Read Online Nantucket Five-Spot by Steven Axelrod - Free Book Online

Authority two years ago. He is currently employed at On-island Gas on Sparks Avenue. I want him in custody this afternoon. The same goes for William Delavane, and for Rashid and Patel Lashari, proprietors of The Souk clothing store on Broad Street. I have National Security Letters granting me access to all business records of that store, as well as the gas station and Folger Construction, Delavane’s employer.”
    â€œPat Folger ain’t gonna like that,” Charlie Boyce said. A knowing chuckle rose up and subsided, extinguished by Tornovitch’s glare, which descended like one of those dunce-cap candle-snuffers. There was nothing he could do about the curl of amused provincial smoke that rose off the chastened group, though. They all knew Pat, some of them had been on the sharp end of his temper, and they’d back him against most terrorists and any DHS agent, especially this one.
    â€œStick around,” Tornovitch said. ”I’ll have your individual assignments in a few minutes.”
    People shuffled out. I could see Franny pulling him down a little so they could have a whispered conference. He nodded and started to answer, but she interrupted him and he went back to nodding. A change of plans was obviously in the works. I wondered if he’d acknowledge Franny when he made the announcement. Not likely. The room cleared out. Haden and I lingered at the door until Jack called us over.
    â€œIt occurs to me that bringing in this Delavane character might be a mistake,” he said. Haden had noticed the brief conference with Franny. He shot me a look. Jack saw it, of course. “You have something to say, Krakauer?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œGood. Now let me lay this out for you. If Delavane isn’t the one we’re looking for, we’ll have needlessly antagonized an ordinary citizen. More importantly, if he is the one, then we’ll have alerted him, which will make it much tougher to monitor his activities and gather any substantial evidence. He might go underground completely until we’re gone. Much better to put him under surveillance, at least for now. Franny can check out the gas station, talk to the owner. Wynand doesn’t need to know anything. Kennis—you and I are going to pay a call on our Muslim friends. We’ll have the element of surprise in our favor.”
    â€œI bet they’ve been expecting us for the last decade or so.”
    â€œThen we’re long overdue. Get your people out on the street, pick someone to tail Delavane, and let’s get moving. It stinks up here. Someone’s been smoking. You’d better deal with that. I don’t like cops breaking the law. I fired an agent for littering once. Franny can tell you. She was there.”
    I glanced at her. She nodded. Her eyebrows lifted a little in mockery and fatigue.
    â€œHe was a highly qualified agent,” she said. “An encryption specialist. And he spoke fluent Arabic.”
    â€œThat had nothing to do with it,” Tornovitch snapped.
    Franny looked down. “Of course not.”
    â€œThough you have to wonder—why study the language of Islamofascism if you’re not interested, know what I mean? Most people study French. Or Spanish. This kid chose Arabic. I guess he wanted to read the Koran in the original.”
    Downstairs, I found Randy Ray by the coffee machine in the break room, dumping cream and sugar into a mug of Starbucks Morning Blend.
    He still had his football physique and his fast metabolism, but his body had some unwelcome surprises in store for him. He was the perfect candidate for a middle-aged beer gut.
    â€œHow would you like to do the surveillance on Billy Delavane?” I said.
    â€œMe? Really?”
    â€œYou’re a local, you know Madaket. You blend in.”
    He set the mug down on the chipped Formica counter. “Listen, Chief, I was thinking about this. Some friends of mine are working on a crew, painting one