“Well, no, but?—”
“You do your job, Agent Kang, and let me do mine. I will pass on anything we find the minute we find it.”
“Well, okay then. Thank you.”
I hung up, but before I could say anything else, I heard voices out in the hall. “That’s likely the medics. I’ll go get them.”
Ginny nodded and continued working on the ropes. She had his feet detangled, but his wrists, contrary to what I’d thought, were proving harder.
I walked out and took a very deep breath of fresher air. It cleared out my lungs, but the odious scent still clung to my clothes. Three men and a woman who looked the managerial type were approaching. As I waved the two paramedics in, the youngish-looking man tugged credentials out of his pocket and flashed them. “Brett Johnson and Jamie Greer, forensics. What you got for us?”
“A man, unconscious, tied up.”
“You touched anything?”
“Just the ropes—we undid them.”
He nodded. “We’ll head in and examine the scene once the medics are through.”
“Might want to grab a mask. It’s pretty nasty in there.”
He nodded again, dug a small jar out of his pocket, then opened it and dabbed some of the thickish mixture under his nose before handing it to his partner, who repeated the process.
“It’s a stronger mix of camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol than what’s usually available in the stores,” Jamie said, obviously seeing my raised eyebrows. “Helps keep fouler scents away. You want some?”
“I amnotgoing back in there.”
As they headed in, I stripped off my gloves, dumped them in the nearby rubbish bin, and waited for Ginny to appear. She did so a few minutes later.
“Wow, I desperately need a shower right now. That wretched smell is right through my clothes.” She handed me a sanitizing wipe and tossed the one she’d been using into the bin. “The medics say he’ll likely be taken to St Vincent’s.”
“You informed Betty?”
“Yeah. They’ll place guards on him at the hospital until he wakes and can be interviewed.”
“They’ll inform us when he does wake?”
“Yes.”
We headed down the stairs—it was either that or infect the lift with our ambrosial scent—then jumped in the car, keeping all the windows down as we drove back to the apartment. I collected my gear and climbed out before Ginny drove into the underground parking area, then headed up to our apartment.
As I approached the door, my phone rang, and I juggled various bags so I could grab it out of my handbag. The number wasn’t one I recognized.
“Hanna Kang speaking,” I said warily. “How may I help you?”
“I think it’s more a case of how may I help you,” came the deep and very sexy reply.
My pulse skipped several beats. René. “Well, you can start by answering at least a few of the many questions I have for you.”
“I do believe we agreed that could only be done over dinner.”
“We did. I’m not entirely sure it’s thewisestmove I could ever make.”
It was dryly said, and his answering chuckle was decidedly sultry, which only emphasized my point. I unlocked the door, pushed it open with a foot, then went through and kicked it shut again. The sound echoed loudly through the apartment, but in the silence that immediately followed, I heard it.
The softest creak of a floorboard.
I froze, every sense prickling. The sound wasn’t repeated, but it didn’t need to be.
