside with a toolbox, only wearing jeans and a leather jacket. It looks as if he’s coming in from a night out.
I send out a text when I see him walk inside and show her the app where she can watch and listen to him through the security cameras. With her safe in the truck, I head inside the building just as Roy and the landlady walk into the apartment.
Hudson follows me and hangs out on the stairs a floor above us while I wait just outside the apartment door. I can hear them as Lucille left the door open slightly, using her hand to keep it like that. My guess is to make a quick escape.
Roy sounds disgustingly cocky as he walks around while I watch through the cameras.
“She’s definitely going to sneak out of here soon. I’m glad you called, Lucy,” Roy says. “How about we flood the kitchen and add it to her bill?”
Miss Lucille desperately tries to stop that from happening. “Roy, that’s going to take too much time to repair. I want to get a new tenant in here as soon as I’m sure she’s gone. Just see if the repairs are intact.”
“Alright, alright, let me take a look in the bathroom,” he tells her and walks down the hall. He peeks inside the washer and dryer, even going as far as to pull out the lint trap and a tray at the bottom to reveal an array of lost socks and cash that Havana’s lost in her wash.
He smiles as he stands to count what he’s found. After shoving the cash and coins in his pocket, Roy moves into the bathroom where he messes around with the shower and pipes in the tub. There’s confusion on his face.
He shouts to Miss Lucille, “Has anyone else been in here with her?!”
The landlady calls out, “I don’t know, maybe? I don’t keep track of who comes in and out of the apartments. As long as the rent’s paid on time, why should I care?”
“Well, obviously you care if I’m here now.”
“Only because there’s a threat of rent not being paid. Please finish up, Roy. I don’t want her to come back here and see us. She’s already stated that she doesn’t want anyone here while she’s not home. That could make any additional expenses harder to tack on if she decides to slap me with an unlawful entry suit.”
Damn. She’s good.
“Alright, I’m just going to check out the radiator in the bedroom, okay?” he calls out to her.
“I thought you don’t do HVAC?” Miss Lucille asks.
“I’m looking into it and can handle some minimal things. I just want to be sure the pipes aren’t cracked or anything,” Roy tells her, already entering the bedroom.
My blood boils as he runs his hands over the top of her bed. He leans down and smells it before he begins to look over the boxes on her dresser. The jewelry is still out, looking like Havana has to pack it up in a separate box.
Roy does what I expect him to do and swipes it. He makes his way into the kitchen and goes under the sink. He messes around under there for a while and pops back up with a smile on his face.
“If little miss comes to you talking about something’s been taken, I’m sure she’s going to have some movers come in to help her with the furniture and stuff. Blame it on them and make sure you tell her that whoever fixed the bathroom pipes cracked it.”
That’s a lie. Those pipes are in perfectly good working order.
I give a signal to Hudson when I hear them about to leave. As soon as the door opens, Roy’s face reveals I’m the last person he’s expecting to see.
“Hey, Miss Lucille,” I tell her as she lets the door close behind her.
“Morning, Mr. Haven. Um, Roy, this is Hendrix. He’s been helping Van these past few days,” she fakes the introduction.
Roy sizes me up and I tip my head to the side, letting it sink in who I truly am.
“Oh, shit. Henny, bro, it’s been such a long time. How are you?” Roy says as if we have some catching up to do.
“I’ll be a lot better if you empty your pockets,” I tell him.