Anton’s girlfriend.
From now on, Janet and Mila were going to be the best of friends.
Not wanting to disturb the love birds,
Janet made her way downstairs. Janet changed quickly and was about to leave
when Roman blocked her way in the hallway. His arms were crisscrossed on his
chest and he had a toothpick in his mouth.
“You did good today, Janet,” Roman
chewed his toothpick meditatively. “I like you,” he added.
“I’m glad I could be of service,” Janet
replied neutrally. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
To her surprise, Roman stepped aside.
“Playing hard to get? I like that in a girl. I like nice girls,” Roman laughed.
Spurred by Roman’s raucous laughter,
Janet literally flew up the stairs. The prospect of being trapped downstairs
with the beast scared the living daylights out of her. She made a mental note
to buy a mace spray for her next shift.
Half an hour later, Janet dragged
herself into the elevator of her building. Her body was aching for a hot bath.
The thought of doing this all over tomorrow made her want to squeal for mercy,
but she wasn’t going to quit now.
Janet jammed her key into the front door
lock and turned it impatiently, eager to soak her aching limbs in hot water.
She stopped short when she saw that the light was on in the kitchen. Usually,
she left the light on for Baxter not to feel lonely, but not today. She had
arranged it with her neighbor to watch Baxter and distinctly remembered turning
the light off before she left for work.
Janet kicked off her shoes and clutching
her purse in her hand crept into the kitchen. Her mind was working feverishly;
if there was indeed an intruder in her kitchen, she was going to clobber him
with her purse and then call 911. The plan might not have been a very bright
one, but it was the only one she was able to come up with at the moment.
Janet’s hand stiffened as she prepared
to strike.
“So how is it working for Petr Kovar?
Did you make good tips?” At the sound of Dennis’s voice Janet dropped her purse
on the floor.
“Interesting choice of weapon,” Dennis
remarked, glancing at her purse. “Looks deadly.”
“I’ll have you know that my purse weighs
close to three pounds,” Janet retorted. “You scared the crap out of me,” she
collapsed on the chair. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Why?”
“To make sure you’re all right.”
“You could’ve just called.”
“That would have been reasonable, but
then I can hardly call your recent actions reasonable,” Dennis paused. “When
were you going to tell me about getting a job at the Panther restaurant?”
“When I got my lead,” Janet retorted.
Dennis wasn’t going to make her feel guilty, not when he crept into her
apartment unannounced.
“Your lead? I thought we were partners.”
“I thought so too, but then you went off
to meet with Libby on your own and left me in the shadow.”
“Is that what this is about? Don’t you
realize—”
“I realize that you like to take the
lead and that you like to be in the limelight, I get that, but that doesn’t
mean that I’m going to sit back and just let you call all the shots. That’s not
how partnerships work.”
“Is that what you think? That I want to
call the shots? Janet, we’re dealing with some really dangerous people here,
and I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s the only reason why I didn’t want you
to meet Libby. I didn’t want you to be exposed.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I can see that. So tell me, what alias
did you use for the job at Kovar’s? I assume that you’ve arranged for a fake
driver’s license and such?”
Janet felt her face grow hot; she didn’t
think of any of these things. Suddenly, she felt like a school kid being chided
by her teacher. “I used my name.”
“You what?”
“I used my name. What’s the big deal?”
“What’s the big deal? Janet, don’t you
realize it; all they have to do is run a basic background search on
From now on, Janet and Mila were going to be the best of friends.
Not wanting to disturb the love birds,
Janet made her way downstairs. Janet changed quickly and was about to leave
when Roman blocked her way in the hallway. His arms were crisscrossed on his
chest and he had a toothpick in his mouth.
“You did good today, Janet,” Roman
chewed his toothpick meditatively. “I like you,” he added.
“I’m glad I could be of service,” Janet
replied neutrally. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
To her surprise, Roman stepped aside.
“Playing hard to get? I like that in a girl. I like nice girls,” Roman laughed.
Spurred by Roman’s raucous laughter,
Janet literally flew up the stairs. The prospect of being trapped downstairs
with the beast scared the living daylights out of her. She made a mental note
to buy a mace spray for her next shift.
Half an hour later, Janet dragged
herself into the elevator of her building. Her body was aching for a hot bath.
The thought of doing this all over tomorrow made her want to squeal for mercy,
but she wasn’t going to quit now.
Janet jammed her key into the front door
lock and turned it impatiently, eager to soak her aching limbs in hot water.
She stopped short when she saw that the light was on in the kitchen. Usually,
she left the light on for Baxter not to feel lonely, but not today. She had
arranged it with her neighbor to watch Baxter and distinctly remembered turning
the light off before she left for work.
Janet kicked off her shoes and clutching
her purse in her hand crept into the kitchen. Her mind was working feverishly;
if there was indeed an intruder in her kitchen, she was going to clobber him
with her purse and then call 911. The plan might not have been a very bright
one, but it was the only one she was able to come up with at the moment.
Janet’s hand stiffened as she prepared
to strike.
“So how is it working for Petr Kovar?
Did you make good tips?” At the sound of Dennis’s voice Janet dropped her purse
on the floor.
“Interesting choice of weapon,” Dennis
remarked, glancing at her purse. “Looks deadly.”
“I’ll have you know that my purse weighs
close to three pounds,” Janet retorted. “You scared the crap out of me,” she
collapsed on the chair. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Why?”
“To make sure you’re all right.”
“You could’ve just called.”
“That would have been reasonable, but
then I can hardly call your recent actions reasonable,” Dennis paused. “When
were you going to tell me about getting a job at the Panther restaurant?”
“When I got my lead,” Janet retorted.
Dennis wasn’t going to make her feel guilty, not when he crept into her
apartment unannounced.
“Your lead? I thought we were partners.”
“I thought so too, but then you went off
to meet with Libby on your own and left me in the shadow.”
“Is that what this is about? Don’t you
realize—”
“I realize that you like to take the
lead and that you like to be in the limelight, I get that, but that doesn’t
mean that I’m going to sit back and just let you call all the shots. That’s not
how partnerships work.”
“Is that what you think? That I want to
call the shots? Janet, we’re dealing with some really dangerous people here,
and I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s the only reason why I didn’t want you
to meet Libby. I didn’t want you to be exposed.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I can see that. So tell me, what alias
did you use for the job at Kovar’s? I assume that you’ve arranged for a fake
driver’s license and such?”
Janet felt her face grow hot; she didn’t
think of any of these things. Suddenly, she felt like a school kid being chided
by her teacher. “I used my name.”
“You what?”
“I used my name. What’s the big deal?”
“What’s the big deal? Janet, don’t you
realize it; all they have to do is run a basic background search on
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