Bitter Sweet Read Online Free Page B

system could not see us installing the new device.
    Luck was with us and we were able to install the mini-camera system faster than anticipated, using the building’s ventilation system. However, Mike had to work hard to conceal the cable in the corridor of Ivonne’s apartment as there wasn’t much of a gap between the walls and the architraves.
    Ivonne joined Mike and I in my apartment to go over the plan one last time.
    ‘The cameras,’ Mike said, ‘are mainly for your safety, okay?’
    Ivonne was wearing a very short dress; with both knees together she sat down at an angle on the sofa, leaned back and slowly crossed her legs, all the while watching Mike. His eyes came up to meet hers and she winked, lasciviously.
    I coughed. ‘This is serious.’
    ‘You bet,’ Ivonne said. ‘Mike is doing us a favour. One good deed deserves another.’
    Mike laughed. ‘Glad you’re relaxed about it, Ivonne. However,’ Mike scratched his right ear, ‘what if it all goes wrong and you’re caught inflagranti?    
      ‘You mean,’ Ivonne said, grinning lewdly, ‘like, being caught with your knickers down?’
    Mike smiled. ‘Not literally, but you’re getting the drift.’
    ‘Won’t happen,’ Ivonne said, ‘because we’ll do it when he’s in the shower.’
    ‘That’s the plan,’ I said, tapping my knee with my index finger. ‘But what happens if he catches you with the phone, Ivonne? Or me?’
    Ivonne sat upright. ‘I’ll just say it slipped out of his jacket, trousers, whatever.’ She was now getting down to business. ‘The one thing I don’t want,’ Ivonne continued, ‘is to be caught in the room with the guy.’
    ‘What if you are?’ I asked.
    ‘Ivonne,’ Mike said, ‘has the bedroom door got a lock?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Is it a dead lock?’
    Ivonne frowned. ‘You mean a bolt?’
    ‘That’s right,’ Mike said. ‘When the door is open, turn the lock, the bolt stays out – the door won’t close.’ Mike looked at his laptop. ‘You can’t get trapped, and I can see the door from here.’  
    I looked at the computer screen. ‘Has the camera got a microphone?’
    ‘It does,’ Mike said.
    ‘Then make sure the volume is turned up.’
    Ivonne stood up, abruptly. ‘Look,’ she said, crossing her arms, ‘if you think this is going to turn nasty then I want Markus in here, right next to that computer.’
    I glanced at Mike. He nodded.
    ‘Agreed,’ I said. ‘Ivonne, come and sit down. It might not even be the same guy.’
    ‘Don’t talk shit,’ Ivonne said, spinning around to face me, her eyes flashing with anger. ‘You bloody well know it’s him. Martha gave you the phone number and the guy’s description. It’ s him.’
    Mike clapped his hands. ‘Good, now you’re both taking it seriously.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Fifteen minutes and he should be phoning to confirm the apartment number. Time to get ready.’
     
    The call came. Ivonne confirmed the time and her apartment number. I took one last look at the screen of Mike’s laptop. He handed me the memory stick, our fingers brushed.
    ‘Come here,’ he said, giving me a hug. ‘It’ll work out fine.’
    The layout of Ivonne’s apartment was the exact same as mine. A corridor led to the sitting-room-dining-room-kitchen area, and gave access to the two bedrooms, a bathroom and a closet where the central heating was located.
    I went into the spare bedroom, lay down on the bed and pulled the covers up to my waist. My mind was skidding this way and that. I unclenched the fingers of my right hand and looked at the memory stick. Two minutes, max. That’s what Mike had said. Then the programme on the stick would have control of the phone.
    Did I trust Mike? Yes. But I didn’t know if he knew what he was doing. It was my ass on the line, not his. There was no going back. I could feel the pulse in the artery of my neck. My breathing was fast – too fast, just to be lying there on the bed.
    The doorbell rang.
    I listened to