[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

that might not entail ever running into her again.
 I thought she was gonna kill us. Paul said, then wiped the
sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand.
 What are we gonna do?
 Go back to the office. Tell them she drove away. And that
we didn t follow her.
 We were supposed to follow her.
 Yeah, but we didn t, did we?
 Cause she made us?
 Yeah. Cause she made us. And because she s already done
whatever she was gonna do.
 But we won t tell them that?
 No. But we call it in. So the Brass can do whatever.
 I gotta shit.
Jane drove in a seemingly aimless fashion for nearly twenty
minutes, until she was sure that the backup surveillance team was
following her and then parked in a strip mall lot and went into a
camera store.
She didn t recognize the counter clerk, and when she asked to
see Howard, the young woman puffed up like a blowfish, and
informed Jane that she could help her.
 I m sure you could, Sweetie. But I asked to see Howard--
NOW--so, go get Howard.
She went.
Got Howard.
He came.
314 DAVE MEAD
 I should have known that it would be you, he said, smiling.
 It s not nice to scare my little Beth. She s hiding in the
storeroom. I probably can t get her to come out until you leave.
Jane shrugged and lit a cigarette.
Howard looked everywhere but at the neon  NO SMOKING that
hung above his door.  So to what do I owe the pleasure of your
visit?
 I m going to ask a favor.
 I ve been waiting for ten years to do something for you. He
reached across the counter and touched her hand.  My family
and I owe you our lives. You are the one who believed us, and
consequently the one who saved us. She tried to wave off his
compliment, but he went on,  Without you, my wife would have
been deported for a crime she didn t commit. And I would have
been in prison or most likely shot down like a dog, trying to kill
Hopewell for what he did.
She nodded and shuffled her feet a little.
 So, dear lady, call in your marker. I stand ready to honor it.
 I need a tape recorder. She set her purse on the counter
and dug around in it until she found her checkbook.  Actually I
need two of them. One I want to pay for by check, the other will
be by cash, and there won t be a receipt.
 Small, voice-activated?
 Yeah. And the one I pay for with cash needs to have a
remote switch on it.
 That s it?
 Yeah. I ve got a tail. Seems I stepped on one of the groomed
one s throat a few days ago, so now they re trying to scare me
into quitting.
 I have a belief that it is they who will be scared.
 How much do I owe you?
 Please do not embarrass me by trying to pay me.
 I have to pay for one of them. What I want is for them to
find out that I bought one recorder.
STIX 315
 So that is all they will look for?
She smiled.
 I will have Beth sell you that one. The other one . . . he
shrugged.  You read the paper today?
Before she answered, Beth came back into the showroom.
 I m not sure, he said, loud enough for Beth to hear.  I think
maybe I better get Beth to show you our recorders. He winked
at Jane, then turned to the young woman,  Beth, this lady wants
to look at a small tape recorder. Which one do you think is the
better of these two?
 Uh. I think the one on the left is better, but it costs more.
 Would you show it to her? I need to make a phone call.
He was gone less than two minutes, when he came back he
was carrying a newspaper,  You see this article? he said sliding
the paper across the counter to Jane. When she tilted the paper
up to read it, a small white box slid out of the paper and into her
open purse. Beth was standing directly across from Jane and
didn t suspect anything. But then she wasn t supposed to. Jane
tried to remember how many times Howard had transferred
information to her this way during the four years she d worked on
the Hopewell case. Jane glanced at the paper and said,  I read
this earlier this morning. Sometimes I wonder about people.
Beth was very careful not to make eye contact when she filled
out the warranty card and took the check. She waited until Jane
was opening the door before she called out,  Come back again.
But she didn t mean it.
Two minutes after Jane left, Howard stepped out for a few
minutes, leaving Beth to run the store alone. He watched from
the corner while two men, a little over-dressed for the mild
weather, walked into his store. He gave them five minutes then
went back in just as they were leaving.
 What did they want? he asked jerking a thumb in their
direction.
Beth answered in a stage whisper, her eyes dancing with
excitement,  Those guys are from the FBI. They needed to know
what that lady who was in here bought.
316 DAVE MEAD
 No kidding?
 Yes! I swear. Do you know her?
He held up his hand, a small space between his thumb and
forefinger,  Just a little. Just a little.
 Do you think that she s a criminal?
 Not a chance. See she s a training officer. The two guys
were recruits, and they are supposed to be tailing her for
practice.
Beth s eyes lost their luster,  Oh, so that s why she asked for
you? Just to confuse them even more?
 You tell them that she asked for me?
 No. I just wondered why she did that, if she wasn t a friend.
 She was just training them. Someday, maybe they will owe
their lives to what she puts them through.
 I didn t much like her.
 I know. She was trying to make you mad so that you would
tell them everything that she did.
Chapter Thirteen
Jane took her rental back and spent the night in a suite at the
Hilton. She grinned when she remembered telling Stix and the
Kid Cop that FBI agents always stayed at places like this. Three
times in her career she d popped for this room, or one like it.
Each time the night after a major event. This time it was the
night before. She sat in the jetted tub and shaved her legs and
drank champagne until the water was cold. Then she took a long
hot shower and slept like one without a care in the world.
Jane took a cab for a ways, then walked slowly down the street
to stop in front of the Old Post Office Building. It had been
converted into an upscale mall. She peered up at the clock tower,
just visible in the swirling fog. On a clear day, the best view in DC
could be seen from there. It was her custom to walk by the block
of marble that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had ordered as his
monument. She wondered what he would think if he knew that
the newest and biggest monument in DC was now his. Lavish
beyond belief, it was filled with gardens and waterfalls. She
laughed, wondering what kind of a monument was destined for
her. It was an easy walk to the FBI building from where she
stood, but she was about to call in another marker. It came in
the way of a black FBI van. It pulled up to the curb and the man
behind the wheel nodded, never looking at her. She opened the
door and climbed in as it pulled away from the curb.
 Am I gonna regret this? he asked by way of greeting.
She leaned back in the seat and tried to relax. She didn t
answer him; he really didn t want an answer. She watched the
cheap poured-concrete facade of the FBI building come into view.
The building would look right at home in Moscow.
318 DAVE MEAD [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

ssaver.htw.pl