My Kind of Town
Dishwater plans
>> 2002 Wilder
Sirens still shrieked through the open lanai door, but HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes barely noticed as he stood barefoot and barechested, a towel wrapped around his wet shorts, in the foyer of Dr. Laurie Tang's condo. His focus was entirely on who might be lurking with ill intent just around the corner that turned left into the kitchen or, a few steps past, the corner that turned right into a hallway. Leading with his silver Glock 9mm short-barrel, Gomes took a silent step deeper into the condo, forcing himself to breathe evenly and quietly. Someone was here, because the curtains had been partially drawn while he and Laurie were up at the pool.
Based on crime reports he'd seen for this area, it was probably some punk icehead burglar who'd broken in. Gomes could handle. No problem.
If indeed it had been merely a kid looking to steal some jewelry to support a drug habit, Gomes could have handled, no problem. But how could he have known his rival was well-trained in the killing arts by the Vatican Security Office, and well-practiced?
Gomes took two quick, silent steps into the kitchen. Nothing there. A half-wall divided the kitchen from the living area. From here Gomes could see the entire living and dining area, but not what was around the corner that led to Laurie's bedroom.
Enough silence. Time to make it sound as if Laurie really was here. Pointing his pistol toward the hall entrance with his left hand, Gomes opened and shut a cabinet door with the right, then turned on the water in the kitchen sink.
>> Crouched around the corner that led to both a guest bathroom and the master bedroom, Salvatore Innuendo waited for Dr. Tang to hurry to her bedroom to change clothes for work. Innuendo backed into the darkened entrance of the visitor's bathroom. As the doctor passed and turned down the hall to her master bedroom, he'd step out, put a gloved hand over her mouth, the gun to her head, force her to her own bathroom, shoot her in the shower. Then wait for Gomes to return.
But what was that? A kitchen cabinet banged shut. And water splashed in the kitchen sink. Outside sirens shrieked, calling the doctor back to the Queen's ER, and she was going to wash dishes? Unbelievable! And in scouting the condo earlier, he'd noted a stack of dishes, bowls and pans, obviously from preparation of a dinner she'd intended to serve Gomes.
Gomes would return in five minutes, max. Innuendo did not have time to wait for her to finish the dishes. The doc would have to die in her kitchen.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com