until Goodwin pressed a buzzer on his desk and spoke into it. “Pam, bring me that file I had you put in the safe the other day.”
“How many copies did you make?” Kathryn asked.
“Just one. I’m not lying. You can have it, but you have to sign off on it.”
Kathryn laughed, and so did Nikki.
“How about we just take you with us, and you can explain all of this to some other very important people. Oh, my goodness, will you look at the time? We’ve overstayed our ten minutes. What’s it going to be, Mr. Goodwin?”
Pam Warren entered the office and placed a manila folder in front of her boss. She scurried out quickly and closed the door quietly behind her.
Goodwin inched the file closer to Nikki, using a pencil. He didn’t touch it at all.
Nikki stuffed the file in her carry bag. “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Goodwin. Now, should you hear from anyone else, call this number.” She handed him a card with Abner Tookus’s burn-phone number, which was untraceable. “We can see ourselves out.”
Neither woman spoke until they were outside. “That was almost too easy,” Kathryn said.
“Yeah, it was.” Nikki grinned. “Sometimes it just works out that way.”
Chapter 5
H arry Wong brought the Ducati to a full stop. Both he and Jack hopped off and looked around. Two nondescript Hondas sat side by side in the driveway. Both were locked. One was black and the other a silver gray. They looked clean and well maintained.
It appeared to be a quiet neighborhood even in mid-July, when people were usually outdoors talking to neighbors or working in their yards. No one was about that either man could see. “Maybe it’s a working-class neighborhood. It’s a cul-de-sac, not that that means anything, but I like the area. Look, Harry, they even have sidewalks, and the maple trees are old. They look like big old beach umbrellas, and they shade the second floors of all the houses on the block. I counted the houses, there are nine. Four on each side and the one in the middle. I’d say they were built in the fifties, what do you think, Harry?”
“The picture windows would seem to indicate that time period. Sixteen hundred square feet would be my guess. What we call starter homes today. You have the key Pearl gave you, right?”
“Right here in my hot little hand. Let’s not stand around here too long so as not to arouse suspicion. I’m thinking these two ladies didn’t get much company, and two guys on a hot-rod motorcycle might raise some red flags.”
Harry mumbled something that sounded like, “Then pick up your feet and move.”
The door opened silently. The moment they were inside, Jack turned around and shot the dead bolt. There was no need to turn on any lights. The bright summer sunshine coming through the huge picture window lit up the entire room. The sheer curtains couldn’t contain the sunlight.
The living room was simply furnished. Four club chairs that swiveled, no sofa. Two lamps and a small coffee table with a few gardening magazines and a bowl of hard candy stood in front of two of the chairs. A twenty-inch television hung on the wall, directly in line with two of the club chairs. The room was painted a soft dove gray, and the matching area carpet was also gray, with a few splashes of a design that looked like a fern frond. Plain, simple. Neat and tidy. No sign of trash or dust.
A small, narrow, circular stairway was tucked into the farthest corner. “Toss you for it,” Jack said. “Heads you take the second floor, tails I take it. Call it, Harry.”
“Heads!”
Jack flipped the coin. He laughed. “It’s all yours, pal. Don’t miss anything. Women are tricky, we both know that. Look for unlikely hiding places. I’m not saying either one of those women hid anything, but it is a possibility.”
Jack walked through the living room and out to the kitchen, which was small and compact. Like the living room, the kitchen was sparkling clean. All kitchens, at least in his opinion, had
“How many copies did you make?” Kathryn asked.
“Just one. I’m not lying. You can have it, but you have to sign off on it.”
Kathryn laughed, and so did Nikki.
“How about we just take you with us, and you can explain all of this to some other very important people. Oh, my goodness, will you look at the time? We’ve overstayed our ten minutes. What’s it going to be, Mr. Goodwin?”
Pam Warren entered the office and placed a manila folder in front of her boss. She scurried out quickly and closed the door quietly behind her.
Goodwin inched the file closer to Nikki, using a pencil. He didn’t touch it at all.
Nikki stuffed the file in her carry bag. “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Goodwin. Now, should you hear from anyone else, call this number.” She handed him a card with Abner Tookus’s burn-phone number, which was untraceable. “We can see ourselves out.”
Neither woman spoke until they were outside. “That was almost too easy,” Kathryn said.
“Yeah, it was.” Nikki grinned. “Sometimes it just works out that way.”
Chapter 5
H arry Wong brought the Ducati to a full stop. Both he and Jack hopped off and looked around. Two nondescript Hondas sat side by side in the driveway. Both were locked. One was black and the other a silver gray. They looked clean and well maintained.
It appeared to be a quiet neighborhood even in mid-July, when people were usually outdoors talking to neighbors or working in their yards. No one was about that either man could see. “Maybe it’s a working-class neighborhood. It’s a cul-de-sac, not that that means anything, but I like the area. Look, Harry, they even have sidewalks, and the maple trees are old. They look like big old beach umbrellas, and they shade the second floors of all the houses on the block. I counted the houses, there are nine. Four on each side and the one in the middle. I’d say they were built in the fifties, what do you think, Harry?”
“The picture windows would seem to indicate that time period. Sixteen hundred square feet would be my guess. What we call starter homes today. You have the key Pearl gave you, right?”
“Right here in my hot little hand. Let’s not stand around here too long so as not to arouse suspicion. I’m thinking these two ladies didn’t get much company, and two guys on a hot-rod motorcycle might raise some red flags.”
Harry mumbled something that sounded like, “Then pick up your feet and move.”
The door opened silently. The moment they were inside, Jack turned around and shot the dead bolt. There was no need to turn on any lights. The bright summer sunshine coming through the huge picture window lit up the entire room. The sheer curtains couldn’t contain the sunlight.
The living room was simply furnished. Four club chairs that swiveled, no sofa. Two lamps and a small coffee table with a few gardening magazines and a bowl of hard candy stood in front of two of the chairs. A twenty-inch television hung on the wall, directly in line with two of the club chairs. The room was painted a soft dove gray, and the matching area carpet was also gray, with a few splashes of a design that looked like a fern frond. Plain, simple. Neat and tidy. No sign of trash or dust.
A small, narrow, circular stairway was tucked into the farthest corner. “Toss you for it,” Jack said. “Heads you take the second floor, tails I take it. Call it, Harry.”
“Heads!”
Jack flipped the coin. He laughed. “It’s all yours, pal. Don’t miss anything. Women are tricky, we both know that. Look for unlikely hiding places. I’m not saying either one of those women hid anything, but it is a possibility.”
Jack walked through the living room and out to the kitchen, which was small and compact. Like the living room, the kitchen was sparkling clean. All kitchens, at least in his opinion, had
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