Under Cover

Chapter 3

       Senator Taylor arrived at his office building at nine o'clock the next morning after stopping at the travel agency on his way to pick up an airline ticket for an interstate flight to the capital he would be making in two days. He stopped at the security office on the ground floor and explained what had happened the previous night. A security officer pulled up the video feed from a camera above the elevator doors in the carpark. Taylor watched as he saw himself step out of the elevator and walk to the right out of the frame. A few seconds later a figure in a long black coat wearing a hoodie walked quickly through the frame from left to right.

"There's your man," the officer said, "Interesting that he didn't get out of the elevator. I wonder where he came from?"

"Do you have any other cameras in the carpark?" Taylor asked.

"One at the vehicle exit gate and one at the pedestrian exit."

"Can we see the pedestrian gate for about three minutes later?"

The same figure in the coat and hoodie walked up to the gate, pushed the release button and quickly disappeared into the night.

"Did he use an ID card to get out the gate?" Taylor asked.

"No," the security officer replied, "You need a card to get in, but not to get out. You just push a button. It's a safety feature in case of a fire."

"Pity. If he'd had to use a card we could have got a name. I'll be working late again tonight. Do you have many guards on duty? Could one of them walk me to my car? I have to admit I'm a bit nervous after last night."

"Sure, no problem, Mr Taylor. Just call the security centre here when you're ready to leave and one of our officers will give you an escort."

*****
It was a busy day at work and Hannah didn't arrive home until after seven o'clock. Michael wasn't there. He must be working late again she thought as she heated up some leftovers for dinner. As she sat down eating lasagne and vegetables she watched the evening news on TV. One story got her attention.

'Police admit they are still no closer to finding the killer of Dr Julian Hansen who was shot dead in his home three weeks ago. Dr Hansen was a research scientist developing new technology to power satellites for NASA and other countries with space programs.'

The picture cut to a man in a grey suit with a serious look on his face.

A reporter thrust a microphone in his face. "Detective Richards, do you have any leads at all in this case, a motive for the killing maybe?"

"Industrial espionage is a possibility as Dr Hansen's briefcase containing valuable documents relating to his work was missing from his house. The killer appears to have stolen Dr Hansen's wife's remote control for the security alarm and that's how they entered the house. Unfortunately there were no witnesses, and no one was seen entering or leaving the house at the time of the murder. The investigation is ongoing."

Hannah chuckled to herself, "Poor Detective Richards. You'll never find the killer. You should just give up now."

She finished her dinner, then changed into clothes more suitable for a cool evening. After writing a note for Michael she locked the house and walked out to her car just as her husband pulled into the driveway. He stopped next to her.

 "Are you going out?" he asked.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Hannah replied, "but I have to finish a job at the office. I promise I won't be late." She leaned in through his car window for a long kiss."

"Mmmmm, I'll be waiting up for you," he murmured as she climbed into her car and drove off giving him a wave.

*****
Senator Taylor was yawning at eleven o'clock when he finally decided it was time to go home. He called the security office who said they would send someone up to meet him at his office.

Five minutes later he was in the elevator with a security guard as it descended to the basement.

"Shane told me you would need an escort tonight," he said to Taylor, "but you have nothing to worry about. I've been checking the monitors for the last four hours. There are no unauthorised people in the building. In fact there are only three people in the whole building right now. You, me and Greg who is the other guard on duty tonight."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the basement carpark, but they had only walked a few metres in the direction of Taylor's car when an alarm echoed through the basement.

"That's the fire alarm," the guard exclaimed, "I'll have to get back to the security office and check out where it is or if it's a false alarm. Will you be okay to get to your car, Mr Taylor?"

"Yes of course. It's only just up here anyway. I can see it from here. You go and take care of the alarm."

"Good night, sir." The guard dashed through the door to the stairs and was gone.

Taylor walked briskly to his car. As he arrived he used his remote to unlock the doors. At that moment the fire alarm stopped leaving the car park in a deafening silence. He felt suddenly nervous again like he had the previous night. He looked carefully around. No one in sight, so he reached for the door handle.

"Good evening, Mr Taylor."

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of a female voice.

She stood up from the other side of the car where she had been crouching out of sight. She was a tall woman with long dark hair and wearing black gloves and a black coat.

After recovering from his shock Taylor looked closely at the woman. "I know you!" he said, "What are you doing here? Was that you here last night as well?"

"Yes it was. Sorry if I scared you but I was learning your routine. You really shouldn't work so late. It makes my job almost too easy."

"What job, what are you talking about?"

She laughed. "This is what I'm talking about." She quickly brought up her right hand, which until then had been out of sight behind the car."

The last thing Jim Taylor heard was a muffled popping sound, then everything went black.

*****
She slipped the gun into a pocket of her coat, along with the remote control which had allowed her to turn the basement fire alarm on and off, then grabbed Taylor's feet and dragged his body around to the front of the car which was facing the wall. With the body out of sight it probably wouldn't be found till morning. She pulled the hoodie over her head and walked quickly to the pedestrian exit gate. A push of the button and she was out in the fresh air, then a two block walk to her car and she was driving home to her husband. She hoped he would still be awake. Finishing a job made her horny!