BioKill by Stuart Handley Page A

partner. “You got anything to add, Carlos?”
    Maitland had never used his Christian name before — and Carlos Martinez fumbled for his notebook, which gave him a bit more time to think. Martinez took a deep breath and looking at his notes on the incident he decided to bring up the conversation they had with the lady in the apartment next door, the one who had laid the complaint in the first place. He cleared his throat. “Um, I think the lady who laid the complaint could be of help, in this case. She said to… Ben and me that she thought the two men next door were making bombs.” Looking up towards Maitland he met a cold stare and straight away looked back to his notes. Perhaps using his first name wasn’t such a good idea.
    “What’s this about a bomb?” It was the first their lieutenant had heard about it.
    “Nothing, sir,” Maitland quickly broke in. “It was just the old lady ranting but I would have used it as an excuse to bust in next door if I’d needed to — but it was opened.”
    “Anything else?” Lilburn pushed for more information. “Did you get names?”
    “I’ve got the names written down here, sir, in my notebook.”
    “I bet you have officer, good work.” Lilburn directed his conversation to the lieutenant. “I would like to take these officers to the apartment and have a look for myself.”
    “Sure thing… What’s this about anyway?”
    “Too early to tell. Let’s go.”
    Gibbons shrugged his shoulders then followed Lilburn out the door. Martinez followed behind Maitland, deciding not to push his luck any further.
    The van driver and the other plain-clothed officer from the Major Case Squad just had time to throw their cigarette butts into the street as their passengers arrived. Gibbons directed Officer Maitland to the front passenger seat to give directions to the apartment, while the others entered the rear. The van’s sliding door had only just shut as the vehicle pulled out and jostled its way into the thick traffic.
     
    “This is the building.” Maitland pointed for the driver.
    The two doors slammed shut as five of the occupants stepped out of the vehicle, the driver remaining inside.
    “This one here, five-story apartment block, number twenty-five on the third story. Hope you like stairs…” Maitland looked up at the building; by the time he looked down Lilburn was already inside the foyer.
    Maitland mumbled to himself. “More fuckin’ stairs.”
    Had anyone encountered the men on the stairs, they would have given them plenty of space. As it was, no one noticed as they gathered in the third-story lobby.
    “Nothing’s changed. That’s the door there, number twenty-five.”
    Lilburn considered a quick forceful entry but decided instead to take an easier option. He placed a finger across his lips, a silent signal to the team, then he knocked on the door.
    “You’re wasting your time knocking on that door, sonny.” The elderly black woman from number twenty-seven had her head out her door, looking at the men. “No one in there. Those A-rabs went out early this morning, ain’t come back. Not that I care. Hey, ain’t you two boys the same ones I talked to the other day?”
    “Morning, ma’am,” Maitland approached the lady. “Me and the other uniform here are the same ones. Yes.”
    “I figured it was you, I don’t forget faces, I remember you and that handsome young friend of yours. You here to bust them A-rabs? I was going to ring you again.”
    “Why was that, ma’am?”
    “I was gonna get back on the phone and tell you to come right on back and bust those A-rabs’ skinny asses. I don’t have to now, I see you bought the whole dang station wid you!”
    “Excuse me, ma’am,” Lilburn approached the woman. “I didn’t get your name?”
    “Nope, cause I didn’t get yours, hon.”
    Lilburn smiled at the old woman’s brashness. “My name’s Matt, what’s yours?”
    “Folks around here call me Bonny.”
    “Nice to meet you, Bonny. Did you