Loose Ends by D. D. Vandyke Read Free Book Online

entrance to the heavily fenced North Bay Distributors complex, the warehouse I’d visited before. I’d picked Bill up from work. He wore the same clothes, though he’d added an old suit jacket that made him look nondescript and forgettable.
    I’d chosen a position under a dead streetlight where we could see the entire length of the block. Anyone would either drive right by us or approach us from the other end, though I doubted they would spot us; it was dark and we were just one car among many lining the streets.
    “They have to come this way,” Bill muttered, confirming my own thoughts. Out of the comfortable shell of the call center he seemed a bit deflated, his cracks more obvious. As he sipped coffee I could smell alcohol fumes in Molly’s close confines.
    “Yes, they do,” I said. “Unless they plan on a forcible B-and-E over the back fence. But if so, why take the girl?”
    “It bothers me that they delayed two days. Could she already be dead?”
    I sighed through clenched teeth. “No way to be sure and we have no shot at a lead but this stakeout. Unless you want to go back to your office and beat it out of Lattimer…but he might not know anything.”
    “Yeah. If I was them, I’d tell the inside man as little as possible.”
    “Hang in there, Bill. This is the best chance we have.” I sipped my own unadulterated coffee, glad of its warmth.
    Fifteen minutes went by in silence, and then half an hour. Bill finished his coffee mix and started sipping straight from his flask. Maybe when this was all over I should introduce him to Mira. Would two substance abusers raise a kid better than one? Make each other happy, understand and forgive all faults? Or would it be twice as bad for Talia?
    God, what a world.
    “When did you say Lattimer’s shift ended?”
    “He’s on at five, off at one a.m.”
    I checked my watch. “Nine fifteen. I’d bet they’ll come between now and midnight, probably earlier than later. I’m going to guess between ten-thirty and eleven.”
    “How you figure?”
    We’d already gone a few rounds of stump-the-cop on several subjects so I played along. Spinning deductive theories passed the time. “Nine is the middle of Lattimer’s shift. By nine, anyone who might stop in at the call center, say, because he forgot something, is probably home for good. By nine, most day-job people are off the streets. No traffic jams across the bridges or along any of the main routes. They’ll want a smooth getaway.”
    “Okay, that’s the beginning. What about the end of your window? Ten-thirty to eleven?”
    I idly rubbed the joints of my right hand, bending the fingers back and forth, a minor therapy I performed when I had nothing else to do. “The closer the end of his shift gets, the more chance of the next guy coming in early and blowing things. If I were a thief I’d want a very comfortable two hours of buffer. Also, most PD turnovers are at eleven. The oncoming shift is finishing up their briefing and the outgoing has already mentally checked out. Some will be dropping off their squad cars early to get to the head of the line. Hell, it’s Monday, right? A slow night.”
    Bill nodded. “Sounds plausible. You’re a lot more tuned-in to the local area than I am.”
    “Consider this your orientation to the underside of the Bay Area, then.” I sipped. “So what brought you out near the City?”
    He snorted. “I called Chi-town ‘the City’ when I was on the job.”
    “Yeah, and so do New Yorkers. Yada, yada. Answer the question, Bill.”
    “No deductions?”
    “No. You don’t want to talk about it?”
    “We partners now?” He sounded defensive.
    “Maybe. What do you think?”
    “We sure ain’t lovers.”
    “Nope.” I looked sideways at him. “Stay focused, Bill. Remember Talia.”
    “Yeah. Sorry.”
    “No harm, no foul.” I really didn’t mind. He hadn’t said a word about my scars, which was a welcome change, and he remained on the upside of pathetic, so I took his