Page 101 of My Rock Star Neighbor
It turns out that knowing there’s a blind corner does give off a sense of danger.Red.Flag.My heart is beating so fast.I stop.Retreat.I have proof that it’s Ward.This is a stupid move.I’m not an action hero.
A rat scurries across the narrow pathway towards the dumpster, and I jump.
Take deep breaths.
I turn the corner.The streetlight is out.
And there Ward is, waiting for me.
He comes forward.I shift slightly so that the streetlight shines on his face.Eyes give away so much—and my jujitsu teacher often said to focus on the eyes, which can telegraph an opponent’s next move.
“This is your last chance.I won’t publish your dating contract if you kill the story,” he says.
I step back.“Did you do it because you need money for your miniature projects?”
“Projects?They’re works of art.”He puffs out his chest.“I’m an artist.”
“They are,” I say.Maybe that will help defuse the situation.
“Did Pommer tell you about theCaper Crushbookmark?Those two ganged up on me and have been trailing me nonstop.It’s like having Inspector Clouseau on my tail.Idiots.Galliano should have worn a proper disguise like your boyfriend did.”
Pommer and Galliano are not in on it.
“You recognized us?”I ask.
“I recognized your boyfriend.He didn’t hide the way he walks.Were you there too?What a crowd I had waiting for me at St.Agnes.Pommer and Galliano have no proof, or they would have told Commissioner Johnson, but you…”
“Did you pay Demoraux to offer bribes to the bar owners to make Galliano look guilty?”
“You have no proof linking me to Demoraux,” he says.
“Except that you just told me about the scheme.How did you know about it if you were not involved?”
He sputters.
“You won’t gain anything from publishing the contract.”
“But I will.I want you to hurt too.If you’re going to bring me down, you’re coming with me.Make sure you put in your article how much Johnson values his corruption-free reputation.”A raspy laugh emerges from Ward.“He should never have been promoted over me.I worked my way up.I know the Infrastructure Department.He was flitting from department to department, the commissioner position his for the asking because of his connections.I thought I didn’t have connections, but once I discovered that property managers were taking cuts of repair contracts, it turned out I could be the connection for construction jobs and with a lucrative payout.Right under Johnson’s watch.”He laughs and takes a step closer.
I scoot back.
“Your colleague cornered me the other day.Seemed to be trying to figure out why you’d be interviewing us.Who was she again?The daughter of the editor ofThe Big Apple?Very connected.You understand, right?”
“I do understand,” I say.
“And you’ll change the article?”
“No.”
He is in my face now.“Do you think I won’t hurt you because you’re a woman?”
“No.”I take a step back and grip the pepper spray tighter in my pocket.
“You were supposed to be scared off when I destroyed your apartment,” he says.
Ward is Hammer Man!
“Do we have a deal?I won’t release this fake-dating contract, and you don’t run the story.”
