“I don’t know, man. It just seems a little…”

“What?” Slick Willie said as he drove. “You ain’t pulling out on me are you?”

“It just seems a little off you know? I mean, she’s just an old lady, right? How much we gonna get from someone like that?”

“If you don’t want to come in with me, Lenny, just say it straight. Are you pulling out? I can drop you right here.”

“No man, I’m with you,” Lenny said hastily.

Right here was a particularly nasty neighbourhood; not a good place to be alone and he knew that. Willie smiled into the dark. He didn’t need Lenny for this little job. Hell, he didn’t need anyone’s help to relieve an old biddy of her savings, but she was expecting him to bring his brother with him this time. The stupid bitch thought he was her friend. She thought him a nice boy for helping her carry packages up to her apartment and gave him tea and cookies like he was a damn kid. She had some nice stuff. Some of the china dolls she had collected must be worth a few bucks, and the picture frames were silver. He didn’t know much, but he knew quality stuff when he saw it. Sal the shark would take them off his hands no problem at all.

Willie parked the car outside the old biddy’s building and locked the door. He wanted the car to be still here when he came back. With luck it would be, though it wasn’t his. He’d stolen it just an hour ago especially for this job.

He led Lenny into the lobby. The building used to be a good hotel back in the day. The floors, though worn, still had a look of elegance. They were clean and the marble tiles shone dully. The entire building was like that. It had once been something special but had declined slowly into just another apartment building with a history. Unlike some, the owner of this one had taken care not to let age turn it into a derelict. Yes, its splendour had faded with age, but its quality was still obvious. If he ever had the money, he would buy something just like it for himself.

They walked by the desk being held down by the so-called building supervisor. Willie nodded to Frank, but the old sot didn’t even notice. Just as well. They didn’t need the old fart getting involved and maybe getting hurt. Not that he was averse to hurting him if he had to, but it would be a hassle he didn’t need. He wanted money not a fight.

The elevator dropped them on the fifth floor and Willie led Lenny to the old lady’s door, but something wasn’t right. The door was slightly ajar. His sense of danger was highly tuned and it kicked into high gear on seeing the door unlocked. Lenny, the dope, wouldn’t sense danger if a guy stuck a stunner in his ear—he pushed the door open and grinned as if it meant their luck was in. Willie hesitated to follow as Lenny entered, but this was his job. He had to follow through. He pushed into the darkened apartment then on into the sitting room. He fumbled for the light switch, but couldn’t find it. He stepped further into the room and his footsteps rustled. He looked down to find himself standing on a plastic drop cloth. The kind you used when painting the ceiling or something. Was the old biddy having some work done, was she even here?

“Mrs Marchant? Its Willie and Len… you invited us for tea. Are you there?” He peered into the darkness and his eyes slowly adjusted. The shadow sitting upon the settee didn’t respond. “Mrs Marchant?”

“Ellen is sleeping,” a voice out of the darkness hissed.

Willie gasped and spun to his left. A pair of eyes were revealed by a ray of light leaking into the room through the part drawn drapes. The voice was definitely that of a man, but the eyes reflected the light oddly. They almost seemed to burn red.

Lenny fumbled in his jacket pocket for his boomer. Willie cursed himself for a fool, but before he could pull his own weapon, Lenny collapsed bonelessly to the floor, hit from behind. Before Willie could react, powerful arms encircled him. With one hand trapped in his jacket pocket and the other down by his side, he could do nothing but curse and struggle.

“Thank you, Frank,” the voice said again.

“You want me to take care of him for you, Mister Lochlin? I can’t leave the desk too long.”

“No, we can’t have the lobby unattended at night. Hold him for just a moment.”

“Yes sir.”

Willie shook with fear. “Let me go man. I won’t say nothing about Lenny. You can have him; you can do what you want to him. He’s nothing to me. I swear I’ll go and you’ll never see me again. I swear it!”

“I’ll not be seeing you again in any case,” Lochlin said as he stepped closer. “You really shouldn’t have come here. Ellen likes you, and that means I had to do something I would rather not have done. I broke a promise to myself and violated her trust because of you. You have no idea how angry that makes me.”

“But he will,” Frank said.

“Oh yes, yes indeed,” Lochlin said and came forward in a rush, fangs already out and his eyes blazing red with his fury.

Willie began screaming.