Chapter Seventeen
Outside Suspicion

Axel Turner cursed silently to himself as he cruised up and down the aisles in the lot, looking for a parking space. That was one thing that he hated about working the evening shift. If you worked morning or graveyard, there was always an abundance of slots available, but evenings... evenings sucked. He had to arrive before most of the staff left for home and unless someone had gotten off early he was stuck far out in the lot.

He slowed down, then backed up, peering at a particularly battered car. The little trees that ringed the lot had been shedding leaves lately and they usually blew off the lot during the night, but they were beginning to pile up under this car, showing that it hadn't moved from that place for some time. Just as he'd thought. *So, Mina still hasn't gotten her car up and running. I wonder if she's still getting chauffer service from Baxter, or if he got tired of playing Lord Bountiful?*

He found a space and went into the building to clock in. Benny Mounts, one of the day security men, was punching out. "Hey, Axel."

"Evening, Benny. Anything interesting today?"

"Nothing much. Someone's still stealing lunches on the eighth floor, but I think they're gonna stop." He grinned. "One of the workers had his lunch ripped off three times. He told me today that he's gonna mix ipecac into his tuna salad tomorrow. Should be interesting to see if anyone has to leave early." He slipped his time card back into the rack. "Oh, and if you see some guy wandering around with a camera, he's not an industrial spy or anything. They're getting more pictures for that magazine they've been talking about."

"Taking pictures, hm? Damn, if I'd known that I would have had my hair trimmed before I came to work."

Benny laughed. "Don't sweat it, Coverboy. This is like most magazines, I think. They're gonna want pictures of the ladies to make things look good. I followed him around a little today. I'd say that the ratio of snaps of guys to girls was, like, two to twenty."

Axel sighed. "Oh, well. I'll have to make sure I get a look at the thing when it comes out, then."

"He spent most of his time on the fifth floor, but he took a turn through the cafeteria and the gym, too."

Axel clocked in. He nodded to Borden, who was already situated at the front desk with an Outdoorsman magazine, and headed up to the fifth floor. When he entered Records he noticed that there were a lot more employees in evidence than there usually were. Some of them were working at their desks, but the attention they were paying to their tasks was almost ostentatious. *You can almost see 'I'm working hard' tattooed across their foreheads.*

Some of them had given up on pretending to be industrious and were openly watching the small man with the camera hung around his neck. He was at Hollachuck's desk, talking to her while he loaded a fresh roll of film. "I want to thank you for your patience, Miz Hollachuck. I know I must be disrupting your routine something terrible."

"Not at all, Mister Lamont. This is part of my job--promoting Baxter Enterprises." Axel had to supress his gag reflex. Her voice was as sweet as corn syrup. It was unnatural--for Hollochuck, anyway.

The photographer snapped the back of the camera closed, pushing a button. There was a whirring sound as the film advanced. "Now, I'll just step back a few feet to get a better composition. Please, go about your work."

"Shouldn't I look up and smile?"

"I'll tell you if I need that." He lifted his camera. "Let me just focus this."

Axel frowned to himself. He didn't know how wide a range that camera had, but it seemed to Axel that he was holding it at an angle that wasn't going to catch more than the top of Hollachuck's beehive hairdo. It was the area beyond her that was going to be square in the view finder.

Axel directed his attention to the spot that Lamont seemed to be focussing on, and felt a twitch of surprise. He moved around the room till he was behind Lamont, looking over the shorter man's shoulder. *I can see right into Mina O'Connel's cubicle from here.*

Mina, dressed in one of her usual dun colored outfits, was at her station. At present, though, she was watching the action in the outer office. She had her elbow on the desk, and her chin propped in her hand. She wasn't watching the photographer, though--she was watching Hollachuck. Her expression was wry and wondering as she watched the office supervisor primping while trying to look busy.

The man started snapping away. *He's getting some pretty good pictures--of O'Connell.* It was a good method of getting candids. Mina was completely unaware that she was being photographed. Consequently her expression was more open and unguarded than he had ever seen it. *She's really pretty like that. I've got to make another effort to get next to her.*

Mina raised her eyes from the spectacle of Hollachuck dithering. *Hollachuck--dithering? Good God. Perhaps the world is coming to an end. She didn't even quite manage dithering for Baxter. It's amazing what a lens can do to some people.* She lifted her eyes to the photographer--and noticed that Axel Turner was standing behind him, and he was grinning at her.

Lamont frowned behind his camera. The woman's expression had suddenly closed. It was as if shutters had come down, and she turned back to her work. *What caused that? She was doing so well.* He heard a shifting behind him, and glanced over his shoulder.

There was a good looking blonde guy in a sharp *Be damned if I don't think he had that thing tailored* security uniform, and he was watching Baxter's chosen cutie with more than a little interest in his eyes. *Uh, oh. Sonny, you might want to turn that heat elsewhere. I don't think boss man would appreciate it. He might not do anything physical personally, but he's got a little friend who'd be more than happy to do it for him. Hell, Dominic would enjoy it.* He'd lost his chance to get anything good, so he moved on to take a few cover-up photos around the office.

Axel strolled over to the entrance of Mina's work cubicle and leaned in the doorway. "Hey, pretty lady."

*Hey, horny idiot.* "Hello, Axel." She didn't take her eyes off her work, hoping he would take the hint. It didn't work. He stepped inside.

"I noticed that your car is still out in the lot. It's going to get dust on it so thick that you'll be able to plant daisies."

*It was like that before. Do you think I'd bother to keep a piece of shit like that spiffed up?* "Yes. I'm afraid they're going to start charging me rental on the space."

"Well, if you're going to junk it, I can find someone who'll give you a few dollars for it. No trouble."

Now she looked at him, frowning. "No, I don't want to get rid of it--I'm not ready to give up hope yet."

"Shouldn't you have it hauled back to your place, then?"

"I can't afford to have it towed. If I could, I would have had it done a week ago. Up here it's more convenient for Dominic to work on it."

Now Axel was curious. "Genello?"

"Dominic."

"Baxter's shadow, right? Black hair, brown eyes, Guinnie complexion."

Her expression became even colder with distaste. *Great. He's a bigot, on top of everything.* She didn't like Dominic herself, but it had nothing to do with his ethnic background. It was on a strictly personal, almost chemical level. "I thought Dominic was his surname--it's all I've ever heard him called. I've been calling him by his first name all this time? Anyway, he's supposed to be fixing it for me, kind of on account."

"On account of what?" He laughed at her pained look and his own cleverness. "That's clear enough. On account of what a sweet little thing you are."

*Oh, God. Do women actually fall for that slop?* "How kind of you." Her voice held all the warmth of an IRS agent listening to a taxpayer trying to justify deductions.

"He sure seems to be taking his time on this. How long have you been stranded? Coming up on two weeks, isn't it?" She nodded. "Damn, sugar, any garage that put you off that long would be looked at real hard by the Better Business Bureau."

"Yes, but they wouldn't do it for nothing but the cost of parts."

"But if it takes you forever to get it, what good is that?"

She sighed. "I'm waiting on him to fix it, and I don't have a ride. If I had it at a garage, they wouldn't let me have it till I could pay for the work, and I still wouldn't have a ride. At least this way I have a ride to and from work, because for some reason, Baxter has decided to be a good Samaratin."

"Some reason, hm?" She looked at him sharply. Axel could pack a lot of innuendo into just three words. He moved in closer, till his hip almost brushed her shoulder, and she pushed her chair back a bit.

He was grinning. The look he was giving her made her feel slightly grubby. "Look, Turner..."

"Turner? It was Axel a minute ago."

"Turner, I'm at work, okay? Or I will be, if you'll toddle off and make your rounds, or whatever you do."

"There's nothing I need to be doing right now. I have a little time." He stepped closer again. She tried to push her chair back, but (damn cramped office space) there wasn't anywhere else to go. He leaned toward her, and she slumped slightly in the chair. "So tell me, Mina--has Baxter tried anything with you on those trips back and forth?"

"What do you mean?" *Oh, I know what he means, but maybe if I bluff he'll back off and he won't actually say it.*

"C'mon, Mina. Baxter is the big boss, and he's running a low level employee around."

*That's it, Axel. Win my heart by your flattery.*

"It can't be just out of the goodness of his heart. Guys like that give checks to charity, but they don't do the personal help thing. He must have his eye on something. Hasn't he ever, like, told Genello to keep his eyes on the road and take the long way home?"

She stared at him, not believeing that even someone as crass as Axel would be stupid enough to say something like that about his employer--especially to someone he knew was indepted to the man.

Axel leaned further down, putting his hands on the seat back on either side of Mina's shoulders, and she slid down another inch. "You saw that Kevin Costner movie, No Way Out, huh? Remember that scene in the back of the limosine with Sean Young? Damn, that was almost hot enough to melt the film. He was in his Navy dress whites. Women like uniforms, don't they? Get's 'em hot."

Body English and subtle snubs weren't going to do it. Axel was one of the kind you had to beat over the head, and then they just thought you were playing hard to get. "Back off."

"What's the matter, darlin? Didn't I use enough breath freshener?"

"You're so full of yourself that it's not surprising that common sense has been squeezed right out. Back off, Turner."

He was bending toward her again. "Don't be that way, Mina."

"Miss O'Connell."

Axel stood up quickly, turning back toward the cubicle entrance. Stephen Baxter filled the opening, staring at the security man with absolutely no expression--but his eyes were as cool and hard as turquoise. He stared at the fast flushing Axel, then turned his gaze to Mina. "You mentioned that you would like to visit the library after work. I thought that I might wish to obtain a card myself, and I was hoping that you could direct me to some reading material that might entertain me, so I thought that we might leave a bit early."

"Mr. Baxter, Mrs. Hollachuck is going to start getting *pissed* upset with all this extra time I'm taking off." Despite the fact that Stephen's presence sometimes made her feel uncomfortable, she was grateful to see him now.

"I doubt it. In any case, I've had a look at your record. You've been more than conscientious, and a little down time will not be amiss." He returned his gaze to Axel. "Turner, is it? I see that you're part of our security force. I hardly think that Miss O'Connell qualifies as a security risk. You can go about your business."

"Yes, sir." Baxter stepped aside to allow Axel to exit, then entered the cubicle. Out in the main office, Axel saw Dominic Genello lounging against the wall, just outside the cubicle. Dominic gave him a hard, feral grin. *Shit. How long was he standing out here, listening?* Axel slipped past him, feeling the other man's eyes on him like a weight till he was out of the room. There was definitely something hinky going on there, but O'Connell herself didn't seem to be aware of it.

Stephen emerged after a few moments and Dominic accompanied him out to the elevator. When the doors slid closed, assuring their privacy, Stephen said, "She's agreed to take dinner with me again." He smiled. "As I have done little recreational reading in the last few years, I desire her opinion of various novels and authors."

"Smooth. She likes books."

"Yes. I need to find out her tastes, so I can make proper preparations. Dominic?"

"Yes, boss?"

"I think Mr. Turner has an improper interest in my hider."

"I think you're right."

"I don't like the man. I don't like him at all."

"Would you like something done about him?"

Stephen considered, then said slowly, "Not right now. If he continues to annoy her--perhaps. But nothing permanent will be required, I think."

"You sure about that?"

Stephen shrugged as the doors opened on his office's floor. "No, of course not. I'll have to see what transpires, but I'd like to avoid any final solution, if I may." They started back to his office. "I don't know enough about Mr. Turner to consider eliminating him. After all, as obnoxious as he is, someone might miss him."