Big Leagues (25 page)

“You can’t chase me all over the ballpark if
your knees fall off from infection, can you now?”

She chuckled politely, and he
smiled.

“Ah, I knew I could get a grin.”

He applied a bandage and gave her a pat on the
shoulder. “There we go, good as new.”

Otis Snow cleared his throat. His grubby index
fingers pecked at the keyboard.

“All right, Red. So he got your computer, your
cell phone, a gold necklace, anything else?”

“Uh … I don’t—well, my keys, my
wallet.”

“Was there any cash in the wallet?”

“No, just my ATM card and a couple of credit
cards.”

“You should cancel those. He could go on a
spending spree,” Dr. Goodall said.

Her lips curled into a sardonic smile. “I’m not
too worried about that. Unless that spending spree is with the
McDonald’s Dollar Menu, he won’t get far.”

Otis’ head shot up from his computer with a
hearty laugh. “My kind of shopping!”

The security office door blew open, and Erich
König rushed in.

“Catriona!
Ach, du meine Fresse!
”
He shot an accusatory glare to Dr. Goodall. “I
thought you said she was unharmed?”

“A few scratches from the concrete. I treated
the wounds. Nothing serious.” Dr. Goodall sank back into the
corner.

“Boss, we’re going over all the stuff he
snatched from her. Looks like her laptop, cell phone, a necklace,
wallet, keys …”

Cat wrung her hands. “Everything.”

Erich shook his head. “Do not concern yourself
with that, Catriona. I will have a new computer and cell phone on
your desk before morning.”

She smiled gratefully.

“We will call the police to report the
incident. No need to worry yourself. Otis, call a locksmith and
schedule a time tomorrow to have Catriona’s home locks changed. Her
address is in the database.”

Cat shook her head. “You don’t need
to—”

Erich reached out and put his hand on hers. “We
are a family here. I insist.”

Otis took a bite of the sandwich on his desk
and pointed a mayonnaise-covered finger in her direction. “Ya know,
ya should take one of them karate classes down at the
Y.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Too late now.”

Also, thanks to my awesome interviewing skills,
my fall schedule will be full of remedial German
classes.

Erich nodded. “Perhaps I should see about
planning a self-defense assembly here for all the female employees,
a seminar of sorts.”

Cat wrinkled her nose as she watched Otis pick
the lettuce from his teeth with an ink pen.

“At least get ya some mace or pepper spray. Or
if ya don’t have that, carry your keys like this.”

Otis made a fist and demonstrated a stabbing
motion. “The eyes.” He pointed with two fingers at his own stare.
“Ya always go for the eyes, Red.”

Cat swallowed the bad taste in her mouth. “I’ll
try to remember that.”

“Okay, gettin’ back to the report. I gotta get
a description.”

“I couldn’t see anything. It was dark and he
was covered from head to toe.”

“Uh, small guy, big guy?”

“He was big.”

“How tall?”

Cat was a master at guessing heights and
weights, since she spent most days poring over player profiles and
stats.

“Maybe six two, two hundred fifty pounds? He
wasn’t as tall, but he was beefy like you.”

Otis nodded appreciatively and poked at his
keyboard’s number pad. “You couldn’t see his hair color
neither?”

“Again, ski mask.”

“What about eyes?”

“It was too dark.”

“Anything else you can think of?”

Cat paused. “Nope.”

Otis crossed his arms. “Didn’t say nothing to
you?”

“Uh, just when he demanded my stuff. I thought
he was going to say more but uh, th-that’s when the car
came.”

Erich stood up. “Impeccable timing. If we can
locate the driver, I will give him first row season tickets. Now
Otis, you can take the report from here, correct? I would like to
escort Catriona home.”

Otis looked back and forth at both of them as
he helped her out of the chair and led her toward the
door.

“Uh, sure thing, Boss.”

“You are certain you want to go back to your
apartment? I can arrange for you to stay in the penthouse at
Hohenschwangau Palace.”

Cat shook her head. “No, I just really want my
own bed.”

“I understand. You are sure you are not
hungry?”

Cat had been famished when she left
Hohenschwangau the first time, but now her stomach was ready to
pitch from the windup at the mere mention of food.

“I’m sure.”

The gate closed behind them as they entered
Villa La Playa. She nodded at her building. “It’s the first
one.”

Erich pulled into a front row spot, oblivious
to the handicapped sign or the painted blue stripes. She reached
for the handle of the convertible’s door.

“Well, thanks again for the ride, Mr.
König.”

He turned the ignition off. “I insist on
escorting you to your apartment.”

Any other night, she would've welcomed his
company. Cat cursed fate’s timing.

“Oh, you don’t have to …”

Erich was already stepping out of the car and
activating the car’s alarm. Cat exhaled.

Here we go.

Should I invite him in?

Offer him tea?

German coffee?

Some sort of dark, frothy, warm
beer?

They started up the stairs and she stopped
suddenly.

“A key. I don’t have one, I need to pick one up
from the apartment manager’s place. You don’t have to
wait.”

“Nonsense. No trouble at all.”

She bit her lip. “Um, okay. Just a
sec.”

Behind the manager’s door was a man wearing a
loosely-cinched blue bathrobe, white t-shirt stained with what she
hoped was coffee and well-worn plaid pajama pants. A cigar wedged
between his front teeth completed the slumlord look she suspected
he was going for.

“Yeah?”

Cat double-checked the apartment number to the
side of the door. “Hi, sorry to bother you so late but I just spoke
to the building manager, Lisa. She told me I could get a spare key
to my place.”

He took the stogie out of his mouth. “Yeah,
yeah. She sent me a text.” He pointed the slobbered-on cigar at
her. “Two-oh-one, right?”

Cat nodded.

“Just a sec.”

He slammed the door in her face. Cat let out a
breath and tapped her foot on the concrete walkway while she
waited. She peeked around the corner of the building and saw Erich
sizing up the building from his vantage point on the sidewalk.
Footsteps scuffled back to the door.

“Here ya go.” He handed it over, pausing as his
hand grazed hers. He eyed her warily. “It’s pretty late. Everything
okay?”

She sighed. “Yeah.” The key shook in her hand.
“Just locked out.”

“Fair enough.” He plugged the cigar back in his
mouth. “Take care then.”

Cat was halfway back to the sidewalk when she
heard his door slam shut again.

* * *

“Catriona, are you sure there is no way I can
persuade you to take a hotel room for the evening?”

Across the hallway, Benji strained his ear to
the door as he repeated the troubling question to himself. “Hotel
room?” He frowned and pressed his eye up to the door’s peephole. He
watched Cat smile appreciatively at the suited stranger.

“No, no. I’ll be fine.” She inserted the
replacement key into her door.

Erich peered over the hallway’s balcony and
down to the courtyard. “But your address—”

“I haven’t even had a chance to update my
driver’s license. So, as far as he knows, I was a tourist from
Porterville.” She pointed at the door jam. “Plus, dead
bolts.”

The man stuck his hands in his pockets. “If you
insist. You have my home telephone,
ja
? Do not hesitate to
call if you need a thing. No matter the time. Even if it is
late.”

Cat pointed at the polished watch on his wrist.
“Hmm,
later
at least.”

“Fret not regarding work tomorrow. Someone else
can fill in.”

“Oh, no way!” She smiled. “I mean, thank you. I
don’t want to miss tomorrow’s game.”

Erich chuckled. “Well, far be it for me to
stand in the way. Then I insist, come in at your leisure, should
you have more pressing matters to attend to, canceling credit
accounts, etcetera.”

“Thanks, Mr. König.”

“I will have a cell phone and laptop waiting
when you arrive.”

“That is so generous. I really appreciate
everything.”

“Please, this is the least I can
do.”

“Well … thanks again.”

She stepped into her apartment, and the man
said, “Good night, Catriona.”

“Good night.” She watched him round the
corner.

Before she could shut her door, Benji rushed
outside and bounded across the concrete on his bare toes. “Hey,
you.”

Cat ran her hands through her disheveled hair.
“Hi.”

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but, uh, I did. So
who’s the handsome Prince Charming, who I might add is entirely too
old for you?”

She rolled her eyes. “Erich König. My
boss.”

“Yowza. Erich König as in the casino? As in the
handsome Prince Charming with his own palace?”

“More like
King
Charming, but yeah. He’s
the Chips’ owner.” She leaned her back against the door frame and
winced.

“Oh, that’s right. He owns so much I can’t keep
track.” Benji glanced down the empty stairwell. “Does he usually
give you rides home from work? Are you two, like, carpool
buddies?”

“Only on the days when I get mugged walking
home from the stadium.”

Benji’s jaw dropped, and he searched her up and
down, reaching for her arm. “Mugged? Cat, holy shit. Are you
okay?”

She tilted her head and placed her hand on his.
“I’m not hurt, but I’m light years from okay.” She met his eyes
with a grave stare. “I have a much bigger problem than just
canceling my credit cards. This mugging was not random.”

Benji studied her for a second, waiting for her
to burst out laughing and gloat about getting revenge for his foam
finger prank. When she didn’t, he reached for her arm. “Why don’t
you come over to my place and tell me everything?”

Benji stayed quiet for a minute as her
allegation sank in. Finally, he broke the silence. “Not
random?”

“That’s what I said. It wasn’t random. I think
I was targeted.”

“Are you sure you’re not overreacting? I mean,
people probably get mugged in this city every day.”

She tucked her legs under her on the oversized
love seat and studied his apartment. While the floor plan was
identical to hers, Benji’s home was uniquely his. Two mismatched
sofas faced a flat screen television overshadowed by a lively
aquarium. The coffee table held back issues of
The Nation
and sat atop a zebra-printed rug. A bookshelf along the wall held
textbooks, novels and a row of encased action figures.

“How many muggers do you know who wear BMW
driving gloves?”

“I don’t think I know any muggers
period.”

She rolled her eyes.

“They’re just gloves. It doesn’t mean he drives
a BMW. What about baseball hats? You can wear those without being
able to hit a ball. I’m living proof of that.”

“I guess. Still seems like a pretty expensive
choice for a petty thief.”

“Maybe he stole them,” he said with a cheesy
grin.

They sat for a few moments, as the gurgling of
his aquarium filled the void in the room. Cat watched the two fish
dart through their glowing underwater castle and chase each other
around a reef.

“You really think you were specifically
targeted? Seems like a long shot.”

“So is getting mugged.” She rubbed her eyes and
sighed. “I know how it sounds, but you have to trust
me.”

They were sitting side by side on the couch. He
tugged her foot playfully and said, “What gives? I get the feeling
there’s more to this than you’re telling me.”

There was more. The mugger specifically
demanded a watch, coincidentally only a couple of days after she’d
received a six thousand dollar timepiece. But she couldn’t tell
Benji that little tidbit without divulging how she’d received the
watch and worse, who had given it to her.

“Let me ask you a question. Did you know about
the team reporter who was here before me, Brad Derhoff?”