Page 82 of Stay Awake
“What was the point of messing with them?”
“Dunno. He never said. He just messaged me things to do. It was harmless stuff. Easiest money I ever made,” he said. “I only went into the apartment a couple of times. I didn’t break any laws.”
“Other than breaking and entering. It wasn’t your apartment,” Halliday pointed out.
“Yeah, okay. But I didn’t hurt anyone, or steal anything. He said if I did, I wouldn’t get the rest of the money.”
“How much were you paid?”
“Two grand up front. I was supposed to get another three at the end. Never got it.”
“Because you skipped town?” Halliday asked.
“Yeah.”
“Who hired you?”
“Some guy. Met him at a bar. He gave me a burner phone. We communicated by text after that,” he said. “He messaged me tasks. Instructions. I texted him back when they were completed.”
“What instructions did he give you?”
“The things I already told you. One time I had to leave flowers and chocolates by the front door. Then he texted me half an hour later and told me to go into the apartment and leave more flowers by her bed and replace the chocolates in the box with new ones. He’d put something in the chocolates to make her fall asleep and he wanted them all replaced.”
“Did he explain why he wanted you to do these things?” Halliday asked.
“He said he wanted to scare her.” Chalmers laughed nervously.“Well, he scared her all right. I’d watch her looking out the windows, trying to figure out whether she was going nuts.”
“How did you get in and out of the apartment?” Halliday asked.
“He gave me keys. Told me to dress like a plumber and act like I belonged. That way nobody would be the wiser. It worked perfectly.”
“If you didn’t do anything violent, like you claim, why did you skip town?”
“He called me with one final task.”
“What was it?” Halliday asked.
“He wanted me to kill them.”
“Kill who?”
“The hot blonde who lived in the apartment and the guy she was sleeping with when her roommate was at work. Dark-haired guy. Looked Italian. He wanted them both dead. Promised to pay me another five grand.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said no,” Chalmers said. “Murder is hard-core. I don’t do stuff like that. He said he’d find someone else. A few days later he told me to meet at a warehouse at Hunts Point to get the rest of my cash. I didn’t turn up.”
“Why not?”
“It stunk. I worried he’d try to make sure I kept my mouth shut. Permanently. So I did a disappearing act.”
“Who set you up with this guy?”
“Dude I knew used to give me jobs. Debt collection, mostly. He set up the meet. Turned out to be a bad move on his part.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s dead.”
