They were waiting for the signal. Ms. Zee was going to let them know when they should make their move. The cell phone rang and Hause answered it. He hung up and nodded to Suraj, who immediately put the car in gear and drove toward the house. Suddenly he pressed hard on the brakes, causing Hause to nearly hit the dashboard.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Hause cursed.
Suraj said, “Look.”
An old woman came out of the house and began sweeping leaves.
“Shit,” Hause said.
Suraj pulled out his pistol
“No. Go back,” Hause said.
“Why?”
“Go back. Now.”
Suraj reversed the car back to its original position.
“Why can’t we just shoot the old woman?” Suraj asked.
“We shoot her and then what?” Hause said. “What if there are more inside? We can’t shoot everyone to get upstairs. We have to do it quietly.”
“How?”
“Let me think.”
Through the window I saw her say something on the phone, shut it, and come back in.
“Who were you calling?” I asked as she sat down.
“My sister. I had to tell her I’d be a little late.”
We went back to eating our dinner.
“Rupret?” she said. “That’s an interesting name.”
I don’t know why, maybe to just talk to her, I told her. “I might have not mentioned it, but I’m from Nigeria. I was born there. Before my father was born, my grandfather worked for a British mining company. He wanted to fit in and get promoted so he decided to change his name. He chose the name William Rupert, but the clerk who was filling out the required forms typed his name incorrectly as William Rupret. My grandfather didn’t care if it was Rupert or Rupret, only that it sounded British.” I looked down at my plate. “My father never corrected it out of respect for his father, and I never changed it out of respect for him.”
“That’s so sweet,” she said.
I was staring at the plate, thinking of my father.
“Are you okay?” she said, concerned.
I nodded. “You haven’t told me your full name yet.”
She laughed, “Its Laura Spencer.”
“Laura Spencer,” I repeated. “Interesting.”
“Not as interesting as yours.”
“Do you have to leave tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes, or we’ll lose our client.”
“You could get another client.”
“He’s worth millions.”
“Maybe you could get someone who’s worth billions.” I wanted her to stay. I wanted to get to know her.
Hause and Suraj were debating what to do when suddenly the second floor bedroom lights came on. Through the window drapes they could make out someone’s shadow. Joey was inside. But they couldn’t do anything. The old woman was still sweeping away the leaves.
“We shoot her?” Suraj pleaded.
Hause said nothing.
“We shoot and shoot and leave. That’s it.”
Hause understood, two shots: one for the woman and one for Joey.
“No,” Hause said. “There has to be another way.”
Suraj’s eyes suddenly lit up. “I’ll show you.”
He got out of the car and went to the trunk. He pulled out a bag and opened it. Inside, four Molotov cocktail bottles lay side-by-side.
“You made them?” Hause asked.
Suraj moved his head up and down. “We drive up, throw these and drive away,” he said.
Hause thought about it and then agreed. They were wasting too much time. Suraj grabbed two bottles and shut the trunk. That’s when they realized the woman was no longer there. She must have gone inside.
They went back inside the car and waited. When it looked like the street was empty, Suraj put the car in gear and sped toward the house.
The Sundance screeched to a halt right in front of the entrance. Suraj lit one of the Molotov cocktails and got out. Hause fired two shots at the silhouetted figure on the second floor, who fell upon impact. Suraj hurled the Molotov into the window and they were off.
It was done in less than ten seconds.
We were laughing hysterically; I was telling her jokes, well, not really jokes but my stories with comical twists. The waiter took our empty plates and brought us dessert, custard mixed with cake and assorted fruits.
“This place is great,” she said.
“I discovered it,” I said modestly.
That got a small laugh out of her. I liked her smile. Those perfect teeth.
I said, “When will you be coming back to Toronto?”
“I won’t be,” she said.
My face dropped, my chin nearly hitting the table. “Why not?”
“After this contract I might get another elsewhere.”
“So you’re always traveling,” I said, trying hard to conceal my disappointment.
“Yeah.” Her eyes dropped to her dessert. “It doesn’t leave much time for a relationship.”
I nodded.
My cell phone rang. I apologized and answered it. It was my landlady. She was beyond hysterical.
“Slow down…what…fire…where…my house…” So many questions roared through my head. “I’ll be there.” I hung up. I thought about Joey. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have left him alone. Oh, shit. I had a feeling in my belly that something terrible had happened.
“Is everything okay?” I heard Laura say.
My head was spinning. My landlady sounded frightened. She never called me. Never.
“I have to go,” I said and got up.
“Do you want me to come?” Laura said.
“No-no.”
She kissed me on the cheek and I left her in the restaurant and headed for home.
I drove to my house to find it in a blaze. Fire trucks, police vehicles, ambulances, the whole emergency unit was there. I thought about Joey. My stomach turned and something moved up my throat. I threw up right there on the sidewalk.
I was inside Beadsworth’s car on our way to his house. I remembered seeing my landlady, comforted by her son, crying. I remembered seeing the firefighters trying to subdue the flames. I remembered meeting Beadsworth, Aldrich and Garnett. I remembered Beadsworth asking about Joey. Joey was inside the house, I remembered saying.
I remembered vomiting again.
I remembered Garnett saying, “It should have been you.”
I wished it were me.
TWENTY-FOUR
I woke up. The sun streamed through the window and hit my face. I rolled over to shield myself. The room was bare. Beige, with nothing but a bed and a dresser.
I was wearing the clothes I’d worn to dinner the night before. I saw my jacket hung in the open closet and my socks on the floor.
I got up. I moved the blinds and found myself staring down into the back yard. There was a huge pool on the left and a children’s playground, with swings and slides, on the right.
I left the room and walked down a nicely carpeted hall. I went down a spiral staircase to the main floor. I heard noises coming from the living room. I leaned in and saw a woman holding and talking to a baby. She caught me peeking and smiled.
“I hope we didn’t wake you?” she said with a heavy English accent.
I shook my head. “No, I like getting up early.” But then realized it was well past ten.
“I’m Amy.”
“Jon Rupret, R before E.”
“Yes, Phillip told me.” She smiled. “He’ll be in later. What would you like for breakfast? I’m not much of a cook, but I can put something together.”
“Anything is good.”
“Toast and scrambled eggs then?”
She was a little heavy, with brownish cropped hair and intelligent eyes.
The baby cradled in her arms looked at me curiously.
“His name is Liam,” she said. “Liam, this is Officer Rupret. Say hello.” The baby continued staring at me. He was probably wondering who let this guy into the house.