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The guard came up behind him. “I thought I saw Wendell earlier this morning. He was taking out the garbage. But I don’t know—”
He used his passkey to open the door.
Behind a stack of boxes, Wendell’s body lay. No blood, but he wasn’t moving, and he didn’t appear to be breathing, either. Dimitri checked for a pulse and found one.
“He’s alive. Better call an ambulance, and get them to send someone else over. Inform the manager.”
“Yessir. I’ll be right back. You don’t leave, and don’t let anyone else come in here, okay?”
“No worries.”
Dimitri noticed a storage closet was ajar. Several sets of keys were hanging on lanyards, along with other utility keys, a few flashlights, and two sets of high-intensity lamps. The key to the closet was still stuck in the keyhole.
He went back to Wendell, who had begun to stir. He held his head, feeling for a wound or bump, and found one. A bulge on the left side, behind his temple, was bruising up. It had barely broken the skin and appeared to be more from a fall than a blunt object.
“You okay, Wendell?” he asked.
“Oh man, I’m going to be sick. Oh jeez, help me up—” Wendell said as he tried to scramble to his feet, but then he bent over and retched.
“Here, just sit down. Keep your head down. You have some water here?”
Wendell sat hard and pointed to a small refrigerator in the corner. Dimitri grabbed a bottle and handed it to the man.
“So what happened?”
“Someone came at me from behind. Put a rag in my face, and I went out like a light. Had a gasoline-type smell to it.”
“Ether. You had a nice dose. You’ve been asleep for about four hours. That sound about right?”
“God if I know. Why would someone do something like that?”
“To get the passkeys to the units. Someone was in my place this morning. You have anyone looking to get access today?”
Wendell shook his head.
Dimitri heard the sound of a siren coming from the outside.
“The paramedics are here. You see this person?”
“No. Smelled like cigars, though.”
“As opposed to cigarettes?”
“That’s right. There’s a difference, you know.”
Dimitri didn’t argue. “A tall person?”
“I’d say yes, I think so. Strong. Strong arm that came across my face. I felt a knee in the small of my back, directing my fall. Nothing I could do. My legs just gave way, and I saw black spots and then nothing. Oh man, I got a headache,” he said as he felt the side of his head and his fingers came back with a trace of blood.
Dimitri nodded when he saw it. “I think from the fall. You don’t remember getting hit, right?”
“Right.”
Behind him, two paramedics arrived, followed by a Rescue Commander. The paramedics got to work on Wendell, while the commander asked questions.
“You found him on the floor, Mr. Bingham says.”
“That’s right. He was out cold. Sounds like someone gave him some ether.”
