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

building.
    A woman got out of the passenger side. At this distance, forty yards or so, I couldn’t make out much except she was about Mira’s height and build, with dark hair. She opened a box on the wall and picked up a handset.
    Molly’s passenger door opened quietly and Bill slid into the car, shutting it quickly and silently like a pro. At least the vodka hadn’t impaired his technique. Probably he was already starting to sober up.
    “They’re early,” he said.
    “Guess I still need to work on my Sherlock routine.”
    “You were pretty close. Fifteen minutes.”
    I grunted and turned back to look at our prey across the street near the warehouse. The woman talked for a minute on the handset, and then hung it up. After another moment, probably to input the code and apply the fake fingerprint to the scanner, she set her feet, leaned hard and pulled open the warehouse’s personnel door. It must be quite heavy to take that kind of manhandling.
    While she was doing this the driver, a heavyset white man in a dark jacket and knit cap, hopped out and folded the side mirrors flat. After getting in again he backed the van up and did a quick one-eighty as the woman opened the cargo loading door. In reverse, the vehicle rolled completely inside, barely clearing the edges. The steel curtain slammed down, leaving no trace of its presence.
    “I see why they didn’t get a bigger truck,” Bill said.
    “Yeah. Perfect size.”
    “Wish we could call this in.”
    I glanced sideways at him. “The girl , Bill. I don’t give a shit if they get away with millions in pills as long as we get Talia back.”
    “I know. Still…”
    “You want one more shot at glory, Bill? Proof that you can still cut it?” I felt like slapping him, but stopped myself, letting my voice do the work. “The only way that’s gonna happen is if we find that little girl. Once she’s safe, you can take all the credit you want. Get your name in the papers. Be a hero. ‘Former Chicago Cop Saves Kidnapped Child in Drug Heist Bust.’ You can have the publicity. I don’t want it.”
    Bill eyed me skeptically. “You for real? Something like this could get you reinstated.”
    I shook my head, turning to stare at the warehouse to cover the stab of pain I felt. “That ship has sailed. The Thin Blue Line never forgets. I might be able to work at some other department, but not here in the Bay Area. Probably not even in this state. The City is my home. I’m not leaving it.”
    “God, you’re beautiful,” Bill blurted.
    “And you’re still drunk, so how’s about we call it even,” I returned in a flat tone. Funny what attracts men and what comes out of their mouths at the oddest times.
    Or maybe, not so odd at all. I’d just made a declaration of loyalty in front of a guy who’d been ditched by his wife and discarded by his profession. No matter how justifiable, those things left deep scars, especially on a cop. With the good ones like Bill and me, honor and integrity wrapped our core, stiffened our spines. Without it, we felt – I felt – brittle. Hollowed out.
    “I saw something,” Bill said suddenly.
    Our thieves hadn’t left the warehouse, so I glanced around. “What?”
    Bill stuck his thumb over his shoulder. “Back behind us, around the block. When I went to piss. Guy in a late-model green Audi sedan, just sitting.”
    I craned my head to look, but Bill shook his head. “Naw, he left when I made him. Probably completely unrelated.”
    “What’d he look like?”
    “Young. Late twenties? Light skin, maybe blonde. Average height and build. Hard to say more.”
    I shook my head. “You should have told me that first.”
    “It didn’t matter. Like I said, he hung a U and sped off.”
    “He could have come back. Could be watching now.” I craned my head around, not trying to hide my surveillance anymore. As Audis were common rally platforms, I felt fairly confident I could spot one even half-seen in the dark.
    Nope. Nada.
    Bill cleared