Chapter 65
Jack stepped out of the Audi into the cold morning air, his breath puffing out in a cloud. Glancing up and down the street, he walked over to the bushes where he had stashed his weapon and goggles. He grabbed the shoulder holster and returned to the car, tossing it onto the floorboard on the passenger side as he slid into the driver’s seat.
The morning sky was a brilliant blue, and traffic was light at this early hour, making for what should have been a pleasant morning drive. But Jack was tired, he had a headache, and he had a to-do list in his head that meant he wouldn’t get to bed for a good long while yet. Oh well, what else was new? They had never promised him a cushy office job.
Jack pulled into the carport next to Janet’s little blue sedan, grabbed his things, and walked into the house. Janet glanced up at him from the kitchen table where she sat cradling a steaming mug of coffee.
“Nice outfit.”
Jack glanced down and nodded. They had given him one of those off-white hospital robes to wear as a shirt, and he had tucked it into his black corduroy pants. At least they used to be black. Yesterday had left them torn in several places and stained with a variety of fluids. The ensemble was augmented by the bandages down his left arm.
“Thank you.” Jack grabbed a mug from the cabinet, paused at the coffee pot to fill it, and then sat at the table with Janet. “The cleanup?”
She shrugged. “They had a bit of trouble. The cave is spic’n’span, but the police had already towed the van.”
“And?”
“Our team didn’t have any trouble getting to it in the impound yard. No problem recovering most of the special gear. But Harry’s clothes and the laptop had been moved to the evidence room.”
“Damn it. Anyone they could get to on the inside?”
“Not in a way you’ll like. The night shift at the station had pretty good records. Our guys did manage to bribe one of them, who had some heavy debts he was struggling with.”
“So they got it?”
“No. That’s the bad news. He balked at taking the laptop out of the cage. Was scared that someone would be on to him. So the team got him to insert a floppy disk, boot the computer, and leave it running.”
“Shit. They wiped it?”
“Had to. It was that or storm the station. They figured we didn’t need that kind of attention.”
Jack rubbed his face with his hands. Now they had no record of what Harry had been working on. Jack had counted on spending the day going through that laptop with a fine-tooth comb. On the plus side, his to-do list had just gotten a whole lot shorter.
“Maybe I could put you to bed,” said Janet with a wink. “Unless you’re too tired.”
Jack raised an eyebrow as he set down the coffee. “If I’m ever that tired, just shoot me. Think I’ll grab a quick shower first, though.”
“Don’t take too long now, Jack.”
As he headed for the stairs, Janet’s mischievous laughter tickled his ear. The odds of a luxuriant, slow shower dropped precipitously as he listened. Suddenly, the day, among other things, was looking up.